Dissertation

Evaluating the Impact of Multisector Plans for Aging: A Utilization-Focused Framework for State-Level Assessment

Hancock, Kevin James

2026

Overview

States are increasingly adopting 10-year multisector plans for aging (MPAs) to address the rapid growth of the older adult population and the interconnected policy challenges that accompany it, including health, housing, transportation, caregiving, and economic security; however, as these plans proliferate, the field still lacks a standardized and practical approach for determining whether MPAs are working, how they should adapt over time, and what success should mean both to those responsible for implementation and to the older adults and caregivers affected by plan outcomes. This dissertation addresses that gap by developing a stakeholder-defined Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE) framework for MPA assessment that treats evaluation as part of implementation infrastructure rather than as periodic reporting. Using a qualitative design, the study triangulates three evidence streams: semistructured interviews with 14 MPA stakeholders representing 10 states plus a national technical assistance perspective, a structured document review of 100 multisector plans including 11 published state MPAs, and an ethnographic case study of Pennsylvania’s Aging Our Way, PA to capture the behind-the-scenes decision points and tradeoffs that written plans rarely reveal. Cross-stream synthesis identifies a consistent translation gap: although MPAs commonly produce evaluation artifacts such as dashboards, indicators, and progress updates, the decision-system mechanics that convert evidence into action are often underspecified. The findings support four core claims: MPA evaluation is uneven and frequently conflated with reporting; meaningful use depends on governance, facilitation, and explicit decision pathways; equity measurement must be treated as intentional design work through disaggregation standards, targets, and indicator stewardship; and dashboards matter only when paired with structured learning cycles and sensemaking routines. In response, the dissertation proposes a stepwise UFE-based evaluation framework organized around intended users and uses and operationalized through defined roles, standardized deliverables, readiness conditions, trigger rules for course correction, and a nested cadence of decision forums across the 10-year lifecycle. The result is a transferable evaluation operating system that states can adapt to differing levels of capacity and data maturity while preserving the central UFE premise that evaluation quality is demonstrated through use.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Area planning & development / Area Planning and Development / Gerontology / Public policy / Sociology
• ISBN: 9798241681027