By Sophia Webber
The Aging Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Learning Collaborative created resources to help researchers engage older adults as experts in aging.
Since 2022, the Aging Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) Learning Collaborative has been working to build the capacity of researchers to engage older adults as experts in aging. The two-year project, which ended in July, developed a host of resources designed to highlight the benefits of engaged research and prepare researchers to engage older adults as partners.
The Learning Collaborative defines engaged research as the process of collaborating in the design, implementation, and dissemination of research with people who have lived experience with the research topic. Engaged research recognizes that lived experience is a form of expertise that improves a researcher’s ability to ask relevant questions, tackle complex problems, and ensure communities benefit from research.
Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the Learning Collaborative (EACB-26961) provided 10 trainings and 34 educational resources to approximately 340 researchers, academic partners, older adults, and funders. The project was led by Marc Cohen, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, and Erin McGaffigan, founder of Collective Insight, which specializes in community engagement.
Cohen and McGaffigan recognized that many older adults are excited to participate in research. However, researchers often assume that older adults lack the ability or interest to engage. In addition, researchers who see engagement as worthwhile may struggle to make it work.
Multiple groups, including an Older Adult Subcommittee, advised the project.
“Over the past 11 years, I have had many, many providers across many places, and [the subcommittee] is one of the rare opportunities where I feel that somebody is listening, and it has inspired me,” one member told the Older Adult Subcommittee at its final meeting in July 2024.
Taylor Gray, a gerontology doctoral student at UMass Boston and the Learning Collaborative’s student advisor, facilitated the group’s meetings. Gray thanked the group for fostering his love for engaged research and helping him build his skills.
AVAILABLE RESOURCES
Resources developed by the Aging PCOR Learning Collaborative include:
- Student Curricula Toolkit: This toolkit includes a ready-made lesson plan with slides, recorded presentations, resources, and a quiz.
- PCOR Checklist for Academic Leaders: This checklist identifies ways to advance patient-centered research in academic programs and curricula.
- Educational Video Series: These videos introduce PCOR concepts and outline four benefits of engaging older adults in research, including improving research questions, making the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process easier, and addressing research recruitment and dissemination obstacles.
- Funders’ Guide: This guide highlights the importance of engaged research and how funders can expand this type of research within their policy and research portfolios.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit the Aging PCOR Learning Collaborative website to find additional tools and resources.
NEW PROJECT: MEASUREMENT MATTERS
Cohen and McGaffigan are continuing their partnership through the Measurement Matters project (SOE-2022C2-28570). The project aims to develop a tool for measuring the engagement of patients and community partners in research and to demonstrate how engagement methods influence research outcomes.
Sophia Webber is a project manager in Collective Insight’s Training and Support Division.