Short biography

Adele Grenz is a qualified physiotherapist and holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Education and a Master of Science (MSc) in Health Services Research from the University of Oldenburg. Before embarking on her academic career, she worked for several years in outpatient physiotherapy and in the field of education with children, young people and adults.

During her studies, she worked as a student assistant in the Department of Medical Ethics. There, she focused in particular on the care of people with dementia in live-in care arrangements.

Since 2024, she has been a research assistant in the Department of Prevention and Rehabilitation. Her doctoral research focuses on age-friendly cities and communities, with a particular emphasis on different life circumstances, participation and the living environments of older people. She is also involved in university teaching.

Key research focuses

• Age-friendly cities and communities, living environments and person-environment relationships
• Very old age and different life circumstances in old age
• Participation, social relationships and social inequalities in old age
• Care and support for older people

Methodological Focus: Quantitative, qualitative and participatory research methods

Research projects

Age-friendly Oldenburg

The Old Town – An Age-Friendly City: Needs, Barriers and Prospects

Publications

Articles in academic journals

Grenz, A., Von Kutzleben, M., & Boerner, K. (2026). Old age in urban discourse: The age-friendly city and the ambiguities of later life. Urban Studies, 00420980261477897. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980261477897

Ayalon, L., Nebowsky, A.-E., Ulitsa, N., Von Kutzleben, M., Grenz, A., & Schweda, M. (2026). The live-in migrant home care arrangement in the eyes of family members: Findings from Israel and Germany. Health & Social Care in the Community, 2026(1), 6827012. https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/6827012

Stuckenschneider, T., Oswald, F., Grenz, A., Himmelmann, L., Schmidt, N. M., Speckmann, E.-M., Zieschang, T., & Boerner, K. (2026). Neighbourhood-level age-friendliness in urban environments: Associations with functional independence and physical activity in older adults after a fall. Frontiers in Public Health, 14, 1839024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1839024

Fassmer, A. M., Grenz, A., Ennen, M., Zuidema, S. U., Boerner, K., Janus, S. I. M., Mooiweer, Y., & Hoffmann, F. (2025). Perspectives of healthcare professionals on medical care in nursing homes in Germany and the Netherlands: an exploratory study using qualitative content analysis. European Journal of Public Health. doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf176

Grenz, A., Weinhardt, M., Hess, M., van Hoof, J., Dikken, J., & Boerner, K. (2025). How age-friendly are towns and local authorities? German version of the Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire (AFCCQ). Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-025-02440-6

Grenz, Adele; Schweda, Mark; von Kutzleben, Milena (2025): Live-in care in Germany: a qualitative content analysis of social and political discourses. In: Journal of Evidence, Continuing Education and Quality in Healthcare. DOI: 10.1016/j.zefq.2024.10.007.

Grenz, A., von Kutzleben, M. (2024). Conceptualisations of good care and conflicts in live-in migrant care arrangements for people with dementia – perspectives of family carers in Germany. BMC Geriatr 24, 702. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-05283-9.

Book chapters

Grenz, A., & von Kutzleben, M. (2025). Are live-in arrangements a (good) care model for people with dementia? The perspective of family members (pp. 301–314). In German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) & German Alzheimer’s Association (eds.), Relatives of people with dementia: Research findings and perspectives. Juventa. https://doi.org/10.3262/978-3-7799-8036-0

Presentations

June 2026
Petzold, J., Voelcker, I., Grenz, A., Dornig, N., Hikl, H., & Ramovs, A. (17 June 2026). From interest to implementation: Advancing age-friendly cities and communities at national level [Panel session]. 3rd World Congress on Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, San Sebastián, Spain.

, November 2025 Grenz, A., Weinhardt, M., Hess, M., van Hoof, J., Dikken, J., & Boerner, K. (November 2025). How Age-friendly is Your City to You: Experiences From a Mid-sized German City. In K. Boerner (Chair), Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: An International Perspective. Symposium presented at the 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Boston , MA, USA.

, September 2025 Grenz, A., Weinhardt, M., Hess, M., van Hoof, J., Dikken, J., & Boerner, K. (September 2025). Municipal Service Provision: A Quantitative Study on the Age-Friendliness of a Medium-Sized City. In T. H. A. Dang & S. Stadler (Chairs), Public Health. Session presented at the German Congress on Health Services Research (DKVF), Hamburg, Germany.

Grenz, A., Weinhardt, M., Hess, M., van Hoof, J., Dikken, J., & Boerner, K. (September 2025). An age-friendly city for everyone? A comparison of four personas. In K. Boerner (Chair), Health-Promoting Environments. Session presented at the Annual Meeting of the German Society for Gerontology and Geriatrics (DGGG), Jena, Germany.

, October 2024 Grenz, A.; Boerner, K. (2024): Age-friendly cities: Findings from Oldenburg. The Smart House Oldenburg. Oldenburg, 1 October 2024.

Poster

September 2026
Grenz, A., von Kutzleben, M., & Boerner, K. (September 2026). Who is given priority? On the construction of participation in age-friendly cities [Poster presentation]. Gerontology and Geriatrics Congress 2026, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Poster

, June 2026 Grenz, A., Espelage, C., von Kutzleben, M., & Boerner, K. (16 June 2026). Persona building and empathy mapping to address inequalities in very old age in age-friendly cities [Poster session]. 3rd World Congress on Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, San Sebastián, Spain. Poster

September 2024
Grenz, A.; von Kutzleben, M. (2024): How do relatives measure good dementia care in live-in care arrangements? A qualitative content analysis of online focus groups. DKVF. Potsdam, 25 September 2024.