Learn about the statistics and preventative measures surrounding suicide among older adults.
Older adults and suicide: How can mental health professionals increase prevention efforts?

Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging Blog Posts
Learn about the statistics and preventative measures surrounding suicide among older adults.
Read this blog post about how older adults are using technology to bolster their independence.
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 […]
In this blog post, MSW student Marissa Scofield discusses how Cognitive Stimulation Therapy can provide a social outlet and improve quality of life for those living with dementia.
Read about how more older adults today are interested in working past retirement.
Learn more about suicide prevention among older adults in this blogpost by one of the students attending the course, Contemporary Perspectives on Aging.
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 […]
Read a perspective from a member of the Friedman Center for Aging staff, regarding how we often discriminate against ourselves as we age.
A participant in the “When I’m 64…” course at WashU talks about her experience.
Successful aging can be achieved through patient-focused care, according to this student in the Summer Research Program-Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
Learn more about how one study is helping reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression that older adult patients may face before/after surgery.
Read reflections on her program experience from a student in the Summer Research Program-Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
Learn about the Karch Lab and this Summer Research Program student’s research experiences while participating in the Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
Learn more about the DRIVES Project in this blog post by a student in the Summer Research Program – Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
Learn more about stroke neurology and other physician perspectives on neurological diseases in this blog post by a student in the Summer Research Program – Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
A student participating in the Summer Research Program – Aging & Neurological Diseases Track discusses her work with the Stark Lab at WashU.
Read a reflection on aging in this blog post from a student in the Summer Research Program – Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
A Summer Research Program — Aging & Neurological Diseases Track student talks about his experience Empathetic Exercises, which simulate physical disabilities associated with aging.
See through the eyes of an older adult with macular degeneration in this blog post by a participant in the Summer Research Program-Aging & Neurological Diseases Track.
Learn about the documentary, The Alzheimer’s Project: The Memory Loss Tapes in this blog post by a student in the Summer Research Program-Aging & Neurological Diseases Track
Find out what’s happening with students in the Summer Research Program-Aging & Neurological Diseases Track in this blog post from a participating student.
Read more about resources and tips for helping older adults celebrate Older Americans Month!
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.
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 professional’s point of view here.
Commemorating Careers in Aging week (April 17-23), read a blog post authored by WashU professor, David Balota working in aging research.
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 student’s point of view here.
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.
Read this informative blog by Associate Professor, Karla Washington, also a 2022 Friedman Lecture & Awards’ panelist.
How we speak and write about aging matters. Learn more about what several national agencies say are best practices in eliminating age bias from written language.
Written by Chris Frey, LCSW, Your Next Move course instructor As an educator and counselor, my interest in how we navigate transitions of all shapes and sizes has grown significantly through the years. As I have aged, my journey to understand both the familiar and unique aspects of life changes that call on us to […]
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 […]
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 […]
Paresa Chowdhury, a Summer Research Program participant, discusses the insight she gained on aging and ageism while working in the PATH Lab.
Mateo Blair, a Summer Research Program- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track participant, discusses her experiences in Dr. Susan Stark’s lab.
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.
This blogpost written by Summer Research Program, Aging & Neurological Diseases Track student, Danielle Friz discusses various presentations on chronic diseases in aging adults.
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.
In this blogpost written by Summer Research Program student, Josie Wright, the COMPASS program and home modifications for stroke patients are discussed.
The multidimensional affects of aging on our population is the topic of this blogpost by Summer Research Program student, Lindsey Debosik.
Guest author Behnaz Sarrami reviews area older adult service agencies and the need for a “voice” for adults as they age.
The Institute for Public Health & its Friedman Center for Aging welcome our new Project Coordinator, Michele Dinman.
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.
Students in the class, When I’m 64, have developed a Lifespan Calculator. Learn more in this blog by guest author, Donna Springer.
Social media isn’t just for kids anymore. Older adults today are adeptly winding their way through the social sphere more than ever.
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 […]
Friedman Center for Aging “Your Next Move” Seminar Summary Written by Kim Furlow, Institute for Public Health Being in my early 50’s and thinking about “many years from now” when I’ll retire, (not really; it’s probably coming sooner than we all expect!) I decided to attend the Friedman Center for Aging “Your Next Move” Seminar […]
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 […]
Written by Mason Basler, BS candidate in biochemistry, Rockhurst University; participant in the Summer Research Program,- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track During the online summer internship in aging and neurological conditions, I attended an online presentation given by Brian Carpenter, PhD, who is a professor and researcher of psychological and brain sciences. During this presentation, […]
Written by Sophia Tu, BS candidate at Saint Louis University; participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program- Aging and Neurological Diseases Track I was sitting in front of my computer screen with the volume turned up, listening intently as the words coming through the speakers gave me goosebumps. Some nights I would catch […]
Written by Lindsey Debosik, B.S. candidate in Public Health and Health Management at Saint Louis University and participant in the 2020 Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program For the longest time, I did not understand the value of research to society or to oppressed individuals within that society. As a public health student, I […]