SARAH L. SZANTON, PhD, MSN, CRNP

Assistant Professor
Department of Health Systems and Outcomes

" I want all older adults to have a chance at an active, healthy, meaningful second stage in life. "

A number of years ago, while making house calls as a nurse practitioner to homebound, low-income elderly patients in West Baltimore, Dr. Sarah Szanton noticed that many experienced a destructive form of stress that seemed to result from financial strain, overwhelming family responsibilities, and often dangerous neighborhoods. Since then she has developed a program of research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing on the role of stressors in health disparities in older adults. Through a National Institutes of Health-funded observational research grant, Dr. Szanton currently is examining the effect these stressors have at the cellular level on the immune, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems of older adults; effects that cannot be explained by behavioral factors such as diet, smoking and insufficient exercise. She is also conducting a study of a meditation intervention for low-income older adults to see if it can increase their quality of life and decrease the effect stress is having on their bodies. As a former health policy advocate, Dr. Szanton hopes the outcomes of her research and her growing body of publications in the literature can have a positive impact on future health policy affecting older adults.

Faculty Biosketch