Everyone deserves to age with dignity, but it takes more than being medically healthy to live a long and fulfilling life.
Elizabeth Mulvaney, clinical assistant professor, and Quinton Cotton, assistant professor—both in the School of Social Work—are looking at social factors that contribute to people’s ability to live out their later years in a meaningful way. From social connection to nutrition to workforce development, everyone has different needs. Knowing how to address those needs makes social workers uniquely qualified to help.
“We use knowledge from our field to help communities determine their best solution,” says Mulvaney. “Just because something worked in one community does not mean it will work everywhere. Having that conversation is how we bring research and understanding about aging into these spaces.”
But this work cannot be done in a silo. Partnering with Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh and other community organizations, Mulvaney and Cotton use their social work expertise to enhance community-led initiatives to benefit as many people as possible.
“Reviewing grants from community partners may not seem like much,” says Cotton, “but we can use our knowledge in research and of social issues to assist neighborhood groups to strengthen funding applications. We help bring in needed resources, and it creates a ripple effect throughout the community, with positive outcomes extending far beyond the initial project.”
Once a community project gets funded, the research team also helps to implement it and ensures that it’s accessible to all ages. The older population in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is growing fast, and this new demographic is an opportunity for better community engagement if institutions invest in it through both the community and research lens.
“Our role as social work researchers is to make sure knowledge is translated into real change. We carry a responsibility to ensure that research as a whole makes people’s lives better.”
“While people may not see the work that goes on behind the scenes, research is at the core of every step,” says Cotton. “Our role as social work researchers is to make sure knowledge is translated into real change. We carry a responsibility to ensure that research as a whole makes people’s lives better.”
Additional Pitt collaborators on this project are: Fengyan Tang, Kyaien Conner, Rafael Engel, Daniel Rosen, Mary Elizabeth Rauktis, Daniel Hyung Jik Lee, Amy DeGurian and Kelsey Ott-Sudik.