This case study analyzes one senior living and social service organization’s coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis response. We conducted interviews with n = 14 department managers to explore the organization’s pivot to remote work and service provision. We used the Pearson and Mitroff Crisis Management Framework to organize themes. A pre-existing culture of teamwork, willingness to adapt and adopt new approaches, and responsiveness to new policies and procedures facilitated the COVID-19 crisis response. However, low levels of digital literacy among staff, decreased job satisfaction due to no face-to-face interaction between care recipient and service provider, and lack of proactive policies for crisis response, which decreased the speed of enacting remote service provision, were obstacles in effective crisis response. Lessons learned from this case study highlight the need for pre-emptive policy creation on remote service provision and work from home policies, as well as training considerations for senior living and social service organizations.

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The experiential voice of older adults receiving long term services and supports (LTSS) is largely absent from health research hampering the development of effective interventions. While many have the capacity to participate in the design, development, and delivery of research, researchers traditionally do not recognize such capacity, may be unsure how to seek input, or may not appreciate the extent to which such input can improve the research enterprise. But the participation of these older adults can ensure that patient-centered research meaningfully addresses their care preferences and desired health outcomes, and can improve the effectiveness of care and patients’ quality of life. Through three PCORI-funded projects, we developed a successful model for addressing barriers to amplify these voices. We outline barriers to the dissemination and implementation of this model, and suggest next steps to test strategies to amplify the voices of older adults in long-term care.

With effective antiretroviral therapies, HIV has become a chronic disease. Currently, >50% of people living with HIV are 50+ years old, and they face dual challenges of aging and HIV management. Overall, <15% of published studies in HIV engage stakeholders in research. These rates are even lower for older adults with HIV. Thus, there is a critical need to engage long-term survivors in developing meaningful research questions for aging with HIV. To address this gap, we created the SHARE (Survivors of HIV Advocating for Research Engagement) board. Presenters will discuss the process for building the board’s research capacity and results of a community needs assessment that board members designed and conducted to ascertain priorities for HIV-aging research. Presenters will discuss evidence-based educational strategies utilized to build member research knowledge, and pre-post training changes in knowledge, confidence, and understanding. Presenters will focus on novel training approaches implemented in the remote environment.

There has been a recent movement towards greater involvement of the patient/person voice in aging research. However, many researchers embark on engaged research without adequate training or knowledge and without the skills or experience to train those they hope to engage. We define engaged research as research topics, designs, methods, analyses and/or dissemination strategies that have been informed through collaboration with or input from those who have a direct stake in research. This symposium explores education as a method of engaged research and is premised on the notion that engaged research enriches our discovery and ultimately leads to better outcomes in interventions as well as policy. There is an identified need for training of researchers as well as stakeholders in order to do successful engaged research. This symposium details educational methods for training those who utilize engaged research: student, researcher, and patient/person stakeholder, culminating in an examination of supporting patients in being trainers themselves. The first presentation investigates an overarching educational strategy to change the research paradigm. The second presentation explores a unique method for training researchers to engage older adults as advisory board members. The third presentation details a strategy for training a specific group of older adults to be active in engaged research. The symposium concludes by highlighting a method by which older adults engage in a research intervention as trainers. Attendees will be able to identify and evaluate the outcomes of the different educational methods and translate these methods to new settings.