Photo of Muramatsu, Naoko

Naoko Muramatsu, PhD, MHSA, FGSA

Professor

Community Health Sciences

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Contact

Building & Room:
687 SPHPI
Address:
1603 W. Taylor St.
Office Phone:
(312) 996-5679

Institute for Health Research and Policy

Building & Room:
594 WROB
Address:
1747 W. Roosevelt Rd.
Office Phone:
(312) 413-0485

Email:

naoko@uic.edu

Office Hours: please sign up at calendal.com/naoko - Fall 2026
Sunday
Monday 04:00pm – 05:00am
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

About

Naoko Muramatsu, PhD, FGSA, is a professor in the Division of Community Health Sciences in the UIC School of Public Health and a Co-Director (Contact PI) of the Center for Health in Cognitive Aging (CHECA) funded by the National Institute on Aging of NIH. Trained in health services research and sociology, Dr. Muramatsu investigates aging and health in individual, social, and healthcare contexts with the goal of improving the quality of life in adults aging with or into disabilities and those who care for them. Her research focuses on how place shapes health, work, and caregiving experiences in people from various backgrounds locally, nationally, and globally, building on her expertise in long-term care access and quality, health promotion programs, and interdisciplinary research in partnership with community-based organizations.

Selected Grants

National Institute on Aging (NIA), Center for Health in Cognitive Aging - Joining Population Science and Health Promotion (CHECA), MPI (Contact Principal Investigator)

NHLBI/NIH, ILLInet RECOVER, MPI

National Institute on Aging, Promoting In-Home Activities at a Memory & Aging Clinic (Pro-Home MeC), Principal Investigator

National Institute on Aging, Promoting Seniors' Health with Home Care Aides (Pro-Home), Principal Investigator

Selected Publications

Yin, L, Caceres M, Skowronski, J, Muramatsu, N. 2023. Assessing motor function in frail older adults in their home settings: Challenges, strategies and recommendations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(15):6515.

Muramatsu, N, Chin, M.H. 2022. Battling structural racism against Asians in the United States: Call for public health to make the “invisible” visible. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 28: S3-S8.
Muramatsu, N., Yin, L. 2019. Gentle physical activity intervention led by caregivers in a Medicaid home care program: Do outcomes differ between family and non-family caregiving dyads?  Innovation in Aging, 3(3). Special issue, Translational Research on Caregiving.

Muramatsu, N., Sokas, R.K., Lukyanova, V., Zanoni, J.  2019. Perceived stress and health among home care aides caring for older clients in a Medicaid-funded home care program. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 30(2):721-238.

Mitchell, U.A., Chebli, P., Ruggiero, L., Muramatsu, N. 2019. The digital divide in health-related technology use: The significance of race/ethnicity. The Gerontologist, 59(1):6-14.

Muramatsu, N., Sokas, R.K., Chakraborty, A., Zanoni, J.P., Lipscomb, J. 2018.  Slips, trips, and falls among home care aides: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 60(9): 796-803.
Muramatsu, N., Yin, L., Berbaum, M.L., Marquez, D.X., Jurivich, D.A., Zanoni, J.P., Cruz Madrid, K.Y., Walton, S.M.  2018. Promoting seniors’ health with home care aides: A pilot. The Gerontologist, 58(4): 779-788.

Muramatsu, N. and Akiyama, H.  2011.  Japan:  Super aging society preparing for the future.  The Gerontologist, 51(4): 425-432.

Muramatsu, N., Yin, H., and Hedeker, D.  2010.  Functional declines, social support, and mental health in the elderly: Does living in a state supportive for home and community-based services make a difference?
Social Science and Medicine, 70(7): 1050-1058.

Tsutsui, T and Muramatsu, N. 2007. Japan’s universal long term care system reform of 2005:  Containing costs and realizing a vision. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 55(9):1458-1463.

Notable Honors

2015 - present, Fellow, Gerontological Society of America

2010 - present, Member, Delta Omega Honor Society

1988, Fulbright Scholarship, US Department of States

Education

Ph.D. Health Services Organization and Policy (Sociology and Organizational Studies), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 1995

M.A. Sociology (Demography and Organizational Studies), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 1993

M.H.S.A. Master of Health Services Administration, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 1990

Selected Presentations

Muramatsu, N. Bridging Research to Practice: Pro-Home Empowers Care Partners to Promote Exercise in Home Care.  Symposium (Chair, Muramatsu) presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Tampa, FL. November 11, 2023. Innovation in Aging, 7(S1):549–550.

Muramatsu, N. Place, Time, and Structural Racism: Global Perspectives for Reimagining Aging. Presented as a part of the Presidential Symposium, “The Intersection of Age and Race: Impact on Reimagining Aging” (Chairs: Jarrott, S., and Lincoln, K.; Discussant: Levy, R; with Gonzales, E., Muñoz, E., Robinson-Lane, S.). Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Indianapolis, IN, November 4, 2022.