SPDC’s Dr. Kotval-K receives $106K grant from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to innovatively address factors influencing the health of older adults in Michigan

SPDC along with the MSU College of Nursing receives funding from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the 500 Cities dataset and design innovative solutions to address social factors that influence health.

Photo of Zeenat Kotval-K
Photo of Zeenat Kotval-K

The Michigan State University School of Planning, Design and Construction with the College of Nursing have received funding from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study 500 Cities dataset and design innovative solutions which address social factors that influence health, such as housing, education, and transportation.

SPDC was awarded a $106K grant for this project, which runs through April 2019. Dr. Zeenat Kotval-K, is the principal investigator in the research supported by Dr. Linda Keilman as the Co-PI. The team will also be having two graduate students assisting in the research.

The purpose of this one-year grant is to execute work that builds on cross-sector collaboration and the innovative use of the 500 Cities dataset, for other communities to learn on how to use the dataset in creative ways to guide health.

The 500 Cities Data Challenge is a $1 million grant initiative that has been awarded to ten grantees including MSU. The 500 Cities Data Challenge encourages communities to dig into the “500 Cities Dataset” and design innovative solutions that address social factors driving community health outcomes.

“In this project we aim to show a relationship between the presence (or lack thereof) of specialized transportation services and the attainment of preventive healthcare for older adults in 16 cities within the State of Michigan” says Dr. Kotval-K while talking about the grant in a nutshell.

The researchers aim to uncover meaningful relationships between transportation services and access to health care services. The findings will promote consistent and coordinated transportation services for the aging population so that they may age-in-place effectively and increase their physical, mental and social wellbeing.

For more information about this project, please contact Linda Keilman at keilman@msu.edu or Zeenat Kotval-K at kotvalze@msu.edu

 

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