Faculty Directory

Christina Matz

Associate Professor

Chair, Older Adults & Families Department

Director, Center on Aging & Work

Photo of Christina Matz

Christina Matz

Ph.D.

Contact

McGuinn Hall 203

Telephone: 617-552-1634

Email: christina.matz@bc.edu

ORCID 0000-0003-4069-1240

Education

  • B.A., University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • M.S.W., Boston College
  • Ph.D., Boston College

Research Interests

Social and productive engagement (e.g., work, volunteering, caregiving, informal helping, etc.) in later life, healthy aging, meaning and purpose in life, intervention research, daily life methods (e.g., Ecological Momentary Assessment), use of technology interventions with older adults

Expertise

  • Aging
  • Social and Economic Inclusion
  • Innovations in Research Methods
  • Health
  • Evaluation
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Stress and Health at the Workplace
Research Overview CV or Resume

Profile

Christina Matz, MSW, PhD, FGSA, is an Associate Professor in the Boston College School of Social Work, Chair of the Older Adults & Families Department and Director of the Center on Aging & Work. Her research focuses on meaningful engagement in later-life and its effects on the health and well-being of individuals, families, organizations, communities, and society. She is a co-lead on the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare's Grand Challenge focused on “Advancing Long and Productive Lives” and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.

Funded by a National Institute on Aging P30 pilot grant with the Boston Roybal Center for Active Lifestyle Interventions, Dr. Matz developed and pilot-tested (RCT) a behavioral intervention (called Engaged4Life) designed to encourage community-dwelling older adults to embed physical activity, cognitive activity, and social interaction into their everyday lives in contexts that are personally meaningful via technology-assisted self-monitoring of activity levels, psycho-education, goal setting, and peer support.

Dr. Matz has co-authored more than 50 journal articles and book chapters. In 2018, one of her publications won the MatherLifeWays Institute on Aging Innovative Research on Aging Silver Award and in 2014, another publication was awarded the AARC/MECD Patricia B. Elmore Award for Outstanding Research in Measurement and Evaluation.

Dr. Matz was a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar (2012-2014), an Early Career Work and Family Scholar (2013-2014), and earned acceptance into the National Institute on Aging-funded Institute on Aging and Social Work (2012-2014).

She teaches courses in research methods, statistics, program evaluation and aging. In 2017, she won the Teaching Excellence Award and Mentor of the Year award in the Boston College School of Social Work. She has facilitated working partnerships with several Boston-area community organizations and serves as a consultant or advisor for projects national and internationally.

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