In partnership with NDSU Extension, the Linked Lives Lab is conducting process and outcome evaluations for two rural aging programs aimed at improving wellbeing and keeping older adults in their homes across North Dakota.  

In collaboration with NDSU's CIRE team and the Public Health Department, the Linked Lives Lab is surveying and interviewing older adults across North Dakota to investigate vaccine use, barriers to access, and hesitancy. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Dr. Fuller and Dr. Huseth-Zosel from NDSU's Public Health department wanted to know how the new social distancing precautions and stay-at-home orders would impact older adults over the age of 70. 

We sought to understand how older adults are coping with the pandemic and to explore their experiences, circumstances, and challenges during 2020 and 20201’s time of forced isolation. 

In March of 2020, 76 participants aged 70 and older were recruited from Minnesota and North Dakota to complete a 30 – 45 minute phone interview about their thoughts and experiences with the pandemic, their relationships with family, friends, and neighbors, and their well-being. 

We followed up with participants four times over the course of two years. Participants completed follow-up phone interviews in June 2020, October 2020, April 2021, and April 2022. 

It is our hope that with this research we will learn more about how to best support older adults during challenging times. 

The main purpose of the Longitudinal Social Integration and Aging Study is to explore the extent of social integration among older adults and how social integration is related to various aspects of well-being in late life.

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We sought to:

●      Assess the level of social integration in older adults in various social relationships and contexts including family, friends, neighbors, and community.

●      Examine whether patterns of social integration vary by demographic factors (such as age, gender, marital status, etc.)

●      Determine the association between social integration and well-being over time (e.g., self-rated health, self-esteem, stress, and depression).

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In Spring 2013, 420 participants over the age of 60 were recruited throughout the Fargo-Moorhead community through senior-focused agencies (i.e., senior centers), organizations (i.e., AARP), and living communities (i.e., senior living apartments) to complete a 30-minute survey.

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In 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 we invited the original participants to complete follow-up surveys to see if and/or how much their answers had changed; at each wave, 80 to 90% of the prior-wave participants completed the survey. This multiple-wave study continues to help us to further our understanding of the extent of social integration among older adults and how it relates to various aspects of well-being in late life over time.

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A sixth and final wave of this study is planned for Spring 2023.

This study was solicited and funded by the North Dakota Legislative Management and conducted in collaboration with NDSU Extension.

There were five primary aims to this study:

• Identify current public and private resources, services, and supports for family caregivers, both public and private, and by region and/or county.

• Identify barriers and challenges family caregivers experience, which includes the need for training, respite care services, medical leave policies, and delegation of tasks to family members and nonmedical aides.

• Identify best practice models for family caregiver support programs from other states.

• Identify emerging practices and technology that can enhance caregiver and patient home supports.

• Provide recommendations to the interim committee.

You can read our final reports by clicking on the images below. 

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between support needs, caregiving decisions, and well-being among older adults in rural areas in collaboration with faculty members at the University of Arkansas, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, North Dakota State University, and Texas Tech University.

This study addresses three main points:

• Factors that relate to the well-being of older adults from rural out-migration regions, including their needs, resources, and roles in assisting others

• Identify individual, family, and community factors that relate to the care choices of older adults

• The extent to which availability of support systems/care options mediate or moderate the association between older adults' needs and their reported well-being.

​​Adults over the age of 65 were recruited from rural counties in the 6 participating states (North Dakota, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas) to complete 30-45 minute telephone interviews from the fall of 2013 until the fall of 2014.