Tracy Lu's Research

As our rapidly aging society faces many challenges (e.g., a shortage of care workers and the financial substantiality of the long-term care system), I am eager to explore the social determinants of health in later life and the community-based solutions to respond to those challenges. This is built on three interrelated lines of inquiry: (1) how environmental and social-behavioral factors shape well-being and physical and mental health in later life; (2) community-based innovation (e.g., timebanking) to promote productive engagement of older persons; and (3) economic evaluation and impact assessment of the social innovations to promote healthy aging.