Assistant Professor Drew Pickett, Ph.D. in the Department of Health & Wellness Design is leading major efforts to involve elder community members of Bloomington in issues that are important to them.
Last spring, Pickett received the Promoting Health Equity in Aging Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine (Aging SIG). Presented annually, this national award recognizes a distinguished researcher who is making an impact on the health and wellbeing of at-risk and aging populations.
Since joining SPH-B in 2022, Pickett has worked closely with his department colleagues on such initiatives as developing out an AI-enabled legal and financial management training solution for caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Last spring he was able to secure additional funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to include field testing of caregivers who identify as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) to better understand their specific needs and challenges.
Now, Pickett is proud to have lent his support in the launch of the CoDesign Commons, a collaborative effort between IU Bloomington and multiple community organizations. The group meets every Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Endwright East Active Living Community Center in College Mall. Pickett says the Commons will ideally be a "Community Innovation Studio" where older adult members of Monroe County can come together to share ideas and work to address the challenges of aging in the area. Supported by a $20,000 grant from the IU Aging Research Network (ARN) and collaborations with the BloomingZone Initiative, the Indiana Arts Commission, United Way of Monroe County, and the Area 10 Agency on Aging, Pickett has worked closely with CoDesign Director Phil Stafford to help make this project a reality.
"Oftentimes, services and products that are created to support older adults leaves their very audience out of the conversation, and as a result are often unsuccessful," says Pickett. "At its core, the idea [of the Commons] is to give older adults an equal seat at the table in the design and development of products, policies, and interventions. It’s a fundamental shift toward creating products with older adults, not for them."
Making the target group part of the creation process from the beginning to tackle needs and desires—such as aging in place—is a form of supporting and sustaining health equity for the older population, according to Pickett.
"Treating our research participants as co-equals in development and creation, relying on the knowledge of their lived experience, will deliver a better program or product in the long run," adds Pickett.
During the Friday sessions, participants can sign up to join a design team on an issue they are passionate about—for instance, one group has been working with Dementia Friendly Bloomington to identify areas of need in the community for those struggling with ADRD and how to connect them and their caregivers with support services. Then at 12 p.m. a guest speaker is invited to talk about a relevant topic of interest over a brown-bag lunch, such as Lisa Keplinger, owner of That’s the Rub massage therapy center. The last session involves studio work where participants learn a given skill, such as how to best utilize phone cameras, that can be used in future codesign sessions. In June, the Commons hosted a four-week art project in which participants painted a timeline of their lives and presented their work to millennials, with support from Julie Hill, former life enrichment director at Bell Trace Senior Living Community.
"This studio work helps train our co-designers to better interact with businesses, experts, and researchers on advocating for their needs within the community," says Pickett. "What we are hoping for is to have a standing panel of design-skilled older adults invested in community engagement."
All sessions are free and open to the public. For more information, email codesign@iu.edu or stop by the Endwright East Active Living Community Center at College Mall.
Stories about SPH-B community initiatives are always available at go.iu.edu/48bx.