Miami University

Suzanne R. Kunkel, Ph.D., Director, Scripps Gerontology Center; Professor, Department of Sociology & Gerontology. kunkels@muohio.edu

Education:

Ph.D., Sociology/Demography, University of Cincinnati
M.A., Sociology/Gerontology, Miami University
B.A., Psychology, Edgecliff College

Research Interests:

Measurement of health and disability; demography of aging; global aging; gender and aging; consumer direction in community-based long-term care; research design; quantitative analysis.

Biographical Sketch:

Dr. Suzanne Kunkel is Director of the Scripps Gerontology Center and Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Her primary research focus is on planning for the health care needs for the older population. She has been involved in several large-scale studies projecting the future of long-term care needs for the nation, and for the state of Ohio and its counties. Her projections of population aging and the impact on long-term care needs have expanded to include a focus on global aging and the consequences of a rapidly aging society on less-developed regions of the world. Dr. Kunkel’s research also includes federally funded projects related to community-based home care and the aging network. She has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on three consumer-direction projects, including a study of quality in consumer direction in programs funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is currently Principal Investigator on a grant to develop a curriculum and an exchange program with three European universities; the focus for the curriculum is comparative study of health and social policies of older people.

Dr. Kunkel is a frequent speaker at national and state professional conferences. She also makes numerous presentations at state, local, and national training conferences on the uses of demographic data, projections of long-term care needs, and consumer directed services for older people. She has authored numerous book chapters, research monographs, and articles, and a textbook (with Leslie Morgan) entitled, Aging, Society and the Life Course. She was guest editor, along with colleague Mildred M. Seltzer, of a special issue of Generations, journal of the American Society on Aging, on the topic of what it means to be a professional in the field of aging.

Dr. Kunkel’s service to the field of aging has included offices as President of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, member of the governing board of the Gerontological Society of America, editorial board member for several professional journals, board member for several state and local organizations, and technical assistance to a number of Ohio area agencies on aging and service providers in the region.

Selected Publications:

S.R. Kunkel, J.K. Straker, & D.C. Carr (2007). PASSPORT Quality Assurance and Quality Management. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

W.B. Ciferri, S.R. Kunkel, K.B. McGrew, S.A. Mehdizadeh, J.K. Straker, & V. Wellin (2007). Program Evaluation of PASSPORT: Ohio's Home and Community-Based Medicaid Waiver. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

R. Applebaum, S.R. Kunkel, & K. Wilson (2007). Transforming Data Into Practical Information: Using Consumer Input to Improve Home Care Services. The Gerontologist, vol. 47, #1, February 2007, pp. 116-122.

R. Applebaum, S. Kunkel, S. Davis, K. McGrew, & I.M. Nelson (2006). Assessing the Quality of Caregiver Support Services. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

S.R. Kunkel, K.B. McGrew, R.A. Applebaum, & S.L. Davis (2006). Caregivers as Consumers: Perspectives on Quality. In S.R. Kunkel & V. Wellin (Eds.), Consumer Voice and Choice in Long-Term Care (pp. 141-151). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

S.R. Kunkel & I. M. Nelson (2006). Case Managers' Perspectives on Consumer Direction. In S.R. Kunkel & V. Wellin (Eds.), Consumer Voice and Choice in Long-Term Care (pp. 77-88). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

S.R. Kunkel & V. Wellin (Eds.).(2006). Consumer Voice and Choice in Long-Term Care. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

R.B. Noble, A.J. Bailer, S.R. Kunkel, & J.K. Straker (2006). Sample Size Requirements for Studying Small Populations in Gerontology Research. Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology (online) .

S.R. Kunkel & I. M. Nelson (2005, Fall). Consumer Direction: Changing the Landscape of Long-Term Care. Public Policy & Aging Report, vol. 15, no. 4, 13-16.

L. D. Murdoch , S.R. Kunkel, R.A. Applebaum & J.K. Straker (2004). Care Managers as Research Interviewers: A Test of a Strategy for Gathering Consumer Satisfaction Information. The Journal of Applied Gerontology, vol. 23, no. 3, September 2004, 234-246.

R.A. Applebaum, B. Schneider, S.R. Kunkel, & S. Davis (2004). A Guide to Quality in Consumer Directed Services. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

S.A. Mehdizadeh, S.P. Roman, V. Wellin, P.Neal Ritchey, W. B. Ciferri, & S.R. Kunkel (2004). Profile and Projections of the 60+ Population: A State Study. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

S.A. Mehdizadeh, S.P. Roman, V. Wellin, P.Neal Ritchey, & S.R. Kunkel (2004). Profile and Projections of the 60+ Population: A County by County Study. Oxford, OH: Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University.

S.R. Kunkel, R.A. Applebaum, & I.M. Nelson (2003-2004). For Love and Money: Paying Family Caregivers. Generations, vol. 27(4).