Research & Other Projects

The Institute on Aging specializes in research on a variety of topics, including:

Best practices in housing and long-term care
Planning for age- and dementia-friendly communities
Aging services organizational decision making
Work-life issues and family caregiving
Social relationships in late life
Global aging
Research methods

Our work has been funded by a variety of local, state, and national public agencies and private foundations, such as the National Institutes of Health, Grantmakers in Aging, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the National Science Foundation, Oregon Health & Science University, the Social Security Administration, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Northwest Health Foundation, the Oregon Community Foundation, Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services, and Metro (the elected regional government for the Portland metropolitan area).

Discover Institute on Aging publications on our PDX Scholar site.

Better with Age Gerontology Education & Research Initiative

The Better with Age Initiative enables program and curriculum development, endows a Scholarship in Aging Studies, and provides critical support for faculty as they mentor students and pursue important research interests.

Administrator Turnover in Assisted Living and Residential Care Facilities

This series of studies examines organizational, occupational, contextual, and personal factors associated with administrator turnover in assisted living (AL) and residential care (RC) facilities located in Oregon.

Younger hand holding an older hand holding a ball

Cost, Wages, and Staffing Study

This three-part study examines expenses associated with the cost of resident care in Oregon’s community-based care settings, the average wages and benefits paid to direct care workers in these settings, and highlights direct care workers experiences as a resident care aide.

How Assisted Living Regulations Impact Care

This multi-site study examines how states’ assisted living regulations affect residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Older Adult Behavioral Health Initiative (OABHI)

The goal of the Older Adult Behavioral Health Initiative is to better meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities by improving timely access to care from qualified providers who work together to provide coordinated, quality, and culturally responsive behavioral health and wellness services.

Oregon Community-Based Care Project (CBC)

The purpose of this project is to describe and track changes in Oregon's community-based care settings. Since 2015, the study team has conducted an annual survey of assisted living, residential care, and memory care communities, as well as a sample of adult foster homes.

Resident View

Resident VIEW (Voicing Importance, Experience, and Well-Being) is a measure designed to learn directly from long-term care residents the extent to which they experience support that matters most to them.

Climate Change and Older Adults: Impacts and Adaptations

This series of studies includes research into heat vulnerability, state climate adaptation policy, and wildfire impact on AL/RC communities in Oregon.

Past Projects

ADRC of Oregon: Consumer Satisfaction Survey

This project involved an ongoing consumer satisfaction survey for users of Call Center and Options Counseling ADRC services in Oregon. The results were used by state and local partners to describe progress toward meeting ADRC performance standards and to implement quality improvement efforts where standards fall below the baseline.

Live Well

The Institute on Aging evaluated the LiveWell Method, a quality improvement assurance and performance improvement approach created by The Malden Collective.

The State of Aging in Portland

The State of Aging in Portland study highlights historical, current, and projected trends related to older adults and the age structure in the city of Portland and the greater metropolitan area.