Spotlight: Cathleen Connell, PhD
By Jessica Ameling, '09
Cathleen Connell’s dog, Blue, is one busy canine. When he’s not taking daily walks with his owner, the poodle therapy dog is volunteering at the Turner Geriatric Clinic Silver Club by visiting older adults with memory loss.
“All of them are so appreciative of Blue,” said Dr. Connell, an HBHE professor. “All the issues that older adults are up to their eyeballs in melt away when a dog walks in the room.”
Using pets to help older adults with dementia is just one of Dr. Connell’s research interests. She has always had a love for pets and older people so connecting the two was a natural choice. She said the therapy works with older adults who had close relationships to past pets.
“It’s not really about Blue, it’s about the connection to past experiences,” she said.
Specifically her latest study looked at the benefit or burden of having a pet for caregivers of spouses with dementia. Because caring for someone is stressful enough, she wanted to see if caring for a pet in addition would just add to that. However, she found that for the majority of people it was wonderful to have a constant source of love and companionship from a pet.
Dr. Connell has been in the department since 1989. She has also been the director of the Education Core of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center since 1992. She earned her doctorate degree from The Pennsylvania State University’s College of Health and Human Development in the Human Development and Family Studies Program.
Her other areas of interest include family caregiving in Alzheimer's disease, the general public’s knowledge and attitudes about dementia, and the psychosocial context of diabetes among older adults. Dr. Connell is also in the midst of a new project about older adults and the decision to stop or reduce driving.
She said her most striking finding from recent research has been the attitudes toward getting a diagnosis for dementia. Despite the increased knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease, she found that people still view the symptoms as part of normal aging and don’t want to seek a diagnosis.
“That makes it essential that we do a better job of educating the public about the benefits of early diagnosis,” Dr. Connell said.
Dr. Connell teaches two classes on chronic illness intervention, HBHE 627 and 628. The first focuses on infancy to young adulthood and the second includes midlife to older adulthood. She also teaches Aging and Health Behavior, HBHE 630. Her favorite part of teaching is being inspired by people committed to making a difference.
“In that way public health students are so unique,” she said. “They’re all looking out for someone else. It’s just a joy to teach in this school for that reason.”
She hopes that students leave the University of Michigan with an appreciation that they can be in charge of their current and future education as opposed to absorbing facts and information.
Dr. Connell’s favorite thing about Ann Arbor is that everyone seems to care about everything so much, from food and culture to exercise and social justice.
And her favorite thing to do in Ann Arbor? Walk with Blue of course. Even the fierce winter months are no obstacle as Blue simply dons a coat and gets Paw Pro sprayed on his feet so snow can’t get between his toes.
Dr. Connell can be contacted at: cathleen@umich.edu.