Older Americans Month: Aging Unbound

Written by Michele Dinman, MPH, project coordinator for the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health Happy Older Americans Month! For the past 60 years, the Administration for Community Living helps us celebrate and honor older Americans each May. This year’s theme, Aging Unbound, promotes the importance of enjoying independence […]

Suicide prevention among older adults

Learn more about suicide prevention among older adults in this blogpost by one of the students attending the course, Contemporary Perspectives on Aging.

The aging prison population: A rapidly growing issue

Written by Renee Hays, MSW candidate, Brown School; student in Contemporary Perspectives on Aging The American prison population has been aging at a rapid pace throughout the twenty-first century. According to the National Institute of Corrections, between 1993 and 2013, the number of prisoners in America aged 55 and older sentenced to at least one […]

A Geroscientist’s perspective on Careers in Aging

Careers in Aging Week, April 17-23 is designed to bring awareness to the wide-ranging career opportunities in the field of aging. Read one geroscientist’s point of view here.

April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day

In this blog post, Faculty Scholar and contributor to the Friedman Center for Aging, Brian Carpenter, asks some important questions about health care as we age.

Call for nominations! 2022 Friedman Lecture and Awards centers on innovations in the care of people with serious illness

The 21st Annual Friedman Lecture and Awards is just ahead, and this year, in addition to a panel of experts, the event features an exciting keynote by national expert on palliative medicine, and Chief Medical Officer for BJC Hospice, Patrick White, MD. The event, “Serious Illness Care: Advances and Opportunities” will also feature three awards […]

“Kids these days”: Why youth-directed ageism is an issue for everyone

Written by Morgan Van Vleck, MSW candidate (’22) and Masters Research Fellow in Aging at the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging As we become an increasingly aged society, it is important to understand how stereotypes and bias against both younger and older age groups functions and leads to fractures in intergenerational relationships. Ageism against […]

Ageism – the unnoticed -ism

Written by Michele Dinman, project coordinator for the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health “She looks so good for her age”…“I was having a senior moment”…“50 is the new 30”…“Old people go there”….“You don’t look 70”… “Millennials have an inflated sense of entitlement” …“She is too young to be […]

Return to normal

Mateo Blair, a Summer Research Program- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track participant, discusses her experiences in Dr. Susan Stark’s lab.

Remembering the people behind the disease

In this blogpost written by Sophia Tu, a Summer Research Program student in the Aging & Neurological Diseases Track, studies concerning dementia and Alzheimers are discussed.

Summer Research Program Experience 2.0

This blogpost written by Summer Research Program, Aging & Neurological Diseases Track student, Danielle Friz discusses various presentations on chronic diseases in aging adults.

When I’m 64: What will our future be?

The When I’m 64 course is back for Fall 2021 and helps students break down biases toward older adults and impact students’ vocational paths!

Purpose for life over a lifespan

This blog post by Summer Research Program student Aja Jones assesses the connection between healthy aging and a continuous development of an individual’s purpose for life.

An exciting experience

In this blogpost written by Summer Research Program student, Josie Wright, the COMPASS program and home modifications for stroke patients are discussed.

In Memoriam of Dorismae Hacker Friedman

October 28, 1920-May 30, 2021 Mrs. Dorismae Hacker Friedman passed away peacefully in her home, on May 30. In fall of 2007, WashU’s Center for Aging was renamed the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging in recognition of Harvey and Dorismae Friedman’s support of the center’s efforts to create an environment for fruitful cross-disciplinary research. […]

COVID-19: Age & Race Lead to Compounding Risk

Issues affecting older adults during the time of COVID-19 are the topic of this blogpost by guest author, Morgan Van Vleck, masters research fellow in aging.

How Homesharing Provides Benefits During The Pandemic

Content provided by Odd Couples Housing The idea of homesharing has been around for years. Around the country, various formal and informal networks for finding tenants, short-term borders, or roommates have surfaced. Instead of finding roommates through word-of-mouth or college campus flyers, now there are structured options to support homesharing, including a few options in […]

Why older people are among the first to get the vaccine

By Nancy Morrow-Howell, MSW, PhD, the Bettie Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy, Brown School of Social Work and director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging On December 8, 2020, the first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine went into the arm of a 90-year-old woman, Margaret Keenan, with the second delivered to an 81-year-old […]

COVID-19 and Compounding Losses

by Barbara L. Finch, MLA, Alumna, Washington University in St. Louis The older adults I know are scared. In the independent living retirement community where I live, eight months of isolation because of Covid-19 is beginning to take its toll.  While we are no longer “locked down” like we were during the first few months of […]

Emergency departments, older adults & coronavirus part two: What older adults need to know about their treatment in emergency departments

Written by Tanner Meyer, Masters Research Fellow in Aging, Class of ‘21, Friedman Center for Aging Embed from Getty Images Recap: At the start of our conversation with Barnes-Jewish Emergency Department Physician, Dr. Chris Carpenter, we asked how emergency departments are working to modify their methods of care to treat older adults. Dr. Carpenter, alongside […]

COVID-19 double jeopardy: The intersection of race and age

Written by Emma Swinford, Natalie Galucia and Nancy Morrow-Howell Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis The American Society on Aging recently released a statement, which begins, “Age offers no immunity to racism and violence.” In fact, age often magnifies the impact of structural inequalities like racism. […]

Won’t you be my neighbor? Inter-generational living in St. Louis

Written by Emma Swinford, MPH, MSW, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging Embed from Getty Images The Back Story My experience in the world of inter-generational living started when I began working as a  research assistant with the Friedman Center for Aging in my second year of grad school. The Friedman Center’s work on inter-generational […]

Opinion: Ageism in COVID coverage shrouds full picture of older adult population

Written by Nancy Morrow-Howell, Natalie Galucia and Emma Swinford of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at the Institute for Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis News coverage of the pandemic addresses everyone in later life as one monolithic group – “the elderly” – vulnerable, lonely, living in retirement facilities. Of course, attention […]

COVID-19 & older adults: Time Management & self-care skills

Written by Kim Furlow, Institute for Public Health; Natalie Galucia, MSW; Nancy Morrow-Howell, MSW, PhD; and Emma Swinford, MPH, MSW, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging Embed from Getty Images Stay-at-home orders have meant that the routines of millions of people have been disrupted. To stay safe at home, many older adults have been disconnected […]

Careers in Aging Week 2020: Insights from the Friedman Center for Aging

April 19-25 marked 2020 Careers in Aging Week (CIAW). CIAW is hosted every year by the Gerontological Society of America to raise awareness about the diverse careers available in the field of aging. As people are living longer, populations are aging worldwide and the demands for professionals with expertise in aging grows, the Harvey A. […]

Preparing for a Career in Aging: Part I

Written by Natalie Galucia, MSW, Center Manager, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging & Meghan McDarby, M.A., Psychological & Brain Sciences Washington University has a variety of options available to students pursuing careers in aging. Across both the Danforth and School of Medicine Campuses, students are preparing for this field. To get a taste of […]