Rupal Parekh is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Her research focuses on aging and health, late-life migration, mental health, social isolation, the built environment, transportation disadvantage, home and community-based services, public policy, and the intersectional social determinants of health, with a primary aim of improving outcomes for late-life immigrants and diverse older adult populations.

Dr. Parekh’s scholarship examines how structural, social, cultural, and environmental factors shape the health, well-being, and quality of life of older adults, particularly those experiencing social isolation, multiple health concerns, transportation barriers, and aging alone. Her work advocates for the development of culturally grounded assessment tools, evidence-based practices, and national and state policy solutions to better address the needs of older adults across the continuum of care.

Dr. Parekh is the principal investigator of “Sahanshakti & Mental Well-Being in the Lives of Older Asian Indian Immigrant Women in the United States,” funded by the Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation Grant and the Council on Social Work Education, and “Barriers to Transportation and the Impact on Quality of Life Among Non-English Speaking, Older Asian Indian Immigrant Populations,” funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities.

Dr. Parekh’s research has been published in leading journals, including Dementia, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, British Journal of Social Work, Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, Ageing & Society, and Journal of Policy Practice, among others.

Dr. Parekh teaches courses in research methods and social policy, with teaching interests that include aging and social policy, direct practice with older adults, generalist macro and micro practice, and human behavior and diverse populations.

She brings more than a decade of professional and practice experience working with diverse older adult populations across the continuum of care. Her practice background informs her commitment to advancing research, policy, and interventions that promote equity, social connectedness, mobility, and well-being among older adults and late-life immigrant communities.

Dr. Parekh earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, where her dissertation focused on predictors of well-being and advance directives among elder orphans using a mixed-methods approach. She also earned an MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work; an MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health; and a BA in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma.