The current focus of the Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Center for the Aging Network (which ACL is referring to as the ACL Innovation Lab or “the Lab”) is to conduct research, demonstrations, and evaluations of issues pertaining to falls prevention among older adults and older adults with disabilities. The Lab was created in September 2023 through an award to the National Council on Aging. This award will expand ACL’s current falls prevention efforts to prevent falls and address risk factors, with the following key objectives:
- Develop a taxonomy for falls prevention research through an in-depth review of falls prevention literature that allows for a structured approach to data collection
- Fund a cohort of community-based organization sub-awardees to pilot these approaches
- Collect data about sub-awardee pilots and conduct both predictive and statistical analysis on findings
- Promote the implementation, scaling, and sustainability of effective pilots in the Aging Network