Welcome to the Aging/Gerontology RIIG

The Aging/Gerontology Research Interest and Implementation Group (RIIG) is committed to facilitating the advancement of research for the care of older individuals. We recognize the importance of the nurse scientist’s role in providing older adults with high quality care through knowledge gained by research. More and more people are living longer, resulting in an unprecedented increase in the population of older adults in the United States and throughout the industrialized world. As the numbers of aged increase, so does the need for new and innovative approaches to guide and promote the care of healthy, chronically ill, and frail older people. We provide a forum for nurses and other healthcare providers interested in networking in the Southern Region of the U.S. to meet and connect, share information, promote best practices, identify nursing leadership, and link these together to build capacity for advancing the care of older adults.

Chair: Eunice Ojo, DNP, RN, CV-BC, PCCN
Graduate Teaching Assistant - University of Central Florida
Dr. Eunice Ojo is a Ph.D. nursing student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, Florida. Her research interest is focused on technology-based fall risk assessment, prevention, and health disparities among older adults. As a young researcher who desires to advance in nursing research, Dr. Ojo was awarded the McKnight Doctoral Fellowship in July 2022 for the Ph.D. program. In pursuit of her dream, which she has nurtured since growing up in high school, she received a grant award from Theta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International to conduct a study on Technology-based fall risk assessments among older adults with Alzheimer’s disease” in her first year of the Ph.D. program. Dr. Ojo has demonstrated her passion for research in fall prevention for older adults and health disparities through several presentations at local, national, and international conferences and published papers on gerontology in peer-reviewed journals. Through research, she has contributed significantly to improving the recruitment of older adults for research, the experiences of older adults with technology in fall prevention programs, and nurse-led fall prevention programs for older adults. Dr. Ojo chairs the Aging/ Gerontology Research Interests and Implementation Group (RIIG) of the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS). She also leads health-centered initiatives that educate and encourage the community to maintain healthy living, improve quality of life, and move toward a brighter future.

Co-Chair: Jyotsana Parajuli, PhD, MGS, RN
Assistant Professor
Dr. Parajuli is an assistant professor at the School of Nursing and an affiliate faculty member in the Gerontology Program at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina. Her research focuses on reducing existing barriers and improving palliative care utilization among older adults with cancer and their family caregivers. She recently received two grant funding to support her research: a) an R15 grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) – this study will focus on the development and validation of a palliative care readiness tool for older adults with cancer and b) Sigma/Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation End of Life Nursing Care Research Grant which will focus on creating the tool for family caregivers of older adults with cancer. The palliative care readiness tool would allow clinicians to assess patients’ and families’ readiness for palliative care and provide targeted palliative care that is congruent with their readiness. Eventually, this would improve the early utilization of palliative care in this population. Her research has great potential to shift the paradigm in the field of geriatric oncology and palliative care and make a difference in the lives of older adults with cancer and their family caregivers.

Co-Chair: Nisha Mathews, Ph.D., RN
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Dr. Nisha Mathews is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Houston- Clear Lake, Texas, where she teaches Nursing Education and Leadership, M.S.N. program, and RN to BSN program. She has been selected as a professional member of the National Academies of Practice, 2025. The immediate past chair of the Research/ Grants Committee of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America (2023-2024), Dr. Mathews, currently serves as the chair of the Editorial Committee of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America. Dr. Mathews is a Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society of Nursing Academic Leadership Academy Scholar. Dr. Mathews is the recipient of the 2024 Sigma Theta Tau International /American Nurses Credentialing Center Evidence-Based Practice Implementation Grant. Dr. Mathews is one of the grant recipients and champions of ANA/CDC Project Firstline: American Nurses Association Infection Prevention and Control Content Dissemination Funding Opportunity.

RIIG Awards and Eligibility Criteria

The overall purposes of the Aging/Gerontology Research Interest and Implementation Group (RIIG) awards are to recognize excellence in gerontological nursing research and to provide recognition for the work performed by our RIIG members. We encourage those who meet the criteria (following) to apply by sending your CV, and a letter of nomination to the Aging/Gerontology RIIG Chair and Co-Chair at least one month before the SNRS annual conference.

Criteria for Evaluating Applications:
• Progression in their program (publications, presentations, completed pilot work, success in receiving funding).
• The theoretical underpinnings and methodology used to examine the problem addressed in this study, including: Innovativeness of the methodology or theoretical approach.
• Potential for establishing a program of research in gerontological science.
• The potential impact of the program of research for understanding a clinical problem.

1. Rising Investigator Award
Purpose: The purpose of this award is to recognize the contribution of a rising investigator who has conducted gerontological nursing research that has the potential to enhance the science and practice of gerontological nursing.

2. Excellence in Geriatric Nursing Research Mid-Career Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize the contribution of a mid-career investigator who has conducted gerontological nursing research that enhances the science and practice of gerontological nursing

3. Distinguished Dissertation Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize the contribution of a rising student-investigator who is conducting a dissertation in the area of gerontological nursing research that has the potential to enhance the science and practice of gerontological nursing.

We offer networking opportunities, peer support, and inspiration to others interested in this area of work and research. We encourage all members to participate. We welcome all interested parties in our area of work–researchers, clinicians, academicians, and students to our RIIG. If you have questions about signing up for a RIIG, please email info@snrs.org.