Aug. Advances: Tyler Compton named interim PAC director; Samuel S.C. Wu fund supports research on older Asian Americans

GERONTOLOGY NEWS FROM UMASS BOSTON

August 2023

Elder Index: Older people of color, especially those living alone, most likely to struggle financially

New estimates based on the 2022 Elder Index show that the risk of economic insecurity in later life is especially high for people of color. National averages suggest that among older people living alone, 43 percent of people who are White, 59 percent of those who are Asian, 61 percent of those who are Black, and 67 percent of those who are Latino have annual incomes below the Elder Index. The findings are shared in a new report, “Living Below the Line: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Economic Security among Older Americans, 2022.”

Tyler Compton named interim director of Pension Action Center

UMass Boston has named Tyler Compton, Esq., interim director of the Pension Action Center in the Gerontology Institute. Compton, who has served as the center’s staff attorney since 2019, is stepping in for Anna-Marie Tabor, Esq., who has accepted a one-year visiting faculty position at the University of Massachusetts School of Law.

Research partners (from left) Marc Cohen of LTSS Center, Erin McGaffigan of Collective Insight, and Tam Nguyen of Boston College's Connell School of Nursing.

LTSS Center awarded $630,000 to develop tool for measuring impact of participatory research

Researchers at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston have received a $630,000 award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to conduct a study, Measurement Matters: Refining and Validating a PCOR Engagement Measure.

“Our two-year project is an ambitious attempt to develop and validate a measurement tool to determine the efficacy of stakeholder engagement in research and lay the groundwork for determining impacts on patient-centered care,” says Marc Cohen, PhD, co-director of the LTSS Center.

Wu research fund awards grant to doctoral candidate for research on Asian-Americans

Samuel Sung-Ching Wu, namesake of a gerontology research endowment created in his honor.

Gerontology doctoral candidate Cindy Bui, a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from Vietnam, is interviewing older Vietnamese immigrants in the Boston area this summer for her dissertation, "The Roles of Caregiving History and Migration-Related Contexts in Long-Term Care Expectations Among Older Immigrants in the U.S."

To support her research, the Gerontology Institute recently awarded Bui a small grant from a family endowment at UMass Boston that is dedicated to the study of aging Asian Americans.

MANAGEMENT OF AGING SERVICES TURNS 20

'Treat employees as assets':

Dan O'Leary offers MAS students his management wisdom

Dan O'Leary served more than 30 years as executive director of Mystic Valley Elder Services before retiring in 2021. He has taught human resources and personnel management in our Management of Aging Services master's program for 18 years. READ MORE

Environmental gerontologist Mary Frances DeRose introduces evolving field to MAS students

Mary Frances DeRose's work has helped to build the field of environmental gerontology, the study of older adults and how they relate to their socio-physical environments, usually with the aim of modifying and optimizing living spaces to improve the quality of life and longevity.

Lately, De Rose has been focusing on the neuroscience of design, working neuroscientists and generative design to guide the design of therapeutic or enabling living spaces. For the last 10 years, she has shared insights into the field with Management of Aging Services students at UMass Boston. READ MORE

Save the date: Online MAS celebration Oct. 19

Since 2004, our Management of Aging Studies online master's program has prepared students to manage challenging transitions in the industry as leaders in the field who want to make a difference in the lives of older adults. Our MAS alumni work in home and community-based services, residential long-term care, advocacy organizations, state agencies, municipal organizations, insurance, care management, transportation, housing, and more.

We'll celebrate the 20th anniversary of MAS on Thursday, October 19 with an online panel of alumni who will talk about their experiences in the field.

UMASS BOSTON GERONTOLOGY IN THE NEWS

"Where the government draws the line for Medicaid coverages leaves out many older Americans," the Conversation shares a piece by Marc Cohen and Jane Tavares on their recent research, July 26, 2023.

"Somerville will survey its senior citizens in the fall," the Somerville Times writes about an upcoming CSDRA project, July 19, 2023.

"'A stunning social change': A record percentage of Americans are now living alone," Moneywise cites recent Elder Index report, July 18, 2023.