Current Center Research and Activities

The Center hosts unique workshop on aging women

The Center launches a new web site

The Center releases research findings on working caregivers

The Center establishes the POWER Center

Center releases findings on national women's health study

The Center is carrying out major studies on current public policy issues...

National Women's Health Survey

The Center completed a nationwide study of the health concerns of midlife and older women. Seven hundred individuals, a random sample of women between the ages of 45 and 75, were interviewed by telephone.  The survey provides rich information about women's health practices, their knowledge of health risks, and their relationship with their health care provider.  Additionally, the 20-minute survey covered chronic illnesses, menopause, mental health, and other health concerns.  The initial findings were released at the Center's 1998 National Advisory Board meeting and to the press on September 14, 1998.  The Center is undertaking further analyses for additional releases.  Some of the findings have been published in the November 1999 Women & Aging Letter.

The MetLife Juggling Act Study -- Balancing Work and Caregiving and the Costs Involved
Sponsored by a grant from the MetLife Mature Market Institute

The Center has conducted research in collaboration with the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) to examine the opportunity costs of caregiving among midlife and older women.  By conducting in-depth interviews with 55 caregivers on their employment and caregiving histories, NCWA has estimated the costs borne by caregivers who must make adjustments to or sacrifices in their employment in order to provide care to relatives or friends who need assistance.  This research provides a comprehensive picture of the compensation needed to address opportunity costs of workers who also provide unpaid care.

Read a press release about the study and email MetLife for a free copy of the report.
 

 
 

"If I Can Just Make It To 65...":  Measuring the Impact on Women of Increasing the Eligibility Age for Medicare
Funded by a grant from the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the NCWA is analyzing the impact of raising the age of eligibility for Medicare on women close to retirement age.  The Center will evaluate how midlife and older women gain access to health care, and the extent of their vulnerability to the loss of health care coverage.  The results of the study will be provided to organizations engaged in advocacy for women's economic security; U.S. Representatives and Senators (and their staff) assigned to Congressional committees considering Medicare reforms; the press; and scholars engaged in research related to the proposed project.

Saving and Privatization: Impact on Older Women
Funded by a grant from the AARP Andrus Foundation

This two-year project examines the experience of privatization of social security in Australia and Great Britain to extract lessons about the ways that women in the United States may be affected by proposed reforms in the U.S. Social Security program.

Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
Administration on Aging.

As joint winners of a highly competitive federal grant from the Administration on Aging, NCWA and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) have established POWER.  The POWER Center serves as the national focal point for women's retirement research, education, and policy analysis.  The three-year project will educate women, employers, and community organizations about the different resources, materials, and training available to them in planning for a secure retirement.  The POWER Center is designed to reach women who have been largely ignored by the financial services industry by providing information focused on women's need for basic financial and retirement education.  The project staff recognizes the great diversity of women and will provide programs and materials that reach women in their communities, places of worship, and workplaces.  This new project will help NCWA expand its research on economic, social, and political factors affecting retirement security for women.

Visit the POWERCenter website!
 
 

Financial Aspects of Aging Research Website -- Funded by a grant from the AARP Andrus Foundation

The Center, with AARP Andrus, has launched a new website -- FAAR.org -- the Financial Aspects of Aging Research website.  The site offers a unique and selective content focus that features research addressing the monetary aspects of aging as they influence individual decision-making and public policy in areas such as health, housing, employment, law, and finance.  This website serves both scholars and practitioners in a broad range of aging-related fields.  The website involves an advisory committee of scholars -- leaders in the economics and aging fields with experience in academia, government, and business -- who will continue to review material and ensure the site's quality, applicability, and timeliness.

 

"The Third Age: Prospects and Perspectives"
March 31, 2000, Baltimore

This panel of women provided the inside track on key challenges women face as they age.  From important policy issues to personal viewpoints this workshop delivered an opportunity to discuss what women think about the process and politics of aging in the US.

The Panel:

• Phyllis Mutschler, Ph.D. - Executive Director, National Center on Women and Aging, Brandeis University

• Pat Humphlett - Program Coordinator, POWERCenter, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement

• Rebecca Reviere, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Howard University

• Ruth B. Merkatz, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, Director and Team Leader Women's Health, Pfizer

• Letty Cottin Pogrebin - Author, Getting Over Getting Older

---

E-mail the Center:NATWOMCTR@brandeis.edu