>
RESEARCH CENTERS
Center for Healthy Aging The mission of the Center for Healthy Aging is to support research, education, and outreach that promotes emotional, physical, and cognitive health in older adults and their families. Its vision is to translate cutting-edge aging science into programs and products that transform old age into a long life. “We have pioneered and continue to develop novel methods for the study of adult development and aging, including the use of mobile technology to better understand how people behave and function in their natural environments,” said Martin Sliwinski, center director. The center’s interdisciplinary research integrates developmental science with epidemiology to develop innovative approaches to the prevention and management of chronic illnesses. Its cutting-edge research in the science of daily experience aims to understand how stress, pain, and sleep exert cumulative effects on quality of life and health through midlife to older age.
Research Highlight: Connecting Life Experiences to Healthy Aging The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) project is a longitudinal study of midlife adult health and well-being funded by the National Institute of Aging. MIDUS employs a team of scholars and researchers to understand the interrelationships among physical, emotional, and cognitive health in a nationally representative sample of adults ranging in age from thirty-five to eighty. Researchers at Penn State led the team that collected daily information about people’s experiences and routines for a one-week period and examined how these experiences are linked to family life, emotional health, and biological risk factors. A major finding from this study was how people react emotionally to everyday hassles predicts the development of chronic health problems up to ten years later.
The Methodology Center The mission of The Methodology Center is to advance public health by improving experimental design and data analysis in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. “The Methodology Center serves as a national resource in the development and dissemination of innovative research methods,” said Center Director Linda Collins. The center’s projects provide the tools needed for scientists to reduce the damage caused by activities such as substance abuse, addiction, and other dangerous behaviors.
Research Highlight: Using Science to Tackle Addiction The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) is one of several methods under development at The Methodology Center. MOST is a framework for engineering effective and efficient behavioral interventions while carefully managing resources to maximize scientific knowledge. Interventions designed to treat behavior typically involve many components. For example, a smoking intervention may include pre-quit counseling, nicotine gum, and post-quit counseling. MOST enables researchers to test each intervention component in a way that results in scientific progress regardless of the results of the experiment. MOST also enables researchers to gain the greatest amount of knowledge about each component from the fewest research subjects. Collins conceptualized and created MOST. Along with methodological work, The Methodology Center researchers have created tutorials and software to enable other researchers to use MOST. Currently, large-scale projects are using MOST to build interventions that address smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity, risky sex, and more.
14 | Health and Human Development