BOONE—Professor Ed Rosenberg, director of Appalachian State University’s gerontology program, and two colleagues from Thailand were honored recently at the 5th annual Political Science, Sociology and International Relations Conference held in Bangkok.

Rosenberg, Pornchai Jullamate (Burapha University) and Ouaypon Tungthongchai (Kasetsart University) won the Best Research Paper award at the conference.

Their paper is titled “Global Aging and Eldercare: The Internationalization of ‘Powerful Tools for Caregivers.’” The Powerful Tools for Caregivers program is a self-care education program that provides family caregivers tools and strategies to better handle the caregiver challenges they face.

Rosenberg’s paper demonstrates the program is culturally adaptable and enhances the quality of caregiving in Thailand. He and his coauthors found that the program significantly reduces caregiver stress and improves well-being for trained care givers in comparison to a control group.

“I first met Drs. Jullamate and Tungthongchai about 10 years ago when I was an exchange faculty member in France and they were doctoral students in Portugal,” Rosenberg said.

The two later came to Appalachian for a semester as visiting researchers. “It’s wonderful to continue working with them now that they’ve earned their PhDs and returned to Thailand. And this says a lot about Appalachian’s commitment to globalizing its faculty and students,” he said.

Rosenberg said there was wide interest from individuals attending the conference on elder caregiver empowerment. “Since rapid population aging is a global phenomenon, I hope to continue working with the Powerful Tools for Caregivers organization to promote and implement the program in other countries,” he said.

Rosenberg is spending fall semester in Thailand working with Jullamate, chair of gerontological nursing at Burapha University, and Tungthongchai, chair of physical education at Kasetsart. His work plan includes research, teaching and advising master’s and doctoral students.

He will also present his research at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics conference in October in Chiang Mai, Thailand with Jullamate and Tungthongchai and Dr. Zaida Azeredo of Portugal.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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