Gerontology Commons^™

Living Below The Line: Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Economic Security Among Older Americans, 2020, Jan Mutchler, Nidya Velasco Roldán, Yang Li

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

New estimates from the 2019 Elder Index^TM highlight the risk of economic insecurity experienced by older adults, a risk that is especially high for persons of color. The Gerontology Institute compares the household incomes for adults age 65 and above living in one- and two-person households to the 2019 Elder Index for each state and Washington, DC to calculate Elder Economic Insecurity Rates (EEIRs), the percentage of independent older adults age 65 or older living in households with annual incomes that do not support economic security. National averages suggest that among people living alone, 48% of older people who …

Investigating A Multimodal Approach To Clinical Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment And Alzheimer’S Disease, Sean M. Flannery

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

An estimated 5.8 million Americans suffer from dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with that number projected to grow to 13.8 million by mid-century (Alzheimer’s Association, 2019). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) describes the stage between normal cognitive decline that comes with aging and a dementia diagnosis (Peterson, 1999). Due to a lack of a cure or particularly effective treatment, a major goal of treatment is to focus on improving quality of life (Budson & Solomon, 2016). An early and accurate diagnosis can address this goal in a variety of ways. Despite the high prevalence and immense amount of research in …

Attitudes, Behaviours, And The Well-Being Of Older Singaporeans In The Time Of Covid-19: Perspectives From The Singapore Life Panel, Paulin T. Straughan, William Tov, Seonghoon Kim, Terence Cheng, Stephen Hoskins, Micah Tan

ROSA Research Briefs

COVID-19 has affected all Singaporeans, regardless of age and socioeconomic status (SES). Many measures have been implemented by the government to control the spread of this disease, including restrictions on social gatherings, restrictions on overseas travel, and making it compulsory to wear a mask. Measures have also included a partial lockdown – known as the ‘circuit breaker’ – which began in April 2020. This forced Singaporeans to quickly adapt to a new normal with some doing better than others. This research brief provides an overview of how COVID-19 and its related measures have affected seniors in Singapore using data from …

Measuring The Impact Of Covid-19 On Older Adults In Massachusetts, Ceara Somerville, Jan Mutchler, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

The spread of COVID-19 across the United States has affected every facet of life since early 2020. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are currently over 4 million cases across the nation and over 146,000 deaths from the virus. Massachusetts has been one of the states hit hardest, with over 100,000 confirmed cases and more than 8,000 deaths to date. The Commonwealth currently trails only New York and New Jersey in number of deaths. While cases surge around the country, Massachusetts has seen some leveling out of positive cases since the beginning of July. Though …

Aging-In-Place Organizations Are Key To Building Disaster Resilience For Older Adults, Claire Pendergrast

Population Health Research Brief Series

COVID-19 has tragically demonstrated the serious threat that pandemics and other disasters pose to older adults’ health, safety, and well-being. What role can senior centers and senior villages play in protecting older adults’ health and building their resilience during COVID-19 and other disasters?

Aging In The City Of Attleboro: A Community Needs Assessment, Caitlin Coyle, Mary Krebs

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Attleboro Council on Aging. The goals of this project were to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Attleboro’s residents age 60 or older. The contents of this report are meant to inform the City of Attleboro, the Attleboro Council on Aging and Senior Center, and organizations that work with and on behalf of older residents of Attleboro for the purposes of planning and coordination of services. The report will …

An Assessment Of Veteran’S Services In The Town Of Natick, Ma, Caitlin Coyle, Thomas Kane

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

UMass Boston’s Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, and the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences agreed to assist the Council on Aging and the Veterans Service Office for the Town of Natick to assess the current situation, services, and current and future needs of veterans and their families. This study includes identifying the priority veteran service needs and addressing the challenges to find effective ways to reach more Natick veterans of different eras and sociodemographic backgrounds so they can access needed and desired services, programs, and activities.

Age-Friendly Chelmsford: A Livable Community For All Ages, Chelmsford Age-Friendly Action Plan, Jan Mutchler, Beth Rouleau, Ceara Somerville, Rebecca Mailman

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Demographic patterns in Chelmsford indicate that the community will include more older residents moving forward. Projections suggest that by 2030, more than one out of three Chelmsford residents will be age 60 or older. Older residents represent an asset to the community and frequently take on disproportionate commitments to volunteer and civic engagements; capacity to take on these valued activities may be strengthened as the older population expands in number. At the same time, preparing for its aging population offers the opportunity for Chelmsford to re-evaluate its services, systems, and environmental features to ensure that they align with the needs …

Town Of Needham: Center At The Heights Planning Study, Caitlin Coyle

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD), on behalf of the Town of Needham’s Department of Health & Human Services. The purpose of this study is to identify the aspects of the programming and environment that can be adjusted to ensure that, according to the Mission of the Needham Council on Aging, a “welcoming, inclusive, and secure” environment is maintained for Needham residents.

This study was conducted over the course of 10 weeks (April …

“A Lot Of Stories In My Mind”: Perspectives Of Children And Elders Living With Dementia On Intergenerational Collaboration In A Participatory Music Project, Cameron Dusman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Trends of music engagement include a shift towards presentational music culture, as well as inequitable access to participatory music-making for some populations. Meanwhile, trends of societal engagement include ageism and age-segregation. Especially for people living with dementia, stigma often prevents equitable access to creative participatory arts. This convergent, mixed-methods case study design explored participation in an intergenerational, participatory creative arts project. Participants included children from an elementary school and senior adults with dementia in a memory care neighborhood. The purpose was to explore the meaning of participation and interaction in the project from participants’ perspectives. Participants collaborated in eight sessions …

Implementation Of Post Falls Huddles In Skilled Nursing Facility, Princess Lomax

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the quality improvement project, implementation of the post fall huddle in a long-term care facility. Falls are the most common problem in adults 65 years and older. Falls in this population can have devastating effects, often leading to significant changes in morbidity or death. Adults in long term care settings have an increased risk of falling and having a subsequent fall due to an acute illness, weakness, or confusion (CDC, 2015). At the skilled facility, there has been a significant increase in hospitalizations due to injuries sustained from falls. To address this …

Mitigating The Impact Of The Covid-19 Outbreak: A Review Of International Measures To Support Community-Based Care, Walter D. Dawson, Elizabeth C. Ashcroft, Klara Lorenz-Dant, Adelina Comas-Herrera

Institute on Aging Publications

Key findings

• Community-based care faces unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other parts of the long-term care continuum.
• Several countries have taken steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections in community-based care including the closure of adult day centres and other service providers.
• Continuity of care is of upmost importance. A disruption of care and support could have serious negative impacts on individual health and well-being due to increased risk of loneliness and social isolation.
• The dispersed nature of community based care suggests that direct governmental action and oversight may be more difficult to provide than for …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Barriers Faced By Nursing Assistants And Medication Aides In The Care Of Dysphagia Residents, Lauren Kreuzberg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Dysphagia refers to the symptom of difficulty in swallowing that accompanies several prevalent conditions in the older adult population, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease), stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, dementia, various cancers, and brain tumors (Allari, 2014). Many older adults who suffer from these conditions reside in nursing facilities, where most of their care is provided by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and medication aides (MAs). However, the extent of these workers’ knowledge and competence in providing care to nursing home residents with dysphagia is vastly under-researched. The qualitative analysis investigates themes among interviews with fifteen CNAs and …

The Role Of Culture In Engaging The Senior Population In Omaha, Ne, Jamie Bish

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

In recent years, the senior care industry has become the focus of many public health initiatives as we have come to better understand the significance of our aging population (Olivari et al., 2020). Between the years 2010 and 2050, the population of the United States over 65 years is expected to more than double, from 40.5 to 89 million (Dall et al., 2013). While this data provides a national outlook, further research is needed to determine local impacts. This project centers on developing a better understanding of the demographics of seniors in the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area and how …

Grandmothers At Work During Coronavirus, Madonna Harrington Meyer

Population Health Research Brief Series

COVID-19 is reshaping the lives of working grandmothers in the U.S. This brief draws on in-depth interviews and grandmothers’ stories to show how the coronavirus is redefining the lives of working grandmothers.

The Influence Of Medicare Insurance Type – Traditional Fee-For-Service V. Medicare Advantage – On Rehospitalizations For Patients With Heart Failure In Skilled Nursing Facilities, Andrea Elizabeth Lane Daddato

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of rehospitalizations for Medicare beneficiaries from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). This research sought to determine if HF patients’ insurance type (Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) vs. Medicare Advantage (MA)) influences their risk for readmission within 30 days of hospital discharge to a SNF. This research is particularly timely in light of new penalties under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act SNF Value-Based Purchasing (SNF-VBP) program directed at SNFs for 30-day rehospitalizations. Previous literature finds FFS beneficiaries with HF in SNF at greater risk for rehospitalization compared to MA members. This research contributes to the literature …

Life Course Pathways From Childhood Socioeconomic Status To Later-Life Cognition: Evidence From The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, Emily A. Greenfield, Sara Moorman, Annika Marie Rieger

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

ObjectivesA growing body of research indicates that older adults are at greater risk for poorer cognition if they experienced low socioeconomic status (SES) as children. Guided by life course epidemiology, this study aimed to advance understanding of processes through which childhood SES influences cognition decades later, with attention to the role of scholastic performance in adolescence and SES in midlife.MethodWe used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), which has followed a cohort of high school graduates since they were 18 years old in 1957. Childhood SES was measured prospectively in adolescence, and measures of memory and language/executive functioning were …

Perceptions Of Dementia In Faith-Based Organizations, Megan Elizabeth Kooker

Honors Program Theses

Dementia is a public health concern. The number of people who will have some form of dementia is expected to rise in the coming years (Brookmeyer, 2011). Around 50 million people have dementia worldwide. Every year, this number increases by about 10 million (World Health Organization, 2019). Because this is such a prevalent issue, each part of the community should be educated about dementia as well as how to best interact with people living with dementia (PLWD). In order to educate these individual community sectors, it is important to first research the existing perceptions about dementia among the community. Faith …

Early Detection Of Mild Cognitive Impairment With In-Home Sensors To Monitor Behavior Patterns In Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens In Singapore: Cross-Sectional Feasibility Study, Iris Rawtaer, Rathi Mahendran, Ee Heok Kua, Hwee-Pink Tan, Hwee Xian Tan, Tih-Shih Lee, Tze Pin Ng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Background: Dementia is a global epidemic and incurs substantial burden on the affected families and the health care system. A window of opportunity for intervention is the predementia stage known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Individuals often present to services late in the course of their disease and more needs to be done for early detection; sensor technology is a potential method for detection.Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to establish the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing sensors in the homes of senior citizens to detect changes in behaviors unobtrusively.Methods: We recruited 59 community-dwelling seniors (aged >65 years …

Tips For Communicating With Older Adults About Covid-19, Claire Pendergrast

Population Health Research Brief Series

Given the severe health risks coronavirus presents for older adults, it is critical to effectively communicate the risk. This brief describes strategies on how to effectively communicate with this population while keeping their comfort and safety in mind.