College of Law, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
School of Social Work, Falk College, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA.
Gerontology. 2019;65(1):98-102. doi: 10.1159/000489883. Epub 2018 Jun 19.
Academics have long called for greater interaction between gerontologists and legal scholars. However, prior studies have suggested that disciplinary borders remain a barrier to such interaction, hampering gerontology's ability to function as a truly multi- or interdisciplinary field.
This study was designed to understand the nature of current interactions between legal scholars and gerontologists, and to identify opportunities to advance scientific dialogue and cooperation between the two.
Semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 27 participants (12 elder law scholars, 15 gerontologists) were conducted by phone, recorded, and analyzed by an interdisciplinary team.
Both elder law scholars and gerontologists indicate that their field would benefit from research collaboration and cross-disciplinary teaching with the other field, but the fields remain distinct with little cross-disciplinary learning. Participants identified a series of opportunities, however, for increasing such learning and collaboration.
The authors identify ways gerontologists can be encouraged to integrate elder law into their teaching and research, and suggest how this integration could enhance understanding of the aging experience.
学者们长期以来一直呼吁老年学家和法律学者之间加强互动。然而，先前的研究表明，学科界限仍然是这种互动的障碍，阻碍了老年学作为一个真正的多学科或跨学科领域发挥作用。
本研究旨在了解法律学者和老年学家之间当前互动的性质，并确定促进两者之间科学对话和合作的机会。
通过电话对 27 名参与者（12 名老年法学者，15 名老年学家）进行了半结构化、开放式访谈，由一个跨学科团队进行记录和分析。
老年法学者和老年学家都表示，他们的领域将受益于与对方领域的研究合作和跨学科教学，但两个领域仍然存在明显的区别，跨学科学习很少。然而，参与者确定了一系列增加这种学习和合作的机会。
作者确定了鼓励老年学家将老年法纳入其教学和研究的方法，并提出了这种整合如何增强对衰老体验的理解。
