Reducing Physical and Mental Health Disparities Among Aging Adults

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Published:
May 4, 2023
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Meet Janiece Taylor, MSN 2009 and PHD 2014, a two-time graduate of the UT Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Taylor is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing where she is continuing her work in the areas of pain and women’s health, and aging and disability research.

Dr. Taylor’s interest in nursing and research started at a young age. “As a child, I did not understand the implications of living with chronic pain and coexisting depressive symptoms. My early life experiences motivated me to make a difference and I started a career in nursing at a long-term care facility. At this facility, the majority of my patients were low-income older minorities with pain, depressive symptoms and very little, if any, communication with their primary health care providers.”

Although she knew she was making a difference in the individual lives of her patients, Dr. Taylor was committed to making a difference in her community by advancing science to reduce health disparities among minority elders. While obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at New Mexico State University, she attended the ‘Southwest Center: Partners in Health Disparity Research’ summer research internship which exposed her to nursing research. “I understood that, through research, I could impact whole communities of older adults from underrepresented backgrounds! Once I graduated with my BSN, I went on to obtain my Master of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing while working toward my Ph.D.”

Dr. Taylor’s dissertation “Predictors of Pain among Middle-Aged and Older African American women with Osteoarthritis” continued to foster her interest and passion for pain and mental health research. She went on to complete the Interdisciplinary Fellowship Training Program in Biobehavioral Pain at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2016. Soon after, Dr. Taylor was selected as the first nurse for the Robert Wood Johnson Harold Amos Medical Faculty Program, inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nurses and, more recently, was selected to receive a professorship for rising faculty in the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing!

“I have been fortunate to have over 13 years of clinical experiences in long-term care, mental health and women’s health. My background, in addition to my diverse research experiences, have provided a strong foundation for me to continue striving toward improving disparities in pain outcomes among older adults and adults with disabilities. I have been blessed to have had extraordinary mentors every step of the way. I’ve stood on the shoulders of giants who did not expect me to simply follow in their footsteps, but to create my own!”

We honor Dr. Taylor for her dedication to improving quality of life among aging adults from underrepresented backgrounds, and for her contributions to the nursing profession as an educator and catalyst for change.