SHAARP Lab Goes to Sweden (July 2016)
Several members of the SHAARP Lab have just returned from a two-week trip to Sweden. The trip was part of a class (HDFS 597 Aging in a Welfare State) led by Dr. Steve Zarit and Dr. Lesley Ross, as well as Dr. Beth Fauth and Dr. Sydney Schaefer from Utah State University. Students Ashley Stanford, Briana Sprague, HyeWon Chai, and Sara Freed joined students from Utah State as well as Swedish graduate students. Students learned about the Swedish welfare system through lectures at Jönköping University as well as visits to Swedish nursing homes, senior centers, preschools, and other human service providers. Students also had time to explore the cities of Jönköping, Huskvarna, and Stockholm during their stay.
The Sweden class has been offered nine times since 1995. The class has led to collaborative opportunities between students at Penn State and faculty members at Jönköping University. Several students in the past have used data from Jönköping University in their dissertations. Dr. Ross expects the trip to be offered again in summer of 2018.