Research Snapshots
These are research highlights taken from our newsletter, the Life Course Ledger. Sign up to receive the LCC's monthly newsletter by emailing [email protected].
November 2022
Childhood lead exposure harms cognition later in life
Children who were exposed to lead in their drinking water have worse cognitive functioning more than 50 years later. New research from LCC members Mark Lee and Rob Warren is the first to estimate the long-term consequences of childhood lead exposure using data collected from a nationally representative sample of Americans.
Read an article in the Guardian about the study.
October 2022
Steven Ruggles Named MacArthur Fellow
LCC Member Steven Ruggles, Regents Professor of History and Population Studies and Director of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota, has been honored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as one of this year’s MacArthur Fellows. Commonly known as the “genius grant”, the fellowship is regarded as one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for intellectual and artistic achievement. Ruggles is being recognized for founding IPUMS, the world's largest publicly available population database that also harmonizes data to facilitate comparative analysis across time and space.
September 2022
Major study explores how education shapes risk of dementia
The University of Minnesota is playing a key role in an upcoming study of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD) that will re-contact more than 14,000 Americans from the high school class of 1972 to study how education affects ADRD risk and racial/ethnic differences in that risk. The $50.3 million grant brings together experts from eight universities, including sociologist John Robert Warren from the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation.
April 2022
2022 Data-Intensive Research Conference: Contextualizing Work and Health Disparities across the Life Course
JULY 20 - 21, 2022 | MINNEAPOLIS, MN & ONLINE
COVID-19 has changed conventions around work and health while also highlighting and exacerbating disparities. These changes are taking place alongside technological innovations, globalization, shifting economies, and changing demographics of places and the workforce. The 2022 Data-Intensive Research Conference will showcase research that explores disparities in work and health within and across particular contexts and demographic subgroups in the U.S. and international settings.
Pre-conference workshop materials and session recordings will be made available following the conference. For pressing questions about the conference, email [email protected]; registered participants should consult the latest conference email message for details about conference proceedings, including room locations and Zoom links.
December 2021
Influencing Factors of Loneliness Among Hmong Older Adults in the Premigration, Displacement, and Postmigration Phases
LCC Member: Cindy Vang
Published in The Journal of Refugee Studies. Read the full article.
Minimal research has simultaneously explored the premigration, displacement, and postmigration experiences of loneliness among older adults with a refugee history. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing loneliness in these three phases among Hmong older adults with a refugee background. Interviews were conducted with 17 Hmong adults aged 65 and older residing in Northern California. Findings revealed the influencing factors emerging from systems of oppression grounded within the social, political, and cultural context of each phase. Influencing factors of loneliness were identified as betrayal, familial loss, instability, war violence, loss of social status, isolation, diminishing filial piety, language barrier, declining health, and lack of purpose. This study highlights the need for more research, practice, and policy focused on the context of the refugee experience to gain a greater insight into their loneliness experiences.
October 2021
Research Mixer: Work and Later Life Course Health
Please join the Life Course Center at the University of Minnesota for a virtual research mixer!
September 2021
To Speed or Not to Speed
THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF AMERICAN DRIVING NARRATIVES
LCC Members: Colleen Peterson and Joseph Gaugler
Speeding is a major cause of traffic fatalities in the United States. Existing data show drivers usually tend to speed less as they age. LCC Members Colleen Peterson and Joseph Gaugler wanted to understand why speeding behavior changes over the life course.
July 2021
Data-Intensive Research Conference
Held virtually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 20 - August 5, 2021. All sessions are central time.
Researchers now have access to full count individual-level microdata from the U.S. Census spanning 1850 to 2010. Never before have social scientists had access to population data of this size and scope. These data present extraordinary opportunities, including novel approaches to research on aging and the later life course, but also some challenges. Our goals for this event are to:
- highlight research that leverages expansive data resources,
- provide training opportunities for working with these data resources, and
- connect scholars with one another and with data experts.
April 2021
Indigenous Cultural-Understandings Of Alzheimer’s – Research And Engagement (ICARE) Project
Kristen Jacklin | Associate Director of Memory Keepers
There is an urgent need to address the increasing burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in American Indian and First Nations populations. Life Course Center Member Kristen Jacklin received new funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to create a foundational ethnographic database of lived experience of ADRD from these communities to inform the creation of culturally appropriate and safe approaches to improve diagnostics, care, and outreach.
ADRD rates are approximately three times higher among American Indian and First Nations populations, with a 10-year earlier onset, compared to majority populations. Higher rates of co-morbidities and limited access to social, economic, and health resources increase Indigenous health disparities. Culture and community context influence Indigenous peoples’ experience with dementia and culturally grounded approaches/resources increase awareness and improve outcomes. Currently, there is little information to guide culturally appropriate efforts to address ADRD.
This project will use community-based participatory research, to engage Indigenous communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. The project will include cultural understandings of ADRD, experiences with diagnosis and care, and community strengths and challenges. Information will be collected using participant observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews with people with dementia, caregivers, and healthy seniors. The qualitative analytic approach incorporates both biomedical and Indigenous understandings of ADRD.
Learn more about the Memory Keepers project by visiting their website and following them on Twitter. Watch the recording of a related seminar from Kristen Jacklin.
March 2021
“It’s about a Life Worth Living”: Rosalie A. Kane, PhD, Pioneer of Quality of Life Measurement in Long-Term Care
“It’s about a Life Worth Living”: Rosalie A. Kane, PhD, Pioneer of Quality of Life Measurement in Long-Term Care
Commentary by Joseph E. Gaugler and Tetyana P. Shippee in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work
Dr. Kane’s legacy is celebrated in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, highlighting her significant scholarly achievements in the measurement of quality of life in long-term care. This commentary synthesises Dr. Kane’s groundbreaking work in this area. It summarizes how her study of the measurement of quality of life served as the foundation for significant practice/policy advancements. Dr. Kane has achieved her ultimate aspiration: the elevation of quality of life as the central concern when selecting, using, delivering, and valuing long-term care.