On February 26th and 27th, FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy alongside the Department of Geography hosted the 2026 GOAL Symposium.
Geographies of Aging and the Life Course (GOAL) is an interdisciplinary working group of researchers engaged in spatial or place-based studies of aging and the life course. They aim to bring people together from across disciplines (e.g., geography, gerontology, epidemiology, sociology, transportation, urban planning) to connect, collaborate, and advance research on the dynamic interplay of space, place, and environments across the life course.
GOAL was formed in 2024 in response to the vast growth of geospatial research in gerontology and life course epidemiology. Their “goal” is to have a platform to collaborate on research, organize conference sessions and socials, hold seminars and workshops, advertise related jobs and student openings, and contribute to special issues in scientific journals.
There were two main workshops hosted during the event.
The first was a qualitative workshop focused on developing and conducting mini seated and mobile interviews with local older adults. This was a hands-on and practice-oriented with opportunities for participants to work in pairs, try different interviewing approaches, and reflect together in real time. Older adults from the senior center joined as practice interviewees as well.
The second was a quantitative workshop which provided participants with hands-on experience in spatial survival modeling using R. Attendees worked with synthetic individual-level health data combined with real place-based variables over multiple time points, allowing for exploration of how individual and neighborhood characteristics jointly influence health outcomes over time.
Special thanks to Dr. Amber DeJohn for her dedication and hard work organizing, planning, and hosting. The GOAL 2026 Symposium would not have happened without her. And thank you to COSSPP and to everyone who was able to attend!
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