# Advancing Health Disparities Research in Aging: The Aging Research in Criminal Justice & Health (ARCH) Network

> **NIH NIH R24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $173,109

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Despite 20 years of unprecedented growth in the number of criminal justice-involved older adults (those under arrest, in
court, in prison or jail, on probation or parole), the knowledge needed to develop evidence-based interventions for this
population with high rates of early onset disease, disability and behavioral and social risk factors, is deeply under-
developed. In particular, research to understand the life course experiences, the social determinants of health, and the
drivers of later life health disparities in this population, including criminal justice involvement itself, is limited. Moreover,
much of the research about this population has failed to study geriatric conditions (e.g., functional and cognitive
impairment, falls, elder abuse, polypharmacy) that are key to understanding the health and wellbeing of older adults at
each phase of criminal justice involvement (from arrest through community reintegration after incarceration). This lack of
knowledge has profound impacts on public health as over 95% of incarcerated patients are eventually released to the
community where they disproportionately rely on community safety net healthcare systems. The relative lack of evidence
in this area of aging and health disparities research reflects, in part, professional isolation among the growing number of
researchers who study aging and criminal justice involvement – many of them early in their careers – from a range of
academic disciplines (e.g. medicine, public health, nursing, epidemiology, social welfare) spread throughout the nation
with few centered at any one institution. As a result, vital interdisciplinary research collaborations are limited and junior
researchers often lack the mentorship needed to pursue a successful research career in this area. In response, we propose
developing The ARCH (Aging Research in Criminal justice & Health) Network to build research capacity in this emerging
field and catalyze the impactful research needed to develop evidence-based interventions that meet the needs of this
historically overlooked population of older adults.
To meet these goals, we propose two specific aims: (1) to establish a multidisciplinary national research network to
develop and refine the research agenda, measures, and methods needed to advance research on the health and social
drivers of criminal justice involvement and health disparities among older adults over the life course and the consequences
of criminal justice involvement on health in later life; and (2) to support new and established scientists to develop and
implement life course research on the health of criminal justice-involved older adults by offering a research technical
assistance program, creating a national mentorship program for junior investigators, directly funding pilot and exploratory
research, and creating formal opportunities for networking to develop new multidisciplinary research collaborations. The
ARCH Network will ensure that...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10652092
- **Project number:** 3R24AG065175-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** BRIE A WILLIAMS
- **Activity code:** R24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $173,109
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10652092

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10652092, Advancing Health Disparities Research in Aging: The Aging Research in Criminal Justice & Health (ARCH) Network (3R24AG065175-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10652092. Licensed CC0.

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