One number may predict your health and life expectancy more than any other: your zip code.
Research
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The rapid growth of aging populations challenges us to consider the kinds of environments that promote wellbeing across the entire lifespan. Where one lives constitutes an important determinant of wellbeing, and is increasingly the focus of public health and policy initiatives. Many aging Americans want to remain independent within the comfort and familiarity of their home: a popular phenomenon known as “aging in place”. However, the majority live in single-family homes designed for the physically mobile and cognitively able. Auto-centered communities pose structural barriers through inadequate transportation networks and service provision. One can become increasingly isolated as opportunities diminish for recreation, sociocultural engagement, and community support.
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What constitutes a 'good place' to grow old?
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How can we create more engaging and healthful lifelong communities? My research critically considers “aging in place” through the lived experiences and intimate perspectives of older adults. They are at the center of this research in order to better understand aging and wellbeing in one’s body, home, neighborhood, and community.
My research innovatively combines geography and gerontology to better understand complex relationships between aging people and their environment. It addresses diverse needs and experiences with a strong focus on underrepresented female, low-income, and minority elders. The project informs urban planning to strengthen social support, in addition to the built environment and service provision, in order to generate more healthful and inclusive lifelong communities. It advances geographic scholarship on health-place interconnections, and elucidates the role of socio-physical contexts that shape how we age.
My research innovatively combines geography and gerontology to better understand complex relationships between aging people and their environment. It addresses diverse needs and experiences with a strong focus on underrepresented female, low-income, and minority elders. The project informs urban planning to strengthen social support, in addition to the built environment and service provision, in order to generate more healthful and inclusive lifelong communities. It advances geographic scholarship on health-place interconnections, and elucidates the role of socio-physical contexts that shape how we age.
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Expertise:
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Select Publications and Reports
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Finlay, J., Esposito, M., Tang, S., Gomez-Lopez, I., Sylvers, S., Judd, S., Clarke, P. 2020. Fast-Food for Thought: Retail Food Environments as Resources for Cognitive Health and Wellbeing Among Aging Americans? Health & Place.
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Finlay, J., Khan, A., Gronlund, C., Sol, K., Jang, J., Malendez, R., Judd, S., Clarke, P. 2020. Weather Woes? Exploring Potential Links between Precipitation and Age-Related Cognitive Decline. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
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Finlay, J. In Press. Intimately Old: An Embodied and Emplaced Feminist Approach to Aging. Hypatia. doi:10.1017/hyp.2020.51.
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Finlay, J. & Finn, B. 2020. Geography’s Blindspot: The Age-Old Urban Question. Urban Geography.
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Finlay, J., McCarron, H., Statz, T., Zmora, R. 2019. A Critical Approach to Aging in Place: A Case Study Comparison of Personal and Professional Perspectives from the Minneapolis Metropolitan Area. Journal of Aging & Social Policy.
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Finlay, J., Esposito, M., Kim, M., Gomez-Lopez, I., Clarke, P. 2019. Closure of ‘Third Places’? Exploring Potential Consequences for Collective Health and Wellbeing. Health & Place.
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Finlay, J., Gaugler, J., Kane, R. 2018. Ageing in the Margins: Ageing in the margins: Expectations of and struggles for ‘a good place to grow old’ among low-income older Minnesotans. Ageing & Society.
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McCarron, H., Finlay, J., Gilbert, T., Terhune, K., & Gaugler, J. 2018. Stakeholder Engagement to Enhance Interventions for Family Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Case Study of Care to Plan. Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
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Gaugler, J., Zmora, R., Mitchell, L., Finlay, J., Peterson, C., McCarron, H., & Jutkowitz, E. 2018. Six-Month Efficacy of Remote Activity Monitoring for Persons with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: An Experimental Mixed Methods Study. The Gerontologist.
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Finlay, J. & Kobayashi, L. 2018. Social isolation and loneliness in later life: A parallel convergent mixed-methods case study of older adults and their residential contexts in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, USA. Social Science & Medicine.
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Finlay, J. 2017. ‘Walk like a penguin!’: Older Minnesotans’ experiences of (non)therapeutic white space. Social Science & Medicine 198: 77-84.
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Finlay, J. and Bowman, J. 2016, Geographies on the Move: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to the Mobile Interview. The Professional Geographer 69(2): 263-274
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Finlay, J., Frank, T., Sims-Gould, J., and H. McKay. 2015. Therapeutic landscapes and wellbeing in later life: Impacts of blue and green spaces for older adults. Health & Place 34: 97-106.
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Finlay, J. 2015. How Everyday Access to Nature Can Add Life to Your Later Years. Centre for Hip Health & Mobility Research Reports. Published online 04/06/2015.
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Finlay, J. 2015. Book Review: Chris Gilleard and Paul Higgs (2013). Ageing, Corporeality and Embodiment. London & New York: Anthem Press, 198 pp. ISBN 978 0 85728 329 0 (hardback). International Journal of Ageing and Later Life 10 (1). doi: 10.3384/ijal.1652-8670.15101.
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Caddock, A., Bennett, J., Erdmann, J., Finlay, J., Johnson, D., Matze, M., Maze, H., Meyer, K., Narayan, G., O’Dell, Peterson, C., & S. Savengseuksa. 2013. Above the Falls Health Impact Assessment: Ensuring Health Equity in Decision-Making. Minneapolis Health Department Report.
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Leger, A., Godlewska, A., Adjei, J., Schaefli, L., Whetstone, S., Finlay, J., Roy, R., & Massey, J. 2013. Large First-Year Course Re-Design to Promote Student Engagement and Student Learning. Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
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Finlay, J., & Massey, J. 2012. Eco-campus: Applying the ecocity model to develop green university and college campuses. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 13(2), p. 150-165.
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Research Experience
COVID-19 Coping Study Co-Primary Investigator (2020-present): Conduct longitudinal mixed-methods research investigating the mental health and well-being among older Americans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasks include research design, data collection, qualitative and quantitative analyses, grant writing, budget management, manuscript development, collaboration facilitation, supervision and mentorship of research assistants, media contact, website management, and public communication.
REGARDS Neighborhood Cognition Research Team (2018-present): This R01-funded interdisciplinary team examines the moderating role of neighborhood built and social environments on trajectories of cognitive function among participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a national longitudinal cohort study of over 30,000 black and white individuals age 45+ ongoing since 2003. Role as a postdoctoral research fellow includes geospatial and secondary analysis, manuscript development, and leading a mixed-methods project extension.
Families and LTC Projects Team Member (2017-present): Collaborate with faculty and graduate students in Nursing, Gerontology, Epidemiology, Public Health, Psychology, and Medicine. Involved with NIH-funded mixed-methods research to investigate experiences of older adults and caregivers on topics such as remote activity monitoring, support for people with Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias, and adult day service programs. Activities include qualitative and quantitative data analysis, manuscript development, knowledge dissemination, and professional development.
“Aging in the Right Place” Research Study Lead Investigator (2015-2018): Conducted mixed-methods dissertation research on aging in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Tasks included supervision and mentorship of research assistants, grant writing, budget management, quantitative and qualitative analysis, manuscript development, media contact, knowledge dissemination and public communication.
“Evidence in Aging” Research Project Co-Investigator (2015-2017): Collaborated with faculty and graduate student members of the Aging Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Group to investigate diverse professional perspectives on evidence in aging. Involved in research design, structured interviews, data analysis, manuscript development and conference presentations.
Centre for Hip Health and Mobility: Walk the Talk Research Team (2013): Collaborated with an interdisciplinary team to investigate links between the built environment, mobility, and wellbeing in low-income dwellings for older adults. Conducted and analyzed physical/cognitive tests and qualitative interviews with study participants, developed thematic frameworks and prepared manuscripts.
City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, Upper Mississippi Riverfront Development Health Impact Assessment [HIA]: Research Intern (2012-2013): Assisted in the design and implementation of the HIA to profile existing conditions of the study region and evaluate potential health effects of proposed development. Contributed to written reports and stakeholder meetings.
Queen’s University Department of Geography Research (2010-2011): Assisted in the design, administration and analysis of surveys and focus groups.
Queen’s University Department of Student Affairs, Research, and Assessment Student Researcher (2009-2010): Conducted a study in coordination with undergraduate thesis examining sustainability programs within university residences and campus initiatives.
REGARDS Neighborhood Cognition Research Team (2018-present): This R01-funded interdisciplinary team examines the moderating role of neighborhood built and social environments on trajectories of cognitive function among participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a national longitudinal cohort study of over 30,000 black and white individuals age 45+ ongoing since 2003. Role as a postdoctoral research fellow includes geospatial and secondary analysis, manuscript development, and leading a mixed-methods project extension.
Families and LTC Projects Team Member (2017-present): Collaborate with faculty and graduate students in Nursing, Gerontology, Epidemiology, Public Health, Psychology, and Medicine. Involved with NIH-funded mixed-methods research to investigate experiences of older adults and caregivers on topics such as remote activity monitoring, support for people with Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias, and adult day service programs. Activities include qualitative and quantitative data analysis, manuscript development, knowledge dissemination, and professional development.
“Aging in the Right Place” Research Study Lead Investigator (2015-2018): Conducted mixed-methods dissertation research on aging in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Tasks included supervision and mentorship of research assistants, grant writing, budget management, quantitative and qualitative analysis, manuscript development, media contact, knowledge dissemination and public communication.
“Evidence in Aging” Research Project Co-Investigator (2015-2017): Collaborated with faculty and graduate student members of the Aging Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Group to investigate diverse professional perspectives on evidence in aging. Involved in research design, structured interviews, data analysis, manuscript development and conference presentations.
Centre for Hip Health and Mobility: Walk the Talk Research Team (2013): Collaborated with an interdisciplinary team to investigate links between the built environment, mobility, and wellbeing in low-income dwellings for older adults. Conducted and analyzed physical/cognitive tests and qualitative interviews with study participants, developed thematic frameworks and prepared manuscripts.
City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, Upper Mississippi Riverfront Development Health Impact Assessment [HIA]: Research Intern (2012-2013): Assisted in the design and implementation of the HIA to profile existing conditions of the study region and evaluate potential health effects of proposed development. Contributed to written reports and stakeholder meetings.
Queen’s University Department of Geography Research (2010-2011): Assisted in the design, administration and analysis of surveys and focus groups.
Queen’s University Department of Student Affairs, Research, and Assessment Student Researcher (2009-2010): Conducted a study in coordination with undergraduate thesis examining sustainability programs within university residences and campus initiatives.
Any questions? Please contact Jessica Finlay at jmfinlay@umich.edu
