IOA Staff
Gracie Boswell, PhD
Research Scientist
Gracie E.H. Boswell, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist at the Institute on Aging.
Dr. Boswell's interests in aging research include: studying the quality of life or well-being of older adults who experience chronic illness either as sufferers or as caregivers. Guided by the holistic paradigm along with other social theories, she will examine the roles of spirituality and religiosity along with biopsychosocial determinants of quality of life in the lives of older adults who encounter chronic illness. She is mainly interested in what keeps older adults going and making the most of life in spite of their chronic illnesses and manifestations of aging. Methodologically, she is interested in techniques that will pave the way for differentiating religiosity and spirituality constructs. In addition, she is interested in examining constellations of social factors as indicators of risk for well-being or quality of life.
Dr. Boswell received her bachelor's degree from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va. She studied at John Carroll University and Ursuline College and has a M.Ed. from Kent State University. More recently, she received both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Aging and Medical Sociology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
