How neighborhood and place affect older adults' health
Determinants of Elderly Health: The Role of Place-Based Factors
This work looks at how where older adults live shaped their health and economic outcomes during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11324803 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project links people's survey answers with official administrative records to measure deaths, health, and employment impacts across neighborhoods and groups. It focuses on older adults and compares effects by race, education, occupation, and income over the pandemic's first two years. Using nationally representative data, the team tracks which communities and demographic groups were hit hardest and how disparities changed over time. The goal is to identify place-based factors that may have increased risk or offered protection for older people's health during pandemics.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates for the underlying data are adults (especially older adults) from diverse racial, income, and education backgrounds whose survey responses or administrative records capture pandemic-related health or economic outcomes.
Not a fit: People who did not participate in the underlying surveys or whose health concerns are unrelated to COVID-19 or neighborhood factors are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help policymakers and healthcare providers target resources to neighborhoods and groups of older adults most at risk during pandemics.
How similar studies have performed: Other national studies have documented racial and economic disparities in COVID-19 impacts, and this project builds on that work by linking surveys with administrative data for a more complete, nationally representative picture.
Where this research is happening
Cambridge, United States
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Finkelstein, Amy N. — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Finkelstein, Amy N.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.