Our Precision Health member of the month, featured in this Member Spotlight, is Jennifer Blackwood, PT, PhD. Dr. Blackwood is a Professor of Physical Therapy at U-M Flint.

Her clinical and research interests include the relationships between cognitive function and falls in older adults with cognitive loss, from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s disease; falls risk assessment, incidence, assessment, and prevention in older cancer survivors; and population- and age-related changes in balance function in older adults. Let’s hear more from Dr. Blackwood:

• Tell us a bit more about the details of your current research/projects

My research examines the internal and external factors that influence falls and mobility impairment in older adults, especially those with early cognitive loss. Currently, I am working on two projects to address that: I am a part of a team that is developing a Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Falls in older adults.

• What is innovative/new/exciting about these projects?

Assessing neighborhood walkability, and not just ADA accessibility, is a new perspective for health care practitioners, like Physical Therapists, to consider how the built environment either helps or hinders engagement in outdoor physical activities. PTs are typically trained on the ADA requirements for accessibility, but considering community design as a part of their role in transforming society is a new way of thinking.

• What is the anticipated outcome of this research?

When clinicians, like Physical Therapists, prescribe outdoor physical activity (walking) our hope is that they would also consider assessing how neighborhood walkability may contribute to engagement in outdoor physical activity.

• How it will benefit patients and clinicians?

Understanding how the built environment promotes activity will improve overall precision of exercise prescription.

• How is Precision Health is supporting this research?

Initial work has been done to assess the PH variables that assist with addressing this research area. A lot more work is to be done!

• What are your research interests, broadly?

Examining how cognitive function is associated with physical mobility in older adults, specifically those with a history of cancer or those with early cognitive declines.

• How does your work apply to the field of precision health?

Specific measures used in the PH data can be employed at intake to guide exercise or physical activity prescription during treatment.

• What do you like to do when you aren’t doing research?

Hang out with my family, hike, camp, read, run, kayak, spend time with friends.