Mobility and Aging in Collaboration (MAGIC): Impact of Transportation Mobility on Older Arkansans’ Quality of Life

This collaborative project aims to integrate information about the transportation mobility of older Arkansans with that of their well-being and quality of life using an interdisciplinary approach. The need for older adults to remain active and engaged in society is critically related to transportation issues, particularly as the size and proportion of the older population grow in Arkansas. Mobility is important not only for satisfying basic life-sustenance needs, such as nourishment, livelihood, and medical care but also for higher-order needs, such as social interaction and recreation, as these needs contribute to the overall well-being of the aging population. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the link between transportation mobility and one’s independence, well-being, and quality of life as they grow old. Analysis of existing research indicates that understanding and examining this link will require context-specific expertise, information, and knowledge offered via an interdisciplinary array of sectors society-wide. Unfortunately, existing research studies this link from a single perspective, ignoring its multidimensionality. Additionally, existing research primarily focuses on cities and populous regions, although rural areas across the nation have higher concentrations of older residents than do urban areas. Seed funds from this grant will provide the means to collect and analyze preliminary data to study both the link between transportation mobility, independence, well-being, and quality of life as well as focus on rural areas through a new multi-disciplinary collaboration between faculty from four colleges and four departments.

An outcome of this project will be a mobility toolkit (MAGIC: Mobility and Aging in Collaboration) for older adults in Arkansas. A first-of-its-kind resource, the toolkit will provide specific interventions and programs to improve transportation mobility, to promote independence, to prevent immobility, and to improve the quality of life of older adults. The project will contribute to improving human health and community vibrancy by addressing social determinants of health as a function of access to transportation by older adults as well as it has implications for innovating a resilient and sustainable future through the enhancement of transportation systems by understanding demand and use by this particular demographic.