This year’s conference of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
was set amongst the steep hills and rolling fog of San Francisco. The
conference was a great experience packed full with a series of quality
presentations, keynote speakers, opportunities to network with
gerontologists from across the world, and plenty of exercise climbing
those steep hills! The UK was as usual represented by a strong group of
gerontologists from various universities with poster and paper
presentations. Five gerontologists from the University of Reading
ventured out to the conference and here we provide a brief joint report
of the experience.
The first thing that is striking about the GSA
conference is its scale. The conference ran across five days, with an
abstract book the size of a thesis (860 pages). Just sifting through the
presentation titles and abstracts took almost two hours. The
presentations covered all the major issues, so it was great to get
insight into a variety of current international research in a range of
different topics. There was an impressive organisation and structure to
the parallel presentations, with most sessions conducted as symposiums
and poster sessions arranged according to topic. The exhibition hall was
well organised with interesting exhibitions from a variety of
Publishers, Universities and Industry.
The two plenary sessions focused on current issues in ageing research
and were very engaging. Robert Butler, the President and CEO of the
International Longevity Center-USA, opened with an address on the
subject of "The Seven Continents: Preparing for Longevity and the
Triumph of Survival". Robert gave an overview of ageing across the
world, including some amazing pictures of older people from different
countries. Eric Dishman, General Manager and Global Director of Intel’s
Health Research and Innovation Group, closed the conference with an
address on the subject of "Technology and Transformation: Addressing the
Global Age Wave". Eric has used an ethnographical approach to study
people within their own homes and identify potential for technology to
enhance quality of life. He provided fascinating examples of how
technological initiatives can assist older people to maintain social
contact, facilitate self-management of health, and prevent falls.
Whilst the GSA is an American conference, there was
an international feel with several colleagues across Europe, and from
further, in attendance. The British Society of Gerontology hosted an
evening gathering on the Sunday night and it was good to see a number of
our BSG colleagues presenting interesting papers and posters at the
conference.
The GSA was held at the Hilton San Francisco, an international
conference centre that is well-equipped to host a conference of this
magnitude. Along with an array of conference rooms - the largest of
which is almost 30,000 square feet, and 1,908 rooms for lodging, the
hotel is easy to get to being in the centre of the city. For breakfast
you can dine at the Cityscape restaurant located on the 46th floor that
boasts a 360 degree view of the city.
San Francisco itself is a great, albeit very hilly (!) place to
visit. Being the 14th most densely populated city in the USA, it is a
busy cosmopolitan mix with people in fortitude and those who find
themselves on the streets.
Attending the GSA was a great experience and many
from outside of America regularly attend this conference. We would
encourage BSG members who get the chance to attend the next GSA
conference at the Gaylord - National Harbor, Maryland, 21-25 November
2008.
Correspondence
Samuel R Nyman, Research associate, Institute of Health Sciences, University of Reading. Email: s.r.nyman@reading.ac.uk
Veronika Williams, Research fellow, School of Health and Social Care, University of Reading. Email: v.m.williams@reading.ac.uk