In 1948, the famous Framingham Heart Study was launched in Massachusetts, kicking off what would be one of the most significant medical projects in history. The objective was simple: to learn more about cardiovascular disease by following its development over a long period of time in a large group of participants who had not yet developed the disease. 

Today, the study is looking at its third generation of residents. It has given us a vast body of research that has revolutionized the way that medicine has been practiced, and enabled us to understand how to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease in a way that was never before possible.

You may be asking how this relates back to long-term care and aging, and the answer is simple: we need a Framingham Heart Study for aging care. For years, research into how people age and what we can do to help them live dignified, independent lives has been piecemeal and short-term. As the aging population continues to grow, and as long-term care providers continue to seek out better solutions to improve care and reduce costs, the need for a longitudinal study on aging and innovation acceleration becomes clearer.

Hopefully, that need will soon be answered. Last week, a group of stakeholders across the categories of academia, government, industry, foundations, and advocacy organizations gathered in Washington, D.C. to explore this very idea. The meeting was convened by the SILvR Network Initiative, a coalition sponsored by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Intel Corporation, the National Science Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The initiative seeks to create a national research environment that will serve as a testbed for independent living technologies. 

The Washington, D.C. meeting reflected a broad enthusiasm to create this testbed and further build up the independent living industry with effective, proven solutions. The group began to ask critical questions such as:

  • How do we create data on independent living systems that companies can actually use to improve the lives of their aging constituents? 
  • How do we create a reliable set of evidence that will drive innovation? 
  • How do we stay product-agnostic so that we can prove the value of a category without staying affiliated to only one offering?

So the question is obvious: what's the next step for the SILvR Network Initiative? Based on the recent meeting, the group plans to explore options for funding small pilots that will create a national research testbed for independent living. These pilots, if successful, will serve as a foundation for a massive scale-up, with the hopeful goal of reaching what Eric Dishman has referred to as the “10,000 testbed”: a body of research to explore aging processes and uncover the technologies that best ensure independent living and healthy aging.

As initiatives like this continue to pop up, we have a responsibility to support them – a responsibility not only to our parents and grandparents, but a responsibility to those longer-term care organizations that are so committed to supporting those we love. It's time to bring the model of the 1948 Framingham Heart Study – started more than half a century ago – into 21st century independent living, to help us care for one of the greatest generations.

Shannon McIntyre is the communications manager at Intel-GE Care Innovations™.