Joel Anderson, Immediate Past President
Joel Anderson PhD, CHTP, FGSA
Immediate Past President
Joel is an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, and a certificate in Advanced Clinical Dementia Practice from the University of Michigan. Joel completed a NIH-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in the conduct of clinical research at the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies at the University of Virginia.
Joel is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. He also is an active member of the International Dementia Scholars Collaborative and the International Family Nursing Association, as well as the Kappa Omicron Nu honor society and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the Tri-Services Nursing Research Program, and the Wellcome Trust. Joel is editor of the International Family Nursing Association blog, a member of the Communications Committees for both the International Family Nursing Association and the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence, and Secretary of the International Dementia Scholars Collaborative. He also is the President of Healing Beyond Borders, an international non-profit integrative health organization.
Joel’s research program focuses on non-pharmacological interventions for symptom management and caregiver support in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care. This focus includes an exploration of the psychosocial impacts of dementia caregiving in an effort to develop person- and family-centered intervention strategies to alleviate caregiver strain and improve quality of life. He is currently involved in several funded studies to examine family quality of life in dementia and to ascertain issues related to caregiving, including the use of social media as part of the family caregiving experience, as well as the unique needs of the LGBTQ caregiver population. Additionally, Joel collaborates with nursing researchers at the Inova Health System in Northern Virginia on several projects to improve patient-centered outcomes in the acute care setting.
He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in numerous academic journals, including Research in Gerontological Nursing, the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Brain Research, the Journal of Holistic Nursing, Holistic Nursing Practice, and the Journal of Family Nursing.
For over 15 years, Joel has been actively involved in efforts related to multicultural inclusion within academic institutions. As a doctoral student at UNCG, he was a member of the Provost’s Student Advisory Committee and the Inclusive Community Initiative Task Force of the Faculty Senate. While at UVA, Joel was a member of the School of Nursing Diversity Committee, a faculty member of the Compassionate Care Initiative, and a faculty ally of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence Achievement Initiative. He also served as member of the UVA Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Planning Committee for five years and co-chaired the UVA Health System MLK Sub-Committee. In 2016, Joel received the UVA Health System Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in recognition of his dedicated work related to diversity and inclusion. Since joining the faculty of the UTK College of Nursing, he has been part of the PhD Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to ensure that the College of Nursing Strategic Plan is culturally congruent and inclusive. Joel currently serves as a member of the UTK Faculty Senate, including the Faculty Senate Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and as co-chair of the Chancellor’s Commission for LGBT People.