Katarina F. Felsted, PhD

Dr. Katarina Friberg Felsted is an Associate Professor in the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah, and holds a PhD in Nursing Research as well as an MS in Gerontology.

Dr. Felsted is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Health-Kinesiology-Recreation in the College of Health at the University of Utah.

In 2020, Dr. Felsted was awarded the 2020 Gerontology Society of America’s Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education/ AARP Seed Grant to Support Age-Inclusive Principles on Campus, with Dr. Jackie Eaton, entitled, Have you heard of HB 60? Promoting Lifelong Learning for Older Adults through Higher Education.

In 2019, Dr. Felsted was awarded the Rising Star Early Career Faculty Award from the Gerontological Society of America's Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education. She was also named one of the Nursing Alumni Scholar '19 List of People Shaping the Nursing Profession by the College of Nursing Alumni Association and Jonas/Veteran Healthcare Scholars.

In 2018, Katarina was appointed the Faculty Fellow of the Utah Geriatric Education Network (UGEC), of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP).

As a gerontological researcher, Dr. Felsted's current research interest is the use of complementary and integrative therapies to treat chronic conditions in older adults. Her research focus is mindfulness-based stress reduction as a treatment for urinary urge incontinence in older adult women as well as a complement to physical rehabilitation of older adults in skilled nursing facilities.

Her book, co-authored with Dr. Scott Wright, Toward Post Ageing: Technology in an Ageing Society, was published by Springer. Katarina has published 18 articles in various scholarly and academic journals. She has presented over 45 times at national and international conferences as well as invited lectures and speeches.

Katarina teaches both core and elective gerontology undergraduate and graduate courses: Introduction to Aging; Health and Optimal Aging; Diversity in Aging; International Dimensions of Lifelong Learning; and Caregiving & Aging Families. Katarina has a strong commitment to excellence in teaching in higher education, and has earned her Higher Education Teaching Specialist designation through the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at the University of Utah.

Dr. Felsted currently serves on student supervisory committees and scholarly project committees for the GIP MS, College of Health MS, and Nursing DNP programs in chair, committee member, and content expert roles. She also serves as an honors undergraduate nursing student mentor. She serves on the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program Advisory Committee, the Career Line Formal Review Team, and is the co-founder and co-chair of the Wellness Committee in the College. She is a member of the Alpha Chi chapter of Sigma Phi Omega and the Gamma Rho chapter of Sigma Global Nursing Excellence.

At the university level she serves as the Wellness and Integrative Health Ambassador. She is a member of the Center on Aging, the University of Utah Academy of Health Science Educators, The Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention and Development, The Consortium for Families and Health Research, the Aging Population Project in the David Eccles School of Business.

Dr. Felsted serves on the Executive Board of the Utah Aging Alliance.

Internationally, she is the president of Sigma Phi Omega, the Academic Honor and Professional Society in Gerontology. She is a member of the Academic Consortium of Integrative Medicine and Health, the Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education, the Gerontological Society of America, and the Society for Behavioral Medicine.

Research Statement

As a researcher, I am currently interested in the potential impact of mindfulness based stress reduction for the management and treatment of urinary urge incontinence in older adults as well as for the enhancement of rehabilitation goals for older adults in skilled nursing facilities. My focus is on using complementary, integrative and alternative approaches to treat chronic conditions in older adults.

I am interested in the impact of gerontological education on students, on the community, and in the discipline itself. Further I am active in the Age Friendly Global Network and pursuing AFU designation for the University of Utah.

As a healthy aging educator, I seek to promote optimal aging across the life course. Aging does not need to be a time of decline but is often seen as such. I am committed to improving ageist attitudes and enabling others to age integratively, seeing aging as a time of growth.

Selected Publications