Research Summary
As a gerontological researcher I address chronic conditions through complementary/integrative therapies. I have examined mindfulness-based stress reduction as a treatment for urge urinary incontinence and to enhance LTC patient rehabilitation. I promote optimal aging and advance education in aging studies. I was awarded the 2020 Gerontology Society of America’s Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education/ AARP Seed Grant to Support Age-Inclusive Principles on Campus, with Dr. Jackie Eaton.
Education
- PhD, Nursing Research, Cancer, Aging, End of Life cohort, University of Utah. Project: Comparing mindfulness-based stress reduction with the health enhancement program in the treatment of urge urinary incontinence in older adult women: A pilot feasibility and randomized controlled trial.
- Higher Education Teaching Specialist, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, University of Utah
- Masters of Science, Gerontology, University of Utah. Project: An Integrated Wellness Program Designed for a Senior Living Community
- Bachelor of Arts, English Literature and Composition, Brigham Young University
Biography
Dr. Katarina Friberg-Felsted (she/her) is a Professor (Clinical) in, and the interim Assistant Dean of, the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program in the College of Nursing. Dr. Friberg-Felsted holds a PhD in Nursing Research as well as an MS in Gerontology. She is an adjunct professor in the Department of Health & Kinesiology in the College of Health. Dr. Friberg-Felsted is a Fellow in the Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education (international) and in the Academy of Health Science Educators (university), and a Distinguished Educator in the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (national). Dr. Friberg-Felsted holds the Higher Education Teaching Specialist (HETS) designation.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted oversees several hundred gerontology students in the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program and teaches three courses in the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program: Introduction to Aging, Health and Optimal Aging, and International Dimensions of Lifelong Learning. Each of these courses enrolls students from across campus; students range from freshmen to post-docs. Dr. Friberg-Felsted currently serves on student supervisory committees and scholarly project committees for the GIP MS programs – as well as in the College of Health MS program – in chair, committee member, and content expert roles. Dr. Friberg-Felsted has mapped several Master of Gerontology courses to the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) Gerontology Competencies for Undergraduate and Graduate Courses. She has also created two Caregiving modules for the NEPQR grant serving primary care nurses in the community.
As a gerontological researcher, Dr. Friberg-Felsted's scholarly emphases include Age-friendly University networks, the use of complementary and integrative therapies to treat chronic conditions in older adults, and the impact of gerontology in higher education.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted and Dr. Jackie Eaton pursued and received the University of Utah’s Age-Friendly University (AFU) designation the AFU Global Secretariat. Dr. Friberg-Felsted and colleagues were recently awarded one of two inaugural College of Nursing Excellence in Education (CON ExEd) grants to gauge age-friendliness in the College, create trainings, and apply for accreditation from the Academy in Gerontology Education Council (AGEC). Prior to this, Dr. Friberg-Felsted and Dr. Jackie Eaton (Co-PIs) received one of four national seed grants from the Gerontological Society of America’s Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education, funded by AARP, to promote age inclusivity on campus and in the community.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted’s research in complementary and integrative therapies has utilized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to treat urge urinary incontinence in community participants and to enhance physical rehabilitation goals of older adults in a skilled nursing facility. Dr. Friberg-Felsted co-founded the Gerontological Society of America’s Fitness Exercise and Wellness interest group.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted has published a book, several book chapters, and over 20 articles in various scholarly and academic journals. She has given over 50 presentations at national and international conferences as well as invited lectures and speeches. Dr. Friberg-Felsted guest lectures regarding optimal aging, mindfulness, wellness, and age-friendly ecosystems both locally and nationally. Dr. Friberg-Felsted serves on the editorial board of the international journal, Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, as well as the University of Utah’s health sciences journal, Rubor’s Voices from the Faculty. She also serves as a manuscript reviewer for dozens of inter/national journals.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted’s service spans across the College, university, and internationally. In the College, she chairs the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program Advisory Committee (GIPAC), is chair-elect of the Career Line – Faculty Reappointment and Advancement committee (CL-FRA) and serves on the Wellness Committee, which she co-founded. Dr. Friberg-Felsted serves on the University Interdisciplinary Teaching Program Committee (QUIDTP), is the Osher Center for Integrative Health Ambassador for the College, and serves on the University’s Faculty Club executive board. Dr. Friberg-Felsted is the faculty advisor for Alpha Chi, the university chapter of Sigma Phi Omega, the international academic honor and professional society in gerontology. She is founding the University of Utah chapter for the Gerontological Society of America’s Student Chapter pilot program as a result of serving on the GSA Student Chapter Ad Hoc Committee.
Dr. Friberg-Felsted also volunteers her time at Salt Lake County Aging, the Geraldine E. King Women’s Resource Center, and the Utah Food Bank.
Career Highlights
Dr. Felsted has received several internal grants to study mindfulness in older adults, in incontinence and physical rehabilitiation populations.
In the past five years, Katarina has been named a:
- Utah Geriatric Education Consortium Faculty Fellow
- Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing Interprofessional Summer Research Scholar
- Center for Families and Health Research Fellow
- Noorda-Hartford Fellow
- Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar
- Marriner S. Eccles Graduate Fellow
Dr. Felsted has published 19 articles in various peer-reviewed academic journals as well as in other forms of publications. In November of 2014, Springer Verlag published her first book, Toward Post Ageing, co-authored with Dr. Scott Wright. She has given over 50 presentations at national and international conferences as well as invited lectures and speeches.
During her doctoral work she received the Outstanding PhD Student and the Outstanding Dissertation awards consecutively.
Dr. Katarina Friberg Felsted was appointed as the director of the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program in June of 2012. She collaborated with her colleagues and tripled the number of incoming MS students by the next fall.
Dr. Felsted worked diligently to bring a Minor to the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program and this went through the entire process, including approval by the Board of Regents, and was put into place by Fall 2013.