By Steve Syre
A research team at UMass Boston publishes healthy aging data reports for every community in selected states.
The original idea was simple, but ambitious: Create a one-stop source of detailed information about the well-being of older adults, accessibility of services, and social determinants of health for every community in an individual state.
A research team at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Gerontology Institute is working on healthy aging reports that will do that and more for communities in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The team, led by LTSS Center Fellow Elizabeth Dugan, with support from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, has been working on the state healthy aging data report concept for the past 8 years. Dugan and her colleagues published a New Hampshire report last year and produced its third edition of the Massachusetts Health Aging Data Report late in 2018. Its current work in Rhode Island will update a previous report.
“We are a unique operation right now and it really seems to help in terms of policy,” said Dugan, an associate professor of gerontology at UMass Boston. “Policy makers are starving for good data. If you can help them see the needs and resources in their communities, it can make a difficult job easier.”
REPORTS THAT DRILL DEEP
Each healthy aging report includes more than 180 indicators, including many that track health measures from specific chronic diseases to disabilities and mental health issues. Other indicators measure accessibility and usage of medical services. Some follow elements of public safety, environmental quality, the proximity of basic resources like grocery stores, and opportunities for elder civic engagement.
State reports also provide a comprehensive profile of each city or town’s elder population and its wellness.
HOW REPORTS IMPACT PUBLIC POLICY
Advocates are able to use the data report tools to address local priorities. For instance:
- In Massachusetts, the healthy aging report became an important document supporting the drive to seek age-friendly state status.
- The New Hampshire report was a contributing factor to that state establishing a new commission on aging.
- In Rhode Island, the original report supported efforts to expand senior transportation options, such as discounted bus service for older adults.
“The analysis and resources in the Healthy Aging Data can guide policy makers and community leaders working to address disparities and make decisions about economic development, public health, housing, transportation, and other important concerns,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan.
EXPANSION TO COVER MORE STATES
Over the years, the UMass Boston research team has substantially expanded the scope of the information it collects for the healthy aging reports, and increased its capacity to produce results. Originally the team focused on producing one healthy aging report at a time. Now, researchers have the capacity the work on 5 reports simultaneously.
The data reports have been so well-received that Dugan’s team wants to increase the number of reports it produces and expand the geography covered. The team is seeking funding to support a group of reports covering 6 states that have achieved age-friendly status. Eventually, Dugan hopes to cover every state in the nation.
“We’re so grateful for the funding and partnership from Tufts Health Plan Foundation,” said Dugan. “They have nurtured this work from the very beginning. We’re excited about the idea of applying the research process they made possible to more states across the country.”
A RESEARCH TEAM “GREEDY” FOR DATA
Individual state reports take up to 2 years to prepare, in large part due to the wide range of data collected from many sources.
Researchers analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey; information on chronic disease indicators, heath utilization, and care access from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and details from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The healthy aging reports also tap FBI crime data, information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and air pollution readings from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. State departments of health and other agencies typically provide substantial additional information.
“We are very greedy for data,” said Dugan. “We try to obtain and analyze anything that will help inform policy or practice related to healthy aging. It’s an ongoing process, which is why the number of indicators in our reports continues to grow.”
STATE ADVISORY BOARDS PROVIDE INSIGHT
The content of each report is also influenced by local advisory boards that provide insight into pressing issues and problems in their states. Those insights led to the inclusion of information about opioid abuse in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire reports. The advisory board involved with the current Rhode Island report is particularly interested in data on gender differences related to health problems and poverty.
Dugan’s research team includes co-investigators Nina Silverstein, an LTSS Center fellow and UMass Boston gerontology professor, and Frank Porell, a UMass Boston professor emeritus. Postdoctoral fellows Jay Lee and Wendy Wang, and graduate gerontology students Haowei Wang, Evan Chung, Taylor Jensen, Joyce Wang, and Alison Rataj, also belong to the team.
The Rhode Island report is expected to be released by January 2021. The Connecticut report is tentatively scheduled for March 2021.