Event Description
Dr. Thalia Porteny is a health policy scholar and applied ethicist whose interests are motivated by the needs she saw
growing up in Mexico and working in the Mexican Ministry of Health. Her work
aims to better understand the health needs and experiences of vulnerable
populations, primarily older adult migrants, to advance fairer patient
treatment, allocation, and access to health resources.
As the proportion of minoritized older adults in the U.S. grows, the need
for culturally tailored, scalable interventions to prevent disability and
improve mental health becomes increasingly urgent.
The Positive Minds–Strong
Bodies (PMSB) program, an evidence-based intervention, was designed to address
these disparities by integrating mental health and physical strengthening
components through community-based organizations (CBOs).
Dr. Porteny's presentation synthesizes findings from two recent studies examining PMSB’s implementation
and scalability. Findings emphasize the importance of adapting research
methodologies to better serve minoritized older adults while ensuring program
sustainability and effectiveness, but these trade-offs must be further
discussed and assessed.
Dr. Porteny is
a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman
School of Public Health. She earned
her PhD and master's degree in health policy and ethics at Harvard University.
She then completed her postdoc training at the lab for Research on Ethics Aging
and Community Health (REACH Lab) at Tufts University.
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