Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

CSDE Trainee Spotlight: Callie Freitag

Callie Freitag is a CSDE Trainee and doctoral student in UW’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and advised by CSDE Affiliate and Primary Research Area Chair for Wellbeing of Families and Households Heather Hill. Callie’s research focuses on how policy contexts throughout the life course influence poverty and inequality in later life. She leads “Aging Across UW – Third Thursdays”, an informal working group at UW with particular focus on aging research and the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Freitag co-authored a report titled “Caring for Washington’s Older Adults in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interviews with Organization Leaders About the State of Social and Healthcare Services”, along with CSDE Affiliates Scott Allard (Evans School), Clara Berridge (Social Work) and others in UW Schools of Medicine, Social Work, and Public Health. She is a recipient of the Graduate School’s UWRA Patricia Dougherty Fellowship in Aging, which she will use to work on a dissertation proposal related to poverty and material hardship in later life. Prior to starting her doctoral training, she worked as a policy analyst at the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA), where she led advocacy efforts to establish Home Safe, a grant program to prevent homelessness among older adults. She also worked as a policy analyst on aging and long-term care issues for California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

CSDE Affiliates Berridge, Allard, Freitag, and Co-Authors Publish Report on COVID-19 and Older Adults

CSDE Affiliates Clara Berridge and Scott Allard, along with CSDE Trainee Callie Freitag and collaborators from UW Medicine, Public Health and Social Welfare recently co-authored a report titled “Caring for Washington’s Older Adults in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interviews with Organization Leaders About The State of Social and Healthcare Services”. The qualitative study, funded by a UW Population Health Initiative grant, is the result of interviews with leaders of nearly four dozen organizations around the state during July and August — just as COVID-19 cases spiked, many lockdown restrictions remained in place, and the social and physical effects of the first few months of quarantines became apparent. The authors find that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased social isolation among older adults, primarily due to their higher susceptibility to the disease and the restrictions that encourage them to stay put, with few, if any visitors. Many communities — low-income older adults; Black, Indigenous and people of color; those with limited English proficiency; and those experiencing homelessness — are at risk of being overlooked and underserved. Also, the “digital divide,” or lack of Internet access or devices such as phones and laptops, has widened among older adults. To read UW News coverage, click here.

UWRA Lecture Series “The Future of Aging”

The UW Retirement Association and UW Alumni Association are co-sponsoring a symposium titled the “Future of Aging”, from November 10th – 19th. There will be a series of lectures and conversations centered on how this newest generation of older adults is forever altering the aging experience. The lecture series will feature PAA President Dr. Eileen Crimmins (Univ. of Southern California) on 11/10 speaking about Aging in the 21st Century: New Issues in a New World, as well as lectures by CSDE Affiliate Karen Fredriksen Goldsen (11/12), CSDE Director Sara Curran (11/17), and Eric Larson, Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (11/19). Graduate students will be featured throughout the program. For more information, please visit the UWRA webpage, or view the flyer for this event.

UW Faculty Council Panel Discussion: Caregivers in the Academy during COVID

Did you know the Census is required by the U.S. Constitution?

We’re sure most affiliates and trainees know that Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires an enumeration of the nation’s populous. This year, during UW’s annual reading of the constitution and in honor of the decadal census year, CSDE Director Sara Curran provides a brief overview of that history and its importance to the founding of the country.

Racism as a Social Determinant of Equity

At the CSDE seminar on October 30th, Dr. Wendy Barrington will present “Racism as a Social Determinant of Equity. The talk will highlight how race has been conceptualized in research, how historic racial injustices continue to operate today through structuring exposures to the social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status and neighborhood resources, and impacts related to the burden of cancer and COVID-19. Dr. Barrington is an Associate Professor in the UW School of Nursing, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Services in the UW School of Public Health. She is currently an Affiliate Investigator with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Call for Applications: CSDE’s Fall 2020 Lightning Talks and Poster Session

CSDE welcomes and encourages graduate students to submit abstracts for the CSDE Lightning Talks and Poster Session! This is a wonderful, low-stakes opportunity to present your research, receive feedback, and practice your presentation skills. Submit a brief abstract and information about yourself and your collaborators here by October 30th. The session will take place on Zoom. Each presenter will have an opportunity present to the entire group and then share their results in breakout rooms to smaller numbers of participants.

What is the purpose of the session?

This session is a great opportunity to make new connections with faculty and students working in your area, and to improve your presentation and poster-making skills in advance of conferences. Many professional organizations and their associated conferences include space on their programs for posters or lightning talks (sometimes known as flash talks). So, this session is a great opportunity to prep for those upcoming events.

For example, the Population Association of America (PAA) includes space for posters and flash talks and this session is ideal for students who are prepping for a PAA Poster or PAA Flash Talk Session. Or, many courses require a poster presentation for an end of the quarter requirement for a class, like some Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CS&SS) classes. But even if you just want to present a research idea and get feedback, this session can be valuable! Faculty attending the poster sessions find it to be one of the most rewarding, because it gives them an opportunity to meet students and talk about research.

What will the session look like?

Obviously, this year will be different (like everything in our lives right now) because everything will take place remotely. As always, the session will be split into two sections: the Lightning Talks and the Poster Session.

Each participant will prepare 3 PowerPoint slides: the first 2 slides will be a high-level summary for the lightning talk portion and the 3rd slide will be the “poster” that you’ll present as people circulate through breakout rooms. The session will take place on Zoom. Each presenter will have 2-3 minutes for their lighting talk presentation before we put presenters in breakout rooms and allow attendees to circulate.

Will there be judges?

Yes, there will be a faculty panel that will give all participants feedback on their slides and results and will determine a winner.

CSDE will recognize the best poster with an award and prize. Posters will be assessed based on the following criteria:

– Relevance to demographic research or population health

– Innovative aspects of the research project

– Quality and appropriateness of research design and methodology

– Effectiveness in communicating key aspects of the project

– Overall design and quality of visuals, images and/or tables

How do I apply to participate?

You only need to submit a brief abstract and information about yourself and your collaborators on the project. Submit your application HERE. The deadline to submit an abstract is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30th.

We will select up to 7 participants. If your submission is selected, you will be required to email your presentation slides to Maxine Wright no later than FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20TH.

The Lightning Talks and Poster Session will be held FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH from 12:30-1:30, Zoom link TBA. Please email mkw1208@uw.edu if you have any questions.