Supporting People Aging with Long-Term Disabilities: A Community Collaboration with the PACE Center for Independent Living

Academic Mentor | Wendy Rogers
Community Partner | Persons Assuming Control of the Environment (PACE)

Project Description
People aging with long-term disabilities often face increasing challenges in performing everyday work and community activities. While technology has the potential to support independence and quality of life, meaningful innovation requires a deep understanding of the real-world needs, priorities, and strategies of people aging with disability.

This project brings together two related research efforts—the Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Solution Strategies (ACCESS) study and the Disability & Aging & Work Needs (DAWN) study—to examine the lived experiences of individuals aging with long-term vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities. Using surveys and in-depth interviews, the studies explore everyday challenges, unmet needs, and the strategies people use to navigate work and daily life.

The project is conducted in collaboration with the Persons Assuming Control of the Environment (PACE), which provides disability services supporting independent living across several counties in central Illinois. Findings will inform inclusive, community-driven approaches to designing technologies and supports that better reflect the needs of people aging with long-term disabilities.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar
The Community-Academic Scholar will be involved in multiple stages of this community-engaged research project, including recruitment, data collection, preliminary data analysis, and dissemination of findings. The scholar will interact directly with research participants and community members by assisting with recruitment events, participant screenings, and interviews conducted in collaboration with PACE staff.

The scholar will support preliminary data analysis and help prepare summaries of findings to share with the research team and PACE. The role includes participation in bi-weekly research team meetings and opportunities to engage with an interdisciplinary, cross-site research team that includes collaborators from Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Kansas.

As this partnership with PACE is newly developing, the scholar will also contribute to strengthening the collaboration by supporting outreach and recruitment efforts that engage individuals with a broad range of lived experiences and backgrounds.