Judith Kasper, an esteemed public health researcher and professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, died on August 4 at her home in the Bolton Hil neighborhood of Baltimore after suffering a heart attack. She was 72 years old.
A native of Dodge City Kansas, Professor Kasper was a graduate of the University of Kansas, where she majored in sociology and American studies. She held a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago.
Professor Kasper held positions at The National Center for Health Services Research (now called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), the Office of Research at the Health Care Financing Administration, and The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly People Living Alone. She also conducted research on behalf of The Kaiser Foundation.
Dr. Kasper joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1987 and was promoted to full professor in 1999. Professor Kasper was perhaps best known for a National Health and Aging Trends Study that conducts annual in-person interviews with 8,000 older Americans garnering data on late-life disability trends for use by researchers around the country. In 2011 she also launched a companion study, the National Study of Caregiving, which interviews families and friends who help older adults.