Communication and Dissemination Core

Project Summary The overarching goal of the Communication and Dissemination Core (Core C) of the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA) is to amplify and measure the impact of research being conducted under the auspices of MiCDA. Core C will undertake three sets of activities that will engage scholars across disciplines, career stages and institutions. First, Core C will host a series of conferences, webinars, and symposia. Two research conferences will be held (in collaboration with Cores B and D), one focused on the changing demography of late-life disability, dementia and family caregiving and the other on the social, environmental and biological underpinnings over the life course that shape later-life health and wellbeing. Each conference will include a cross-cutting focus on the disproportionate distribution of late-life health in the US population and will result in a special journal issue. We will also host TRENDS lectures that will highlight research on important health-related demographic trends by an emerging scholar and symposia for MiCDA pilot recipients and early career MiCDA affiliates. Second, Core C will strengthen communication skills of MiCDA pilot recipients and early career MiCDA affiliates by offering annual media training, providing opportunities to highlight research findings via traditional and social media, and facilitating engagement with communications professionals. Third, we will enhance the visibility of MiCDA’s research through expansions to the MiCDA website–including posting of materials from conferences, webinars, and network meetings–and a social media plan to promote online engagement. Core C will also collaborate with Core A on tracking, analyzing and reporting outcomes.