Adriana Perez, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN
Nurses are uniquely qualified to teach community members about how to live healthy lives, including by promoting health insurance literacy.
Dr. Perez is working with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to teach multicultural families, particularly Latinos, about concepts such as premiums and co-payments, and the benefits of health insurance, so they can select health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace and use it to stay healthy and save money.
Many Latinos don’t know, for example, that health insurance provides free preventive services, or that federal subsidies are available to help them buy health insurance through the marketplace. Dr. Perez and her colleagues are also educating seniors about the free annual wellness visit and preventive services now available through Medicare, as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
“I’m very interested in the power of older adults, especially Latinas, to influence and advance the health of their families across generations.”
Education
- PhD, Arizona State University, 2009
- MS, Arizona State University, 2004
- BS, Arizona State University, 2000
Research
This work is 1 of 13 projects funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Partnerships to Increase Coverage in Communities initiative. Dr. Perez is the principal investigator of the project, which started in Arizona. Now, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses has trained about 100 nurses to lead community workshops in 15 states with large Latino and uninsured populations. The project, which also helps participating nurses develop their leadership skills, has reached more than 6,000 families.
Active Living in Hispanic Communities
The health insurance literacy project builds on Dr. Perez’s work as a Congressional Health and Aging Policy Fellow, funded by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Healthy Aging Program, in partnership with the Atlantic Philanthropies. Latino residents in Phoenix’s Central City South community participated in interactive workshops to identify their environmental and policy priorities for active living and created their ideal community. Grandparents talked about a future where their grandchildren could play safely, ride their bikes, walk to school, and sow their own backyard gardens. They spoke about the legacy they could leave behind.
Dr. Perez facilitated the process and developed a documentary that she shared with city planners and local policymakers. To continue this work, community members and organizations created the Moving Communities Coalition.
Opportunities to Learn and Collaborate at Penn Nursing
Dr. Perez moved from Arizona to Philadelphia to join the Penn Nursing faculty in 2015. At Penn, she has the opportunity to strengthen her work so that it has a greater impact and is more sustainable across diverse communities. She is partnering with a pediatric nurse practitioner to develop an inter-generational physical activity program for seniors and their grandchildren.
Working with faculty who are top leaders in nursing and are driving changes in health care delivery, transitions in care, and healthcare for older adults is exciting for Dr. Perez. Penn Nursing equips students with the knowledge, expertise, and experience to be leaders where they work and live. She is energized by Penn Nursing students, and enjoys teaching and mentoring them.
Selected Career Highlights
- Principal investigator, funded by NIH/National Institute on Aging regarding A Physical Activity Intervention to Promote Cognitive Health, Cardiovascular Health and Sleep in Older Latinos
- Helped launch the National Association of Hispanic Nurses’ Check for Life program in Arizona, in which nurses trained stylists at barbershops and salons that cater to Latino clients to perform blood pressure screenings and simple heart health messages, during appointments
- Chair-Elect, American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel on Aging
- Winner, Leadership in Action Award – Arizona Action Coalition
Selected Publications
Mason, J., Dickson, E.L., McLemore, M.R., & Perez, G.A. (2020). Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 8th Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences. St. Louis, MO.
Perez, G.A. (2020). Chapter 20: The National Association of Hispanic Nurses Educating Multicultural Communities on the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act. Elsevier Health Sciences. St. Louis, MO.
*Perez, A. G. (2019). Culturally Adapting A Timed Activity Intervention for Older Latinos With Dementia and Their Caregivers. Innovation in Aging, 3(Suppl 1), S28-S28.
Perez, G.A., Mertz, L., & Brassard, A. (2019). A literature scan and framework of a diverse nursing workforce and its effect on the social determinants of health. Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action at the Center to Champion Nursing in America. Washington, DC.
Perez, G.A., Ackerman-Barger, K., Eddie, R., Nichols, B., Gualtieri, C., & Cooper, C. (2019). Building Coalitions to Promote Health Equity: A Toolkit for Action. Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action at the Center to Champion Nursing in America. Washington, DC.
*Perez, A. (2018). Physical Activity and Sleep in Older Latinos With Mild Cognitive Impairment. Innovation in Aging, 2(Suppl 1), 974.
*Brody, A.A., Bryant, A.L., Perez, G.A., & Bailey, D.E. (2018). Best practices and inclusion of team science principles in appointment promotion and tenure documents in research intensive schools of nursing. Nursing Outlook.
*Schroeder, K., McCormick, R., Perez, A., & Lipman, T. H. (2018). The role and impact of community health workers in childhood obesity interventions: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Obesity Reviews, 19(10), 1371-1384.
*Perez, A., & Fleury, J. (2018). Using a cultural framework to assess motivation for physical activity among older Hispanic women: application of the PEN-3 Model. Family & community health, 41(1), 10-17.
*Perez, G. A., Mason, D. J., Harden, J. T., & Cortes, T. A. (2018). The growth and development of gerontological nurse leaders in policy. Nursing Outlook, 66(2), 168-179.
Related News
-
Adriana Perez and team awarded 4-year NIA grant
The new study addresses the National Institute on Aging’s strategic goals by testing a multilevel intervention, “Tiempo Juntos para la Salud,” (Time Together for Health) designed to promote moderate-intensity physical activity; theoretically grounded mediators; and secondary outcomes of cardiovascular health, sleep and cognitive function at 3- , 6- , and 12-months, among 216 Spanish language-dominant Latinos aged 55 and older with MCI [Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score ≥ 23 to 26 for Latino populations]. This study is timely given the increasing rates of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) among Latinos.
-
Luz Elena Pérez Méndez, Nu’22
“I was volunteering in a small rural clinic in the outskirts of Volcán Tajumulco in Tejutla, Guatemala—the village where my parents are from—and witnessed a live birth for the first time. I cried, of course. This single moment allowed me to realize the beauty of life and the incredible process of bringing another life into this world.”
-
Alaina Hall, BSN, Nu’18,
In just the first two years, my nursing career has taken me on a journey I could have never imagined. After graduating from Penn in 2018, I spent a year in Mexico with the President’s Engagement Prize, working to prevent infectious diseases in children.