This MIT AgeLab Aging & Equity talk featuring Dr. Carrie Henning-Smith will describe demographic and health trends for older adults in rural America. The presentation will also cover key strengths related to growing older in rural areas, as well as structural and policy opportunities to better support rural older adults.

Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, MPH, MSW is an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Co-Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, and Co-Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Program. She is President-Elect of the National Rural Health Association and serves on the Board of Directors for CentraCare, a large, integrated health system serving central Minnesota. Dr. Henning-Smith has published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, commentaries, book chapters, and policy briefs, and her work has been widely cited in federal and state policy documents, as well as in national and international media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, NBC News, AP, CBS, CNN, ProPublica, and Politico.

Dr. Henning-Smith’s work focuses on rural health, with particular attention to structural barriers to health and social well-being. She holds a BA in international relations and gender studies from Claremont McKenna College; master’s degrees in public health and social work, along with a certificate in gerontology from the University of Michigan; and a PhD in health services research with a minor in demography from the University of Minnesota.