School of Social Welfare PhD Student Explores Barriers to Health Care for Older Adults
ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 4, 2025) — University at Albany’s Yanjun Dong, a third-year PhD student at the School of Social Welfare in the College of Integrated Health Sciences, saw firsthand how her older family members struggled to navigate the health care system — including long wait times, prohibitive costs and difficulty understanding complex and technical information. These experiences deepened her interest in advocating for improved health care access and utilization for older adults, ultimately leading her to a focus on gerontology in social work.
"As social workers, we have a collective responsibility to care for older adults, recognizing their immense contributions to society," said Dong, who is a student researcher in UAlbany’s Center for Healthy Aging. "Ensuring they receive the care they need is not just a matter of health; it is a matter of dignity and respect."
Dong’s research focuses on identifying and addressing gaps in the healthcare system that prevent older adults from receiving proper care.
"The main goal is to make our system more equitable, inclusive and responsive to the needs of all older adults," said Dong, who, through volunteer work in emergency rooms and therapy centers in Albany and Los Angeles, has seen how access to services is not always equal and how these inequities can exacerbate health disparities for marginalized communities.
Dong explores how people use health care services as they age, taking into account factors like race, sex and income. Her findings, which are under review for publication, show that older adults who identify as Black, indigenous or as a person of color (BIPOC) tend to utilize health care services less, especially if they are living with a low income.
"Older adults from BIPOC communities, especially those with low incomes, might have difficulty getting prescription medications due to barriers like cost or access," Dong said. "In contrast, they may rely more on services like home health care, where a nurse or caregiver comes to their home to help with their health needs. This suggests that while they might be unable to access some types of care, like prescription drugs, they might use other services more frequently. This finding shows that older adults from different backgrounds may have different needs. Building upon my findings, we need to make sure everyone can get the care they need, no matter who they are or where they come from."
Last year, Dong presented at the Asian and Pacific Islander Social Workers Educators Association conference in Chengdu, China. She also won the student paper award at the 51st annual conference of the State Society on Aging of New York, where she shared her research on gender disparities in health care utilization among older adults. Her work in this area examines gender disparities in health care utilization and identifies factors that influence how older adults of different genders access and use health care services.
"Being able to contribute to initiatives that advance our understanding of aging and result in tangible improvements in health care access, social support and overall quality of life for older people is rewarding," Dong said. "I'm looking forward to the collaborations and innovations emerging from the Center for Healthy Aging, and I'm eager to see how our work can lead to real-world change, helping older adults lead healthier lives."
Dong was recently accepted into the Advanced Research Training in Social Determinants of Health Fellowship Program, offered by Emory University. The fellowship is a 12-month long research training program funded by the National Institutes of Nursing Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.
"During my fellowship, I plan to focus on examining healthcare disparities among older adults, specifically how environmental, socioeconomic and policy factors influence access to quality healthcare and health outcomes," said Dong. "My research will explore the intersection of social determinants of health, investigating how factors such as race, gender, income and education contribute to inequities in care, particularly for vulnerable populations.
"I am particularly excited about the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration between social work and nursing, as both fields offer complementary strengths — social work’s focus on addressing systemic barriers and connecting people to resources, and nursing’s expertise in implementing evidence-based health interventions. I look forward to learning from experienced nurse researchers to deepen my understanding of interdisciplinary, community-based health promotion programs."
Dong will continue her PhD work at UAlbany while undertaking fellowship activities beginning in June.