Division of Gerontology Research

Mission | Research Results | Employment | Members

Mission

The mission of the Division of Gerontology Research (DGR) lies in the promotion of successful aging for the elderly in Taiwan through a wide spectrum of gerontological researches based on various scientific models. DGR works toward this mission specifically by:

• Designing and conducting a series of research programs exploring the issue of aging from multidisciplinary aspects, including: molecular, genetic, celluar, clinical, and social-econimic studies;
• Developing and implementing a geriatric subspecialist training program for sustainable promotion of elderly care and geriatric research in Taiwan;
• Integrating all geriatric/gerontological resources and reseach results for continual improvement of quality of life for the elderly.

Research Results

The NHRI Geriatrics Fellowship Training Program marks Taiwan's first orthodox and comprehensive training for clinical geriatricians. In spite of the absence of precedent and rarity of qualified geriatric faculty, the training program proved to be a pioneering success thanks to the joint efforts of National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taipei College of Nursing, and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Generous support from the Department of Geriatrics Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center formed another driving force to help this ground-breaking program proudly train 15 geriatricians in two terms and achieved the following goals much needed to facilitate the ongoing development of geriatrics and eldercare in Taiwan:

• Promoting medical schools to open gerontology and geriatrics-related courses and set up allied research institutes;
• Expediting the establishment of geriatric division in either Department of Internal Medicine or Department of Family Medicine in local medical centers;
• Triggering the continuing implementation of similar training programs for geriatric sub-specialists and eldercare professionals;
• Collaborating with the Gerontology Society of Taiwan to plan the core curriculum for continuing education for GST members.