Meredith Minkler, Ph.D.

Meredith Minkler is a Professor in the School of Public Health, Health and Social Behavior at the University of California, Berkeley. Her current research includes an ecological study of circumstances of American grandparents raising grandchildren and their families, using Census 2000 data on a .6% sample of the total population. The research examines the prevalence and correlates of grandparent caregiving, with attention to the individual, household, community and state levels of analysis. Initial publications based on the research include a paper in The Gerontologist and a forthcoming article in Social Work. Dr. Minkler also is researching, with her colleagues, health disparities in disability in older Americans. An initial look at disability among diverse socioeconomic groups using the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey is underway, and an NIH grant is under review which would make possible a far more detailed ecological look at disability in the elderly. Dr. Minkler also continues to engage in critical research on gerontology, most recently examining problematic aspects of the concept of successful aging. Recent co-authored papers based on this work appear in the Journal of Disability Policy Studies and The Gerontologist. Dr. Minkler is co-editor of several books in the field of social gerontology including Critical Gerontology (with Carol Estes, Baywood Publishers).