Marc A. Garcia

Associate Professor, Sociology, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs Link

Faculty Associate, Aging Studies Institute
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

CAPS Biography:

As a trained medical sociologist, demographer, and aging and life scholar, my research focuses on sociocultural, economic, and environmental processes that underlie the health of older minority populations. This work informs the development and implementation of data-driven, culture-appropriate interventions and targeted policies aimed at ameliorating the risks and negative health outcomes of late-life multi-morbidity. These areas closely align with CAPS signature theme of health and well-being, as well as the three cross-cutting themes of policy, place, and specific populations. I have substantial experience working with large population-based data sets including the American Community Survey (ACS), Health and Retirement Study (HRS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), and the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE). My research has examined the demographic heterogeneity among older U.S. Latinos by nativity status and age of migration to document differentials in morbidity, disability, physical functioning, and mortality outcomes. Additional research has examined how nativity status combines with race and ethnicity to create and sustain cognitive health disparities among older minority and immigrant groups. My current research involves the study of how distinctive sociocultural factors linked to race/ethnicity, nativity status, country of origin, and immigrant experiences associated with adaptation and incorporation account for heterogeneous outcomes in morbidity, disability, cognitive functioning, and mortality among older U.S. minority groups. As a health disparities researcher, I have been invited to speak at a Congressional Briefing on COVID-19 mortality and the National Hispanic Council on Aging.