The Center for Population Health has a wide portfolio of translational research projects, spanning from bench science to population health.
An overview of past and current projects is provided below.
Community Projects
Center members engage with the community to address resident needs, reduce health disparities, encourage healthy aging and to build a healthy living environment. Select projects include, but are not limited to, Age Friendly Lowell, Age Friendly Lawrence, Lawrence Community Works Housing Evaluation, Lawrence Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), and Seniors in Action. To learn more about community projects please visit our news link, attend a Center for Population Health collaboration meeting, or contact us here to learn about our community related services.
Age Friendly Lowell
In response to Lowell’s growing older adult population and the unique challenges faced by this group, UMass Lowell and the Greater Lowell Health Alliance were awarded a three-year grant from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation in 2020 to create a citywide, age friendly initiative that builds community capacity to promote health, independence, and quality of life for older residents of Lowell.
The effort involves several key partners including the City of Lowell, the Lowell Council on Aging, AgeSpan and other community stakeholders. Central to the initiative's approach is the inclusion of an Older Adult Action Group (OAAG), comprised of Lowell residents aged 50 years and older to ensure that the voices and perspectives of older adults guide the initiative's direction and priorities.
Seniors in Action
Preliminary data evaluation of Lowell's age-friendly assessment revealed a significant underrepresentation of Cambodian and Asian residents, who constitute the city's largest non-white ethnic group. To address this gap, Age-Friendly Lowell worked in partnership with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA) to ensure that the voices of Lowell's older Cambodian and Asian residents are heard, and their needs addressed. As a result of this partnership, the Seniors in Action group was established. This group, comprised of Cambodian adults aged 50 and above, serves as an additional older adult action group within the Age-Friendly Lowell initiative.
Age Friendly Lawrence
The City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, is home to a culturally diverse and growing population, a significant proportion of which is aged 60 years and older. In June 2017, Lawrence joined the American Association of Retired Persons’ (AARP) Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities, aligning itself with the WHO's Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program. The Age Friendly Lawrence initiative has been successful in developing and implementing a comprehensive action plan to enhance age-friendly systems, policies, and practices in Lawrence.
Lawrence Community Works Housing Evaluation
In response to the affordable housing crisis facing the city of Lawrence, the community organization, Lawrence Community Works (LCW) launched the DyeWorks Project. The DyeWorks Project has successfully transformed a vacant mill into affordable housing units that address social determinants impacting low-income and diverse communities. In partnership with LCW, UMass Lowell is tasked with evaluating the impact of this housing initiative on residents’ social determinants. By fostering a neighborhood conducive to residents' well-being, offering essential services, culturally relevant healthy food, and access to green spaces, DyeWorks stands as a novel, multilevel intervention. Ongoing data collection and analysis aims to inform other potential future housing developments.
Lawrence Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
The Lawrence CHIP aims to address the root causes of prevalent health problems in Lawrence to prevent them from reoccurring. By gathering diverse viewpoints that represent the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of community members, the CHIP aims to highlight health disparities. This information is used to identify certain groups and prominent issues that should be prioritized for primary intervention. This plan acts as a tool to guide the development of effective interventions that center around health equity in the city of Lawrence.
Other Research
Environmental and Food Contaminant Exposure and Links to Health Status
Humans are exposed to contaminants due to water runoff, soil contamination, food processing and packaging, polution and waste management. The CPH team is working with internal and external collaborators to understand current human exposure rates to titanium dioxide, cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury and Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals". In addition, current research is evaluating the potential health impacts of these exposures.
Improving the Health of U.S. Military
The CPH team collaborates with The U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine to explore new dietary interventions to improve the health and performance of our military personnel. Projects include novel interventions to reduce the total body burden of known chemical exposure; in addition to nutrition interventions to enhance human performance, reaction time, cognitive function and to reduce stress.