The Center on Aging (COA)

Gartley Hall, Room 201 B and C
2430 Campus Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Web: manoa.hawaii.edu/aging

Faculty

J. P. Lewis, PhD, MSW—Director
T. Becker, PhD—Assistant Researcher
Joonyoung Cho—Assistant Professor
S. Gursimran, MPH—Junior Researcher
J. Lee, PhD—Assistant Researcher
C. Nishita—Gerontologist

The Center on Aging (COA) was established by the UH Board of Regents in July 1988. The mission of COA is to stimulate and coordinate gerontological activities at UH Mānoa, to recognize gerontology as an academic field at UH Mānoa, and to promote multidisciplinary collaboration between UH and other organizations in the aging network.

The center is involved in a number of research, education, and training projects, including age-friendly cities, age-friendly university, Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, cultural variations in caregiving, perceptions of chronic disease, Kūpuna care and wellbeing, healthy aging, the role of generativity in health promotion and disease prevention, intergenerational relationships, workforce development, and coordinating training and workshops in gerontology. The center also is involved in the application of data and health analytics, as well as the gerontological intersections of behavioral health, cultural and spiritual health, mental health, and substance use and misuse.

COA’s projects are conducted in collaboration with a number of UH Mānoa departments including the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, Pacific Health Informatics and Data Center, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Ha Kupuna National Resource Center, and the College of Social Sciences, as well as agencies such as the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (Executive Office on Aging, Behavioral Health Administration), Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi Medical Services Association, Kokua Mau, Department of Transportation, and Papa Ola Lokahi. COA is one of three units within the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, alongside the Department of Social Work, and the Department of Public Health Sciences.