Lisa Berkman shares her thoughts with CNN on how having strong social connections can help us weather the challenges of aging. Learn more in this news item by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
We’re hiring a Research Assistant (RA) at the Harvard Pop Center
Are you interested in researching cognitive aging and dementia in a global context? Learn more about this opportunity to join our team…
Sudharsanan and Bloom share insights into demography of aging in LMICs in new guidebook
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has produced a guide (based on papers that were presented at a public workshop in 2017) to demography of aging research trends and future directions. Harvard Bell Fellow Nikkil Sudharsanan, PhD, and faculty member David E. Bloom, PhD, have contributed a chapter that more closely examines the expected boom in population in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), weighing the impact of both…
Age more than illness linked to increasing levels of depression in South Africa
A study by HAALSI researchers explores whether the connection between chronic illness and depression that is commonly found in high-income settings exists in sub-Saharan Africa as well.
Lack of purpose drives many retirees back to work
Harvard Pop Center faculty member Nicole Maestas, PhD, shares insights into “unretirement” on NPR podcast.
A deeper look at complex nature of loneliness and social isolation among aging Americans
Recent Bell Fellow Lindsay Kobayashi, PhD, is co-author on this paper that finds that not all older, independent people who are socially isolated feel lonely, and that poor health can have both negative and positive effects on perception of social isolation.
Study points to unmet need for social support among older women in rural South Africa
Researchers affiliated with the HAALSI research project have published a new study that found that older women in South Africa have weaker social network connections and are more socially isolated than men and younger women. Higher levels of widowhood and fewer connections outside of the family network are thought to explain this age- and gender-based difference. Photo: Jan Truter on Flickr
Small but significant health impacts of cash transfers to elderly in Colombia
Former Harvard Bell Fellow Philipp Hessel, PhD, and current faculty member Mauricio Avendano, PhD, are authors on a paper in Health Affairs that has found that male recipients of small cash transfers were less likely to report bad health and to be hospitalized. Learn more in this release.
Lisa Berkman on public health challenge of our aging world in Harvard Chan podcast
Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, along with Harvard Chan School Professor Albert Hofman and Dean Michelle Williams, discuss the social, health and economic challenges posed by the fact that we are living longer in this Harvard Chan podcast.
Social isolation in adults linked with some less healthy behaviors
Bell Fellow Lindsay Kobayashi is lead author on a paper that has found those who are socially isolated are more likely to engage in some less healthy behaviors, such as not getting adequate exercise and not eating the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Those who report feeling lonely were less likely to successfully quit smoking.