Transforming the Future of Aging

Posted on February 1, 2021 by arsalansiddique001

Bei Wu works toward improving health status through research and policy

If the world of academic gerontology had a rock star, it would be Bei Wu, MS ‘97, PhD ’00.

Recognized for her extensive research and pursued by top tier universities, Wu has become an international leader in the field since graduating from the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Department of Gerontology. Add the years in policy work before earning her doctorate and Wu chuckles that, having spent more than half of her life in the field of gerontology, she herself is now experiencing the aging process.

“I’ve become my own study subject,” Wu says.

Today, Wu is the Director of Global Health and Aging Research at the Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and Director for Research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University (NYU) and the inaugural co-director of NYU’s Aging Incubator, a university-wide aging initiative.

Given her considerable success in gerontology, it’s fitting she credits her grandmother — with whom she was extremely close — for nudging her into the field. Born in Shanghai, Wu’s parents left her and her brother in their grandparents’ care when the two were young. After college, Wu accepted a research position with the Shanghai Commission on Aging only after prompting by her grandmother.

“At the time, very few people thought aging would be a challenging issue in the future,” Wu says.

But writing policy briefs and launching studies on intergenerational support with the United Nations Population Fund convinced Wu to pursue graduate studies. With no options available in China, she chose UMass Boston.

“UMass Boston has had a significant impact on my career,” Wu says. “The gerontology program has a critical mass of excellent faculty.” Continue reading →

Gerontology Institute teams with CANALA for Project to Improve Economic Opportunities for Older People of Color

Posted on September 9, 2020 by stevensyre

Caitlin Coyle AARP Foundation has awarded a grant to the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston for a two-year project to increase access to economic opportunities for older people of color in the greater Boston area.

The $288,000 grant will fund the project that builds on the institute’s age-friendly work across the state, particularly the Age Friendly Boston Initiative, and its expertise in economic security issues in later life.

“We’re very excited because this project addresses economic security, a crucial need facing older adults,” said Caitlin Coyle, a research fellow at the institute and lead researcher on the project.

“It begins to answer a question we have encountered in a number of age-friendly community initiatives,” she said. “The question is, from a practical perspective, how do we build the capacity for authentic equity and inclusion?”

The project will be a joint effort by the institute’s Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging and CANALA, a research collaboration of UMass Boston’s Institute for Asian American Studies, the Institute for New England Native American Studies, The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, and the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture. Continue reading →

Journal Special Edition Dedicated to COVID-19 and Older Adults: Lessons From the Pandemic

Posted on July 13, 2020 by stevensyre

Editor-in-chief Edward Alan Miller

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults around the world has been nothing short of breathtaking. Like any sudden crisis, it begs a few common questions: What actually happened and how did we respond? What lessons should we take from that experience? And, most importantly, what do we do now?

In a special double-issue of the Journal of Aging and Social Policy, dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, leading gerontology researchers tackle those questions from a wide range of perspectives. The issue, Older Adults and COVID-19: Implications for Aging Policy and Practice, offers 28 scholarly articles available online free of charge.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated populations and economies globally but older adults have been particularly hard hit, due both to direct exposure to the virus itself and to the adverse consequences of efforts taken to mitigate its effects,” said Edward Alan Miller, a University of Massachusetts Boston gerontology professor and JASP’s editor-in-chief. Continue reading →

COAs and COVID-19: Managing New Issues on Communications, Food Security and Volunteerism

Posted on May 1, 2020 by stevensyre

Among many volunteers, a retired Bridgwater State University professor baked bread for distribution through his local COA.

The Gerontology Institute’s Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging is publishing a series of blog posts to follow the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Councils on Aging across Massachusetts. We encourage COA readers to tell us about their experiences or responses to blog posts by using the reply box at the bottom of each post.

It’s a good thing Zoom and lots of other communications technology exists these days. But the old-fashioned telephone is also playing important role in the plans councils on aging are following to keep in touch with their elder residents.

In Bridgewater, the Fire Department is assisting to help identify phone numbers from census data for over 5,000 residents who are age 60 or older. Those numbers are being used to make wellness calls, but also develop a huge database for town’s emergency response protocol.

In Billerica, volunteers are making about 150 calls each week to check in with elder residents and evaluate their needs.

“During calls to check on patrons, they are so grateful to be remembered,” said Billerica COA Director Jean Bushnell. “It was remarkable to discover that care and concerned flowed both ways, they were actually worried about our staff.” Continue reading →

COAs and COVID-19: How Councils Are Adapting to Serve Their Communities

Posted on April 22, 2020 by stevensyre

The Gerontology Institute’s Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging is launching a series of blog posts to follow the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Councils on Aging across Massachusetts. Posts reporting on conversations with COA directors about how they manage the evolving COVID-19 challenge will appear on the Gerontology Institute Blog. We encourage COA readers to tell us about their experiences or responses to blog posts by using the reply box at the bottom of each post.

How do you deal with a problem as overwhelming as the coronavirus pandemic? David Stevens prefers to think about that answer in phases.

Stevens, the executive director of the Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA), has been leading an effort to provide support, coordinate resources and lead communication with his 350 member-COAs since the COVID-19 crisis gripped the state. Continue reading →

Making Streets Safer: UMass Boston Research Team Studies Car Crashes Injuring Older Pedestrians

Posted on October 9, 2019 by stevensyre

By Taryn Hojlo

Walking activities are normally good for older adults. One rare but dangerous exception: Car crashes that involve pedestrians.

This is a growing problem. The number of pedestrian fatalities increased by 37 percent across the United States between 2008 and 2017, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly half of pedestrian fatalities in 2017 were age 50 or older.

A research team from UMass Boston’s Gerontology Institute recently studied risks to older pedestrians in Massachusetts and to what extent they could be prevented. Their report included specific suggestions for improving older pedestrians safety. It was prepared in cooperation with MassDOT, Office of Transportation Planning, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Continue reading →

UMass Becomes First University System to Join the Age-Friendly University Global Network

Posted on September 25, 2019 by stevensyre

BOSTON – In August 2019, the five-campus University of Massachusetts system endorsed the 10 principles of the Age-Friendly University, as defined by Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network at Dublin City University, joining an international effort intended to highlight the role of higher education in responding to the challenges and opportunities associated with an aging population.

UMass is the first university system to join the AFU Global Network, earning the designation for its campuses in Amherst, Dartmouth, Lowell and the UMass Medical School in Worcester. UMass Boston endorsed the principles and joined the network in 2017.

“I’m pleased that with the support of all five of our chancellors, UMass has received this designation as an Age-Friendly University,” said President Marty Meehan. “It reaffirms our long-held commitment to making a world-class public research university education accessible to all people in the Commonwealth, regardless of age.” Continue reading →

Study to Examine Impact of Casino Gambling Among Older Adults in Surrounding Communities

Posted on September 5, 2019 by stevensyre

It’s an established fact that older adults make up a large percentage of patrons at gambling casinos operating across the United States. But are older people more likely to be problem-gamblers? And what is the impact of casinos on nearby communities?

Questions like these have recently gained particular relevance in Massachusetts. The Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville became the state’s first commercial gaming establishment in 2015. MGM opened the state’s first Las Vegas-style resort casino in Springfield last year. Most recently, Wynn Resort Casinos opened the Encore Boston Harbor resort and casino in Everett this summer.

A new study by gerontologists at the University of Massachusetts Boston, along with the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, is examining the impact of a casino on older adults living within a short drive from the attraction. The research, funded by the Massachusetts Gambling Commission, is focused on 15 communities surrounding Plainridge Park.

“The goal of this project is to provide a full picture of how the casino impacts the lives of older residents in surrounding communities,” said Caitlin Coyle, a research fellow at UMass Boston’s Gerontology Institute. Continue reading →

The Aging Paradox: A Look at Later-Life Satisfaction Through the Eyes of OLLI Members

Posted on May 9, 2019 by stevensyre

Clockwise from top left, OLLI members Mary Doller, Al May, Jean Hunt and Steve Vorenberg.

By Caitlin Connelly

A good paradox can turn the obvious on its head.

That’s a fair way to describe the aging paradox, a concept well-known to gerontologists that challenges presumptions about the way people feel as they grow older. True, there may be many forms of loss or limitation that come with older age. But there is also empirical evidence that shows people actually experience a greater level of life satisfaction as they grow older.

In the process of living to an older age, transitions often become more than a simple shift from work to retirement and bring people to a more peaceful frame of mind, according to Kathrin Boerner, an associate professor of gerontology at UMass Boston.

“Older adults often arrive at this point where they feel like they’ve experienced a lot but they’ve also learned a lot from the experience,” said Boerner.

Those transitions can be driven by conventional forces of work and family. But the kind of older-life satisfaction described by the aging paradox is often rooted other kinds of experiences. “People get to that point from very different trajectories,” said Boerner.

The Gerontology Institute Blog asked members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston to describe their transition into the earlier stages of older life and how they felt about it. Their responses illustrate just how different those trajectories can be. Continue reading →

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Category Archives: Age Friendly