A Hunter College researcher is taking the lead in investigating the growing incidence of opioid addiction among the elderly.
Assistant Professor at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing Ashley Z. Ritter is the co-editor of a special issue of the journal Innovation in Aging in collaboration with Marcia Ory from Texas A & M University and Sarah Gebauer from St. Louis University detailing this under-recognized health crisis and proposing care solutions.
“Opioid use disorder is growing rapidly among older adults when compared to other segments of the population,” Ritter and her co-authors write in their introduction to the issue. “Studying the experience of opioid use disorder among older adults facilitates the integration of harm reduction and evidence-based therapies into the continuum of aging services, including preventative care, community-based services, and within hospitals.”
Ritter will be co-conducting a webinar October 30, “A Life Course Approach to Aging and Opioid Use,” that will raise awareness of solutions among gerontology experts. Opioid overdose deaths for those 55 and older jumped 10-fold from 1999 to 2019, according to federal data.
“Dr. Ritter’s selection as co-editor for a special journal issue on this important topic highlights her gerontologic and health policy expertise,” said Dr. Ann Marie P. Mauro, Joan Hansen Grabe Dean and Professor. “It shows Hunter College’s role as an anchor institution in New York City providing high-impact research and innovative educational programs for students that improve community health.”
Ritter was selected this year by the National Institutes of Health-funded Health Care Systems Research Network and Older Americans Independence Centers for a professional development program, which named her an AGING Initiative Multiple Chronic Conditions Scholar.
Ritter earned her PhD in nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and is an experienced nurse practitioner. Her scientific research has made extensive contributions to the knowledge and practice of caring for older people. Her expertise includes community-engagement, implementation science, mixed methodology, and multidisciplinary teams.
Ritter also is an advocate for social justice and healthcare equity. She is the co-founder and past CEO of Those Nerdy Girls, an award-winning, nonprofit science-communication platform providing factual, practical information to guide health decisions on aging, mental health, reproductive health, information literacy, infectious disease, and other health issues via social media outlets.
About the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing’s mission is to cultivate collaborative nurse leaders promoting wellness and championing health equity in diverse local and global communities through excellence in education, research, scholarship, and advocacy. Its vision is to shape nurse leaders advancing health equity for a thriving, healthier world.
