City by City, CDSRA Engages Older Adults in the Research Process
“How do you Age Strong?”
When Boston launched its Age Strong campaign in 2019, it showcased people who defied stereotypes with their answers and their lives. They were trendsetters, activists, and athletes, people who redefined a senior moment. The campaign did more than defy stereotypes, however. It created partnerships and programs that made it easier to age well in Boston, such as shuttle busses, Age Strong exercise classes, dementia-friendly business designations, and a job guide for people over 50.
These changes were driven by data. The Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA), part of the Gerontology Institute at University of Massachusetts Boston, led engaged research in neighborhoods around the city to learn the needs of older adults. The findings from these conversations guided the Age Strong campaign.
“This research allows the City of Boston to implement programs that are closely aligned with what residents need and look for,” says Caitlin Coyle, PhD, CSDRA director. “It’s an outlet for older adults to be heard and to be part of the process.”
Now, as the city begins this process for a 2025 update, it’s contracted with CSDRA for another round of engaged research. This winter and spring, CSDRA researchers have led meetings in each neighborhood of the city to ask older residents what they need to age well in Boston. They’re bringing undergraduate and graduate students to join the process, training the next generation of gerontological researchers in this work.
“Through this research, I have seen how to take a big question like, ‘How do we make Boston a city with solid ground for all of us to navigate our next steps of life?’ and break it open,” says Delaney Inman, a senior undergraduate student at UMass Boston and a CSDRA intern. “We have brought city officials, researchers, students, and older adults into one room in neighborhoods all over Boston in a collaborative effort to answer this question.”
Improving Quality of Life for Older Adults Across Massachusetts
It’s not just Boston that contracts with CSDRA for engaged research with older adults. Cities across Massachusetts work with CSDRA to learn the needs and desires of their residents. This work allows local governments to be responsible stewards of their investments, financing projects that serve proven needs and understanding how those needs evolve.
When Coyle performed this research for the 2015 Age Strong campaign, three topics emerged again and again in her research: housing, transportation, and financial security. A fourth core need has since emerged: social connection.
“This time, social connection is huge,” Coyle says. “We’re hearing from people who want physical spaces to gather and to be in community with other people – to do activities together. People talk about wanting meet-up groups or having coffee shops where they can meet face to face.”
In addition to these core needs, Coyle’s research finds that older adults seek more quality-of-life improvements, too. Over the past few years, their feedback during CSDRA sessions has led to improved spaces, such as new or renovated senior centers to connect with their community. Sometimes, it has led to connections with experts, such as a series of talks with a financial advisor about how to use home equity to help fund retirement.
“Especially in our current state of information, which can be overwhelming, people are looking for trusted and reliable sources,” Coyle says. “They want to learn what’s going on in their community and what’s available to them to improve their aging experience.”
A Local Angle of a Global Movement
The World Health Organization created the Age-friendly Cities Framework, and it’s been adopted by cities around the world. The cities that contract with CSDRA have an advantage, however: They tap into the expertise of CSDRA, a center that’s part of the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston, a global leader in the study of aging. Through this connection, cities have access to experts who know how to create a data-driven approach that includes another kind of expert: the older adults themselves.
Coyle finds that when CDRSA works with cities in this manner, they merge missions to create needed change.
“As a public research university, this work really aligns with the mission of UMass Boston,” Coyle says. “The communities that we work with have the foresight and resources to support this work in their strategic planning and thinking. Not every community has these opportunities, so it’s a big deal when they’re able to commit to this work.”
By going into neighborhoods throughout the city and the state, CSDRA researchers work to ensure that the wide range of needs can be met.
“We have used data to ensure we are capturing the diversity of people that make up Boston,” Inman says. “Then we combine it with community engagement to get a comprehensive picture of where our city stands.”
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