Project Summary
Background: The experiential voice of older adults receiving long-term services and supports (LTSS) is largely absent from health research. CJE SeniorLife (CJE) created the Bureau of Sages as an effective initial step in the process of engaging older adults receiving LTSS into research. In Sages in Every Setting, CJE refined The Sage Resources and The Sage Model to disseminate and implement the model into diverse communities. To accelerate the expansion and amplification of the voice of older adults in aging PCOR/CER research, it is necessary to reach a greater network of researchers and prepare them to engage older adults.
Proposed Solution: The project team will train researchers involved with National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded centers in The Sage Resources in order to equip more stakeholders and communities to participate in PCOR/CER. The NIA has created networks of research centers and infrastructure to encourage collaboration. The team will partner with the Roybal Centers and Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) and use their existing infrastructures as a catalyst to accelerate the adoption of The Sage Resources and promotion of The Sage Model of research advisory boards. The goals of both Roybal and RCMAR make them uniquely suited to partner in this endeavor.
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to:
- Train researchers associated with Roybal/RCMAR centers on The Sage Resources
- Hold multi-day workshops for researchers and LTSS agencies at two centers on The Sage Resources and The Sage Model
- Facilitate partnership building between academic institutions and LTSS providers.
The project’s long-term objectives are to:
- Expand the pool of researchers with knowledge and skills to implement The Sage Model
- Increase the pool of researchers prepared to engage in PCOR/CER through research advisory boards comprised of older adults receiving LTSS
- Initiate a culture of older patient engagement within the Roybal/RCMAR Centers
- Accelerate the use of The Sage Resources as a tool for creating research advisory boards based on The Sage Model
Activities: Project activities include: facilitating an advisory panel; surveying federally funded researchers in aging; designing and implementing a set of webinars that will be promoted and sponsored by Roybal/RCMAR centers; recruiting two Roybal/RCMAR-affiliated centers for onsite workshops; and designing and implementing onsite multi-day workshops for two Roybal/RCMAR-affiliated centers.
Outcomes/Outputs: Outputs include the training webinars that detail the steps to creating a research advisory board in the Sage Model utilizing The Sage Resources and curriculum for two onsite workshops. The long-term outcome of the project will be an increased pool of researchers ready to engage with and create research advisory boards made up of older adults receiving LTSS.
Engagement: This project includes the Lieberman Bureau of Sages as members of its advisory panel. They may also be asked to contribute to webinars or workshops. The advisory panel includes provider representatives and partners from previous PCORI-funded projects who will advise on all project activities and deliverables quarterly.
Collaborators: Karina Davidson, PhD, Director of The Roybal National Coordinating Center and Steven P. Wallace, PhD, Director of the RCMAR National Coordinating Center are the team’s partners in this project. Katherine Abbott, PhD, of the Scripps Center for Gerontology at Miami University of Ohio, is also a partner.