POLICY SERIES: ALIGNING RESEARCH WITH PUBLIC POLICY: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EXPERTS IN POLICY AND AGING

Abstract

Given the projected growth and diversity of the older population in the United States, researchers and clinicians are exploring ways to promote the health and well-being of older adults and their family caregivers through public policies. This symposium, co-sponsored by GSA’s Emerging Scholars and Professional Organization (ESPO) and the Public Policy Committee, brings together national experts to discuss how and why to integrate policy in research studies. Emerging scholars have a unique opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of policy at the federal, state and local levels, and engage in important discussions with policy makers to advocate for improving the lives of older adults and their families in an aging society. This symposium will highlight best practices in aligning research with the public policy arena. Presenters will examine the intersection between public policies and older adults, describe the difference between conducting research in aging relevant to policy and actual policy research studies, and discuss how to conceptualize public policy upfront in research. Presenters will also offer examples of how research informs policy, using family caregiving, long-term services and supports, and livable communities as examples of relevant policy areas from a research perspective. Implications of how research informs policy for an aging society, including how an advocacy organization looks to research to support its policy agenda for older adults, and lessons learned from aging advocacy will be addressed.