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Marla Berg-Weger, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Professor Emeritus of Social Work; Social Work
College for Public Health and Social Justice

Executive Director
Gateway Geriatric Education Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Courses Taught

Introduction to Social Work and Interprofessional Geriatrics

Education

Ph.D., Washington University
M.S.W., University of Kansas
B.S.W., Kansas State University

Research Interests

non-pharmacologic interventions for older adults, particularly those with cognitive impairment; loneliness and social isolation among older adults; family caregiving; geriatric workforce

Publications and Media Placements

  1. Lach, H., Little, M.O., Berg-Weger, M., & Zubatsky, M. (2020, in press). Interprofessional Competencies of Students Participating in a Geriatric Case Competition. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. 

  2. Berg-Weger, M. & Schroepfer, T. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: Workforce implications for gerontological social work. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2020.1772934. 

  3. Sanford, A.M., Morley, J.E. Berg-Weger, M., Lundy, J. Little, M.O., Leonard, K., & Malmstrom, T.K. (2020). High Prevalence of geriatric syndromes in older adults. PLOsONE, 15(6): e233857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233857 

  4. Zubatsky, J.M, Berg-Weger, M., & Morley, J.E. (2020). Using telehealth groups to combat loneliness in older adults through COVID-19. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. DOI:10.1111/jgs.16553. 

  5. Berg-Weger, M. & Morley, J.E. (2020). Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Gerontological Social Work. Journal of Nutrition, Health, & Aging, 24. 

  6. Berg-Weger, M. & Morley, J.E. (2020). Loneliness in old age: An unaddressed health problem. Journal of Nutrition, Health, & Aging, 24(3), 243-245. doi: 10.1007/s12603-020-1323-6. 

  7. Schroepfer, T., Berg-Weger, M., & Morano, C. (2020). Training the next generation of gerontological social work scholars. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 62(8), 823-827. 

  8. Khoo, Y.M., Wallace, C., & Berg-Weger, M. (2019). Geriatric Case Management. In : Gu D., Dupre M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. 

  9. Berg-Weger M. & Khoo Y.M. (2019) Community Health for Older Adults. In: Gu D., Dupre M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham 

  10. Ratnapradipa, K.L., Wang, J., Berg-Weger, M., & Schootman, M. (2019). Effects of older adult driving resumption on all-cause mortality. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbz058, https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz058 

  11. Sanford, A.M., Berg-Weger, M., Lundy, J., & Morley, J.E. (2019). Aging friendly health systems. Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging, 23(2), 119-121. 

  12. Hash, K.M., Berg-Weger, M., Stewart, D.B. & Elliott, D.P. (2019). Social work’s participation in the Geriatric Education Centers (GECs): A brief report. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 38(3), 406-411 (on-line 12/1/16); doi.org/10.1177/0733464816681151 

  13. Ratnapradipa, K.L., Wang, J., Berg-Weger, M., Schootman, M. (2018). Coming out of retirement – the extent of driving resumption among older drivers. Innovation in Aging, 2 (3), 1–10.

Chapters/Units

Boisert, D., Zubatsky, M., & Berg-Weger, M. (2020, in press). Caring for the Caregiver. Pathy’s Principles and Practice of Geriatric Medicine.


Media

  • 2020 Written testimony provided to the Senate Sub-Committee on Labor on Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program Funding
  • 2020 Supporting Older Adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, Interviews with KWEM (NPR), Healthy U Radio, and Kirksville Express
  • 2019 Federal government taps Saint Louis U. to improve care for Missouri's older adults, EurekAlert!, phys.org, scienmag.com, Newswise, St. Louis Business Journal, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • 2018 Keeping Older Adults Safe in Heat Waves, NPR

Honors and Awards

  • 2020 Memory Care Home Solutions Innovation and Vision Mission Champion Award
  • 2019 Faculty Leadership Award, Association of Gerontological Education in Social Work
  • 2019 Mentor Recognition, Council on Social Work Education Women’s Council
  • 2019 Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Award for Excellence in Service to Older Adults, Washington University

Professional Organizations and Associations

  • Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work, co-coordinator of the Pre-Dissertation Fellow Initiative
  • Gerontological Society of America - chair, Social Research and Policy Practice
  • National Association of Geriatric Education- President-Elect

Editorial Boards:

  • 2009-2019 Journal of Gerontological Social Work
  • 2018- Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
  • 2018- Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging

Community Work and Service

Berg-Weger is co-project director of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program with John Morley of Saint Louis University's School of Medicine Geriatrics Division. It is a three-year project to provide geriatric education to students and community practitioners.

Community partners include: SSM Healthcare, St. Louis Alzheimer's Association, Northside Youth and Senior Services, Myrtle Hilliard David Health Center, St. Louis County Health Department, Perry County Memorial Hospital, and A.T. Still University (Kirksville, MO) and Missouri Area Health Education Centers.