By SHANNON O. WELLS
A well-tended home where a long, rail-lined aluminum ramp runs from the front porch to the driveway or sidewalk usually indicates at least one resident within is elderly or facing mobility challenges.
Perhaps, a less conspicuous, more integrated infrastructure could benefit residents without detracting from their home’s appearance, feel and functionality, suggested Jonathan Pearlman, professor and chair of the Department of Rehab Science and Technology, at a recent Pitt forum.
“We all agree that, when you drive down the street and you see this aluminum ramp in front of somebody’s house, it really takes away from the curb appeal and sticks out very obviously,” he said. “We’re trying to develop … infrastructure types of technologies and understand the (range of available products) and see if we can develop more aesthetically pleasing, more functional systems.”
Advances in mobility ramps were but one of many housing-based innovations discussed at the University Center for Social and Urban Research’s 50th anniversary celebration forum on Nov. 29. With the theme of “Housing in the 21st Century: Challenges and Solutions,” the UCSUR event started at Pitt’s Healthy Home Lab model on Oakland Avenue before settling in at the University Club’s Ballroom A.
Nearly a dozen speakers addressed topics including affordable housing challenges and opportunities, housing stability, resources to support public housing residents, human rights and housing affordability, home environment hazards, mobility assistance, and implementation of aging-in-place programs and technology.
Scott R. Beach, interim director of the Center for Social and Urban Research, called the event “an excellent way to celebrate the center’s 50 years, as it brought together individuals from the academic, nonprofit, foundation and private sectors to focus on societal issues that are highly relevant and much discussed: housing affordability and housing for aging in place,” he said. “This made the event different from typical smaller UCSUR forums, which often focus on narrower topics of interest to specific audiences.”
Established at Pitt in 1972, UCSUR works collaboratively in interdisciplinary research intended to improve communities and address “social, economic, health and policy issues most relevant to society,” its mission statement says. That includes providing research support infrastructure and faculty training in the social and behavioral sciences, collecting and disseminating policy-relevant data to support faculty research and community development, and conducting original research in areas like urban-impact analysis, survey methodology, and psycho-social aspects of aging.
Many speakers at the event referred to the Healthy Home Lab model as a prototype for their respective topic. An open house was held at the newly renovated three-story, 106-year-old house at 257 Oakland Ave.
The house was reimagined to bring, according to a UCSUR description, the “best science into home settings to maximize health and safety” through design, development, and evaluation of new and existing technologies, healthy home services and interventions and “creating comprehensive health and environmental assessments to help people live safety and independently at home.”
Clearing the air
At the University Club forum, Steven Albert, professor and chair in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, presented a study focused on environmental hazards such as poor indoor air quality, mold and pests, and how they affect the health and functioning of older adults — and those with disabilities — receiving in-home supportive care.
An 18-year Pitt veteran, Albert said his department has collaborated with UCSUR “on so many different things. And what an honor to be here today for the 50th anniversary. … And what a great opportunity to see so many friends in the audience.”
His department successfully competed for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant money to study home environmental health hazards.
A random sample of 900 people across Pennsylvania found around a quarter of households “are not sites of health the way they could be,” Albert said, particularly regarding health hazards like mold, poor indoor air quality, leakages and standing water. A parallel survey of 7,000 people more likely to identify as “people with needs” finds a third of households with one or more elements “less than optimal for health.”
With the goal of developing a digital tool that efficiently assesses and scores households for environmental hazards, his team is collaborating with the Swanson School of Engineering’s civil and environmental specialists to analyze household dust samples for DNA. They identify organisms that may increase respiratory illness risk and explore possible approaches to remediation.
Teaming up with the Healthy Home Lab to “systematically vary parameters” there to see how they affect things like mold, “we vary the humidity and the temperature and wind and outdoor sunlight,” he said, “and are getting really good parameters for the tool.”
“So we have a lot of work in front of us,” he said of combining data from residents’ self-report measures, outside observer assessments in the home, air-quality monitor sensors, and mold-moisture indicators into a single digital tool that would “kick out a risk score for that household.”
For households that exceed some thresholds, it then comes down to how to alter the package of services a care coordinator or a home assessor might recommend.
“How can we address these remediable factors in the home in a way that might make for more effective services and better health for the older or disabled resident?” Albert asked, noting the current plan calls for using the new tool in homes beginning in January. “That’s really what we’re trying to do, and we’re at a very interesting point right now.”
Comforts of home
Pamela Toto, professor and director of the Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy program, spoke about opportunities and challenges of implementing “evidence-supported strategies and technologies” for “aging in place” — the ability to safely and independently live in one’s own home and community.
“Staying in my house,” she noted, “is a lot different than participating in my home. As a person who’s aging, I don’t want to live in my dining room. I don’t want my bed to be in my dining room. I want to serve Thanksgiving dinner in my dining room. All of those components are really important in determining well-being for us as we’ve lived throughout our life.”
That includes active participation and daily activities. “We call them occupations to describe occupational therapy, but it’s the things that you ‘need’ to do. It’s the things that you’re expected to do, but it’s also the things that you want to do: I don’t need to make a fancy ice cream sundae, but I want to make an ice cream sundae, because it makes me happy.
“So it’s that combination of want, need and expected to do,” from family dinners to grocery shopping to volunteering at church, she added, “and so we really want to work as a society and as a Healthy Home Lab and as a community to get people to that level.”
Noting the rapidly expanding aging population, and less than 10 percent of U.S. housing being “age ready,” Toto said her department is working to implement CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders), an evidence-based aging-assistance program, in partnership with the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging.
“We have funding to deliver CAPABLE to about 102 older adults in Allegheny County. We have about 39 more to go, and we’ve been seeing some great results,” she said, noting the program offers up to six occupational therapy visits, up to four nursing visits and up to $1,300 in “low technology” home modifications, such as installing a railing or repairing broken steps.
Toto cited a New York Times series on aging in place that included a statistic showing that, of 6 million older adults struggling with basic tasks, only 3.3 million are receiving help.
“That’s a staggering number who need help with getting dressed,” or with bathing, walking, getting out of bed, using the toilet and eating, she observed. “What this tells us is that, first of all, as an individual, I would like to stay independent as long as I can. I don’t want the solution to be that someone’s going to do it for me.”
And that’s assuming there will be someone available to provide appropriate care. “We cannot expect that there’s suddenly, out of the blue, going to be this overabundance of care partners to be able to help older adults,” Toto said.
“We need to come up with a better way of extending people’s independence and safety and then also giving them just the right (level of) care that when someone does need care … could they just have care for four hours a day or for two days a week? So now’s the time for us to think about that.”
Interim director reflects on 50 years of success, enlightenment
By SHANNON O. WELLS
Since 1972, the University Center for Social and Urban Research has served as a multi-faceted resource for Pitt researchers and educators interested in social and behavioral sciences, while promoting and coordinating interdisciplinary research focused on social, economic and relevant societal health issues.
For 30 of those 50 years, Scott Beach has been there. In 1999, he became director of survey research. Beach then served as associate director from 2010 to 2016, when he was named interim director.
On Nov. 29, he had an opportunity to take stock of the center’s half-century of service with a 50th anniversary celebration. The event included an open house at Pitt’s Healthy Home Lab model, followed by a bevy of distinguished speakers discussing housing affordability, environmental safety and aging in place, concluding with a reception. (See related story.)
Beach took a moment to reflect on the event, how it came about, those who took part, and the center’s legacy and future.
University Times: What to you is the significance of UCSUR’s 50th anniversary? What are some ways the center has evolved?
Scott Beach: The significance of the 50th anniversary is that it shows the value of conducting research collaboratively, adapting and evolving to emerging faculty interests and expertise, and doing work that has policy relevance that affects the lives of people throughout the Pittsburgh region.
UTimes: What were some takeaways you found particularly illuminating, enlightening, or perhaps surprising?
Beach: A major takeaway was the agreement on the sense of urgency to begin addressing these issues of affordable housing and age-appropriate housing for older adults. All in attendance seemed to agree that these issues must be addressed by the broader society and policymakers now.
UTimes: Based on what you heard and saw on Wednesday, what does the next 25 or 50 years of UCSUR look like to you?
Beach: In many ways, I think UCSUR will continue to evolve and adapt to emerging interests, expertise and social issues. While the basic mission of UCSUR to use methodologically sound research to address key societal issues will likely remain, the structure of the organization and the specific areas of focus will evolve as new leadership occurs.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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