Cynthia S. Jacelon

Certified in gerontological and rehabilitation nursing, Cynthia Jacelon, PhD RN-BC CRRN FAAN, is a rehabilitation clinical nurse specialist focused on promoting function in older individuals. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America. She has held many leadership roles within the profession, including serving as the president of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses. In the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, Jacelon has served as director of the PhD program, associate dean for academic affairs, interim dean, executive associate dean, associate dean for research, and acting co-director of the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation.

In addition to more than 40 years of nursing practice with older adults and teaching nursing students, Jacelon’s area of research and expertise is promoting dignity, function, self-management of chronic health problems, and independence in older adults. In her research, she has explored the role of older individuals in affecting the outcomes of their hospitalization, the processes used by community-dwelling elders to manage chronic health problems, the meaning of dignity, and the role of smart environments in promoting older individuals’ independence. 

Jacelon’s work on the concept of dignity is internationally recognized. Her instrument to measure dignity, the Jacelon Attributed Dignity Scale (JADS), has been used in several places around the globe. She was the principal investigator of the NIH-funded UManage Center for Building the Science of Symptom Self-Management (P20NR016599). Her current work is focused on using a wearable device for sleep self-management for older couples or individuals with mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers.