Unsung Heroes: How Senior Centers Have Adapted to Provide Essential Services in the Face of COVID-19

Abstract This presentation will describe the ways in which senior centers in Massachusetts have adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three surveys (distributed in April, August, and November, 2020) were conducted with 342 senior centers in the state to learn about current operations through the pandemic, challenges faced, and steps taken to solve those challenges. Results suggest that almost all senior centers (91%) continued to provide limited programming or essential services during the pandemic. Senior centers are prioritizing socialization and nutritional needs as critical services, but are changing the way they operate to continue to meet those needs. Despite facing uncertainty about the future, senior centers continue to adapt to changing conditions as they seek to meet their core mission. This presentation will discuss effects of COVID-19 on how senior centers will continue to operate through and post-pandemic times as well as local and state policy implications.

over 17 counties. Getting Pennsylvanians vaccinated is a critical step in reducing the spread and impact of COVID-19, although research suggests that the inequitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine may be a critical barrier. Although concerns regarding vaccine hesitancy are prevalent, experts also suggest that disparities in vaccination rates are in part due to the lack of accessible scheduling; adversely affecting underserved, such as rural communities, and minority populations. To address these obstacles, Primary Health Network is creating a COVID-19 Vaccination/Health Equity Team. Their objectives include: creating tools to provide comprehensive information on vaccine supply, identifying potential challenges and proactively planning for ways to mitigate likely disparities, identifying people who wish to be vaccinated but lack the means to do so, and connecting them in an equitable way, to vaccinations.

ENVIRONMENTAL GERONTOLOGY DURING COVID-19: AGING IN PLACE SINCE THE PANDEMIC ONSET
Chair: Melissa Cannon Co-Chair: Jessica Finlay Discussant: Graham Rowles The COVID-19 pandemic is fundamentally changing neighborhood landscapes as we shelter in place and adjust our lifestyles. To age-in-place is to live in one's home and/ or community "safely, independently, and comfortably." The ability to age-in-place is a public health priority for all, regardless of income or health status, and requires a variety of community resources to be sustainable. Since the pandemic onset, access to neighborhood resources was limited to reduce transmission risks. Changes to economic arrangements and socio-spatial norms have profoundly impacted daily life, though how these influence health and well-being is largely unknown. It is likely that these effects may vary in different communities and contexts; for example, neighborhoods that are able to self-organize to safely provide social support and resources may fare better. This symposium brings together cutting-edge studies in urban and rural U.S. places to explicate how the pandemic is transforming aging-in-place experiences and perspectives. The first presentation shows how rapidly community-based services have adjusted operations to meet the needs of their communities. The second presentation explores strategies to provide social support in rural communities. The third presentation highlights the social health needs of a subset of older adults who had not formed friendships with their neighbors. Together, these studies suggest that close examinations of aging-in-place conditions and mechanisms from organizational, socio-spatial, and social network perspectives are evermore important amid a pandemic. We discuss the implications of these empirical findings in relation to emerging theories within environmental gerontology.
pandemic. Three surveys (distributed in April, August, and November, 2020) were conducted with 342 senior centers in the state to learn about current operations through the pandemic, challenges faced, and steps taken to solve those challenges. Results suggest that almost all senior centers (91%) continued to provide limited programming or essential services during the pandemic. Senior centers are prioritizing socialization and nutritional needs as critical services, but are changing the way they operate to continue to meet those needs. Despite facing uncertainty about the future, senior centers continue to adapt to changing conditions as they seek to meet their core mission. This presentation will discuss effects of COVID-19 on how senior centers will continue to operate through and post-pandemic times as well as local and state policy implications. Age-Friendly communities are charged with fostering a social environment where social connections are available, accessible, and meaningful. Thematic content analysis of 67 interviews (representing 73 communities) conducted between 12/09/2019 and 01/24/2020) and 59 interviews (representing 71 communities) conducted between 12/14/2020 and 1/19/2021 with age-friendly leaders in rural Maine suggested the importance of expanding multi-sectoral collaborations and developing flexible strategies that allow older people to create and maintain social connections, even during COVID. Prior to the pandemic, common strategies were: (1) local partners and volunteers; (2) in-person activities; (3) accessibility; (4) reciprocity; and, (5) neighborhood-specific solutions. During the pandemic, there was an increased reliance on regional partners and funders to develop low or no-tech and tech-enabled social opportunities. Additional adaptive strategies included: (1) intergenerational ties; (2) emphasizing fun; and, (3) flexibility. The study has implications for understanding how rural age-friendly communities develop and grow multi-sectoral collaborations to enhance social connections.

SOCIAL CONTACT PRIOR TO COVID-19 AND LONGITUDINAL MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES DURING COVID-19 AMONG ADULTS AGES ≥55
John Best, 1 Jessica Finlay, 2 and Daniel R. Y. Gan,1 ,1. Simon Fraser University,Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada,2. University of Michigan,Ann Arbor,Michigan,United States Social support protects mental health during a crisis. We examined whether prior contact with social organizations and friends/neighbors was associated with better trajectories of loneliness, depression and self-rated memory during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted latent class analysis and regression analysis on longitudinal data from the COVID-19 Coping Study of US adults aged ≥55 from April-October 2020 (n=3105). Overall, prior contact with friends(B=-.075,p<.001), neighbors(B=-.048,p=.007), and social organizations(B=-.073,p<.001) predicted better mental health amid COVID-19. Three classes were identified: Class1 had the best outcomes, whereas Class3 had the worst outcomes and were most likely to live alone(B=.149,p<.001). For Class1, prior contact with social organizations(B=-.052,p=.044) predicted decreasing loneliness. For Class2, prior contact with friends(B=-.075,p<.001) predicted decreasing loneliness and better memory(B=-.130,p=.011). Conversely, prior contact with neighbors(B=-.165,p=.010) predicted worsening loneliness among Class3. Our findings pose new questions on the role of neighborhood networks to mitigate poor mental health outcomes among older adults during a crisis. Behavioral interventions have been successfully deployed to prevent and manage chronic conditions among older persons, improve mental health, and support caregivers' ability to cope with care stressors. However, intervention effects may not be equally distributed among populations, nor equally acceptable or accessible among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. In this symposium, we will discuss how behavioral interventions can better meet the needs of BIPOC older adults and caregivers, who may not equally benefit from advancements in behavioral interventions due to issues such as a reliance on non-diverse study samples and lack of cultural tailoring. This symposium will be structured in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Stage Model of Behavioral, and will feature researchers whose work address BIPOC needs across the trajectory of intervention development. Representing Stage 1 research, Fayron Epps, PhD, RN, will describe her use of a community advisory council to develop a faith-based toolkit to support African Americans living with dementia and their caregivers. Next, Laura Gitlin, PhD, MA, will describe her experiences testing a Stage 3 intervention to lower depression among African Americans, including challenges advancing the culturally-tailored program to Stage 4. Lastly, Shanae Rhodes, BSN, RN will describe her Stage 2 evaluation of a conversation group created and attended by women of color to socially connect in response to COVID-19. Although speakers will describe research projects that represent specific research Stages, this symposium will have a large discussion-based component and will cover all parts of the Stage Model of Behavioral Intervention.

USING ADVISORY BOARDS TO DEVELOP A FAITH-BASED TOOLBOX TO SUPPORT AFRICAN AMERICAN FAMILIES FACING DEMENTIA Fayron Epps, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
For this project, we are designing and testing the feasibility of employing components of a Faith-based Home Activity Toolbox (Faith-HAT). The goal of this NIH stage