The substantive research interests of faculty affiliates define ASI’s thematic areas. ASI’s research falls under the following five themes:
Age-Based Public Policy and Well–Being addresses various issues related to federal, state, and local policy including social security entitlement and reform, Medicare and Medicaid coverage and financing, and services provided through the aging network with Older American Act funds.
Population Aging considers the causes and consequences of a changing population age structure in the United States and worldwide, with a particular focus on its implications for work, the timing of retirement, savings and expenditures; disparities by race and ethnicity, class, and gender; and heterogeneity within and between groups such as disabled adults, veterans, and LGBT elders.
Health and Functioning addresses a wide range of topics related to health across the life course including the development of specific conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and cancer as well as variation in cognitive functioning, hearing loss, obesity, functional limitations, and disability.
Family Dynamics, Care Work, and Intergenerational Support examines the nature of older adults’ family relationships and the flow of support across generations including caregiving and living arrangements within families as well as the political economy of intergenerational transfers through public entitlement and assistance programs.
Aging Design, Engineering, and Technology includes design for medical devices and personal monitoring, universal design for private and public spaces including long-term care facilities, technology use among older adults, and innovative delivery methods for treating age-related diseases.
Institute faculty members often approach these thematic areas from a comparative and cross-cultural perspective.
For more information on faculty research, see the following.