research paper about senior

• Utility Menu

• Writing Center
• Writing Program
• Senior Thesis Writing Guides

The senior thesis is typically the most challenging writing project undertaken by undergraduate students. The writing guides below aim to introduce students both to the specific methods and conventions of writing original research in their area of concentration and to effective writing process.

• Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines
• Course-Specific Writing Guides
• Disciplinary Writing Guides
• Gen Ed Writing Guides

What Is a Senior Thesis?

 Daniel Ingold/Cultura/Getty Images

• Writing Research Papers
• Writing Essays
• English Grammar
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

A senior thesis is a large, independent research project that students take on during their senior year of high school or college to fulfill their graduation requirement. It is the culminating work of their studies at a particular institution, and it represents their ability to conduct research and write effectively. For some students, a senior thesis is a requirement for graduating with honors.

Students typically work closely with an advisor and choose a question or topic to explore before carrying out an extensive research plan.

Style Manuals and the Paper's Organization

The structure of your research paper will depend, in part, on the style manual that is required by your instructor. Different disciplines, such as history, science, or education, have different rules to abide by when it comes to research paper construction, organization, and modes of citation. The styles for different types of assignment include:

Modern Language Association (MLA): The disciplines that tend to prefer the MLA style guide include literature, arts, and the humanities, such as linguistics, religion, and philosophy. To follow this style, you will use parenthetical citations to indicate your sources and a works cited page to show the list of books and articles you consulted.

American Psychological Association (APA): The APA style manual tends to be used in psychology, education, and some of the social sciences. This type of report may require the following:

• Introduction

Chicago style: "The Chicago Manual of Style" is used in most college-level history courses as well as professional publications that contain scholarly articles. Chicago style may call for endnotes or footnotes corresponding to a bibliography page at the back or the author-date style of in-text citation, which uses parenthetical citations and a references page at the end.

Turabian style: Turabian is a student version of Chicago style. It requires some of the same formatting techniques as Chicago, but it includes special rules for writing college-level papers, such as book reports. A Turabian research paper may call for endnotes or footnotes and a bibliography.

Science style: Science instructors may require students to use a format that is similar to the structure used in publishing papers in scientific journals. The elements you would include in this sort of paper include:

• List of materials and methods used
• Results of your methods and experiments
• Acknowledgments

American Medical Association (AMA): The AMA style book might be required for students in medical or premedical degree programs in college. Parts of an AMA research paper might include:

• Proper headings and lists
• Tables and figures
• In-text citations
• Reference list

Choose Your Topic Carefully

Starting off with a bad, difficult, or narrow topic likely won't lead to a positive result. Don't choose a question or statement that's so broad that it's overwhelming and could comprise a lifetime of research or a topic that's so narrow you'll struggle to compose 10 pages. Consider a topic that has a lot of recent research so you won't struggle to put your hands on current or adequate sources.

Select a topic that interests you. Putting in long hours on a subject that bores you will be arduous—and ripe for procrastination. If a professor recommends an area of interest, make sure it excites you.

Also, consider expanding a paper you've already written; you'll hit the ground running because you've already done some research and know the topic. Last, consult with your advisor before finalizing your topic. You don't want to put in a lot of hours on a subject that is rejected by your instructor.

Organize Your Time

Plan to spend half of your time researching and the other half writing. Often, students spend too much time researching and then find themselves in a crunch, madly writing in the final hours. Give yourself goals to reach along certain "signposts," such as the number of hours you want to have invested each week or by a certain date or how much you want to have completed in those same timeframes.

Organize Your Research

Compose your works cited or bibliography entries as you work on your paper. This is especially important if your style manual requires you to use access dates for any online sources that you review or requires page numbers be included in the citations. You don't want to end up at the very end of the project and not know what day you looked at a particular website or have to search through a hard-copy book looking for a quote that you included in the paper. Save PDFs of online sites, too, as you wouldn't want to need to look back at something and not be able to get online or find that the article has been removed since you read it.

Choose an Advisor You Trust

This may be your first opportunity to work with direct supervision. Choose an advisor who's familiar with the field, and ideally select someone you like and whose classes you've already taken. That way you'll have a rapport from the start. 

Consult Your Instructor

Remember that your instructor is the final authority on the details and requirements of your paper. Read through all instructions, and have a conversation with your instructor at the start of the project to determine his or her preferences and requirements. Have a cheat sheet or checklist of this information; don't expect yourself to remember all year every question you asked or instruction you were given. 

• What Is a Bibliography?
• Turabian Style Guide With Examples
• What Is a Citation?
• Formatting Papers in Chicago Style
• What Is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?
• Bibliography: Definition and Examples
• Definition of Appendix in a Book or Written Work
• Tips for Typing an Academic Paper on a Computer
• What Are Endnotes, Why Are They Needed, and How Are They Used?
• How to Organize Research Notes
• MLA Style Parenthetical Citations
• Formatting APA Headings and Subheadings
• Bibliography, Reference List or Works Cited?
• How to Write a Research Paper That Earns an A
• What's the Preferred Way to Write the Abbreviation for United States?
• Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition

Honors Theses

What this handout is about.

Writing a senior honors thesis, or any major research essay, can seem daunting at first. A thesis requires a reflective, multi-stage writing process. This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences. Yet all thesis writers may find the organizational strategies helpful.

Introduction

What is an honors thesis.

That depends quite a bit on your field of study. However, all honors theses have at least two things in common:

• They are based on students’ original research.
• They take the form of a written manuscript, which presents the findings of that research. In the humanities, theses average 50-75 pages in length and consist of two or more chapters. In the social sciences, the manuscript may be shorter, depending on whether the project involves more quantitative than qualitative research. In the hard sciences, the manuscript may be shorter still, often taking the form of a sophisticated laboratory report.

Who can write an honors thesis?

In general, students who are at the end of their junior year, have an overall 3.2 GPA, and meet their departmental requirements can write a senior thesis. For information about your eligibility, contact:

• UNC Honors Program
• Your departmental administrators of undergraduate studies/honors

Why write an honors thesis?

Satisfy your intellectual curiosity This is the most compelling reason to write a thesis. Whether it’s the short stories of Flannery O’Connor or the challenges of urban poverty, you’ve studied topics in college that really piqued your interest. Now’s your chance to follow your passions, explore further, and contribute some original ideas and research in your field.

Develop transferable skills Whether you choose to stay in your field of study or not, the process of developing and crafting a feasible research project will hone skills that will serve you well in almost any future job. After all, most jobs require some form of problem solving and oral and written communication. Writing an honors thesis requires that you:

• ask smart questions
• acquire the investigative instincts needed to find answers
• navigate libraries, laboratories, archives, databases, and other research venues
• develop the flexibility to redirect your research if your initial plan flops
• master the art of time management
• hone your argumentation skills
• organize a lengthy piece of writing
• polish your oral communication skills by presenting and defending your project to faculty and peers

Work closely with faculty mentors At large research universities like Carolina, you’ve likely taken classes where you barely got to know your instructor. Writing a thesis offers the opportunity to work one-on-one with a with faculty adviser. Such mentors can enrich your intellectual development and later serve as invaluable references for graduate school and employment.

Open windows into future professions An honors thesis will give you a taste of what it’s like to do research in your field. Even if you’re a sociology major, you may not really know what it’s like to be a sociologist. Writing a sociology thesis would open a window into that world. It also might help you decide whether to pursue that field in graduate school or in your future career.

How do you write an honors thesis?

Get an idea of what’s expected.

It’s a good idea to review some of the honors theses other students have submitted to get a sense of what an honors thesis might look like and what kinds of things might be appropriate topics. Look for examples from the previous year in the Carolina Digital Repository. You may also be able to find past theses collected in your major department or at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Pay special attention to theses written by students who share your major.

Choose a topic

Ideally, you should start thinking about topics early in your junior year, so you can begin your research and writing quickly during your senior year. (Many departments require that you submit a proposal for an honors thesis project during the spring of your junior year.)

How should you choose a topic?

• Read widely in the fields that interest you. Make a habit of browsing professional journals to survey the “hot” areas of research and to familiarize yourself with your field’s stylistic conventions. (You’ll find the most recent issues of the major professional journals in the periodicals reading room on the first floor of Davis Library).
• Set up appointments to talk with faculty in your field. This is a good idea, since you’ll eventually need to select an advisor and a second reader. Faculty also can help you start narrowing down potential topics.
• Look at honors theses from the past. The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library holds UNC honors theses. To get a sense of the typical scope of a thesis, take a look at a sampling from your field.

What makes a good topic?

• It’s fascinating. Above all, choose something that grips your imagination. If you don’t, the chances are good that you’ll struggle to finish.
• It’s doable. Even if a topic interests you, it won’t work out unless you have access to the materials you need to research it. Also be sure that your topic is narrow enough. Let’s take an example: Say you’re interested in the efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and early 1980s. That’s a big topic that probably can’t be adequately covered in a single thesis. You need to find a case study within that larger topic. For example, maybe you’re particularly interested in the states that did not ratify the ERA. Of those states, perhaps you’ll select North Carolina, since you’ll have ready access to local research materials. And maybe you want to focus primarily on the ERA’s opponents. Beyond that, maybe you’re particularly interested in female opponents of the ERA. Now you’ve got a much more manageable topic: Women in North Carolina Who Opposed the ERA in the 1970s and 1980s.
• It contains a question. There’s a big difference between having a topic and having a guiding research question. Taking the above topic, perhaps your main question is: Why did some women in North Carolina oppose the ERA? You will, of course, generate other questions: Who were the most outspoken opponents? White women? Middle-class women? How did they oppose the ERA? Public protests? Legislative petitions? etc. etc. Yet it’s good to start with a guiding question that will focus your research.

Goal-setting and time management

The senior year is an exceptionally busy time for college students. In addition to the usual load of courses and jobs, seniors have the daunting task of applying for jobs and/or graduate school. These demands are angst producing and time consuming If that scenario sounds familiar, don’t panic! Do start strategizing about how to make a time for your thesis. You may need to take a lighter course load or eliminate extracurricular activities. Even if the thesis is the only thing on your plate, you still need to make a systematic schedule for yourself. Most departments require that you take a class that guides you through the honors project, so deadlines likely will be set for you. Still, you should set your own goals for meeting those deadlines. Here are a few suggestions for goal setting and time management:

Start early. Keep in mind that many departments will require that you turn in your thesis sometime in early April, so don’t count on having the entire spring semester to finish your work. Ideally, you’ll start the research process the semester or summer before your senior year so that the writing process can begin early in the fall. Some goal-setting will be done for you if you are taking a required class that guides you through the honors project. But any substantive research project requires a clear timetable.

Set clear goals in making a timetable. Find out the final deadline for turning in your project to your department. Working backwards from that deadline, figure out how much time you can allow for the various stages of production.

Here is a sample timetable. Use it, however, with two caveats in mind:

• The timetable for your thesis might look very different depending on your departmental requirements.
• You may not wish to proceed through these stages in a linear fashion. You may want to revise chapter one before you write chapter two. Or you might want to write your introduction last, not first. This sample is designed simply to help you start thinking about how to customize your own schedule.

Sample timetable

Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. Once you’ve set goals for yourself, stick to them! For some tips on how to do this, see our handout on procrastination .

Consistent production

It’s a good idea to try to squeeze in a bit of thesis work every day—even if it’s just fifteen minutes of journaling or brainstorming about your topic. Or maybe you’ll spend that fifteen minutes taking notes on a book. The important thing is to accomplish a bit of active production (i.e., putting words on paper) for your thesis every day. That way, you develop good writing habits that will help you keep your project moving forward.

Make yourself accountable to someone other than yourself

Since most of you will be taking a required thesis seminar, you will have deadlines. Yet you might want to form a writing group or enlist a peer reader, some person or people who can help you stick to your goals. Moreover, if your advisor encourages you to work mostly independently, don’t be afraid to ask them to set up periodic meetings at which you’ll turn in installments of your project.

Brainstorming and freewriting

One of the biggest challenges of a lengthy writing project is keeping the creative juices flowing. Here’s where freewriting can help. Try keeping a small notebook handy where you jot down stray ideas that pop into your head. Or schedule time to freewrite. You may find that such exercises “free” you up to articulate your argument and generate new ideas. Here are some questions to stimulate freewriting.

Questions for basic brainstorming at the beginning of your project:

• What do I already know about this topic?
• Why do I care about this topic?
• Why is this topic important to people other than myself
• What more do I want to learn about this topic?
• What is the main question that I am trying to answer?
• Where can I look for additional information?
• Who is my audience and how can I reach them?
• How will my work inform my larger field of study?
• What’s the main goal of my research project?

Questions for reflection throughout your project:

• What’s my main argument? How has it changed since I began the project?
• What’s the most important evidence that I have in support of my “big point”?
• What questions do my sources not answer?
• How does my case study inform or challenge my field writ large?
• Does my project reinforce or contradict noted scholars in my field? How?
• What is the most surprising finding of my research?
• What is the most frustrating part of this project?
• What is the most rewarding part of this project?
• What will be my work’s most important contribution?

Research and note-taking

In conducting research, you will need to find both primary sources (“firsthand” sources that come directly from the period/events/people you are studying) and secondary sources (“secondhand” sources that are filtered through the interpretations of experts in your field.) The nature of your research will vary tremendously, depending on what field you’re in. For some general suggestions on finding sources, consult the UNC Libraries tutorials . Whatever the exact nature of the research you’re conducting, you’ll be taking lots of notes and should reflect critically on how you do that. Too often it’s assumed that the research phase of a project involves very little substantive writing (i.e., writing that involves thinking). We sit down with our research materials and plunder them for basic facts and useful quotations. That mechanical type of information-recording is important. But a more thoughtful type of writing and analytical thinking is also essential at this stage. Some general guidelines for note-taking:

First of all, develop a research system. There are lots of ways to take and organize your notes. Whether you choose to use note cards, computer databases, or notebooks, follow two cardinal rules:

• Make careful distinctions between direct quotations and your paraphrasing! This is critical if you want to be sure to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone else’s work. For more on this, see our handout on plagiarism .
• Record full citations for each source. Don’t get lazy here! It will be far more difficult to find the proper citation later than to write it down now.

Keeping those rules in mind, here’s a template for the types of information that your note cards/legal pad sheets/computer files should include for each of your sources:

Abbreviated subject heading: Include two or three words to remind you of what this sources is about (this shorthand categorization is essential for the later sorting of your sources).

Complete bibliographic citation:

• author, title, publisher, copyright date, and page numbers for published works
• box and folder numbers and document descriptions for archival sources
• complete web page title, author, address, and date accessed for online sources

Notes on facts, quotations, and arguments: Depending on the type of source you’re using, the content of your notes will vary. If, for example, you’re using US Census data, then you’ll mainly be writing down statistics and numbers. If you’re looking at someone else’s diary, you might jot down a number of quotations that illustrate the subject’s feelings and perspectives. If you’re looking at a secondary source, you’ll want to make note not just of factual information provided by the author but also of their key arguments.

Your interpretation of the source: This is the most important part of note-taking. Don’t just record facts. Go ahead and take a stab at interpreting them. As historians Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff insist, “A note is a thought.” So what do these thoughts entail? Ask yourself questions about the context and significance of each source.

Interpreting the context of a source:

• Who wrote/created the source?
• When, and under what circumstances, was it written/created?
• Why was it written/created? What was the agenda behind the source?
• How was it written/created?
• If using a secondary source: How does it speak to other scholarship in the field?

Interpreting the significance of a source:

• How does this source answer (or complicate) my guiding research questions?
• Does it pose new questions for my project? What are they?
• Does it challenge my fundamental argument? If so, how?
• Given the source’s context, how reliable is it?

You don’t need to answer all of these questions for each source, but you should set a goal of engaging in at least one or two sentences of thoughtful, interpretative writing for each source. If you do so, you’ll make much easier the next task that awaits you: drafting.

The dread of drafting

Why do we often dread drafting? We dread drafting because it requires synthesis, one of the more difficult forms of thinking and interpretation. If you’ve been free-writing and taking thoughtful notes during the research phase of your project, then the drafting should be far less painful. Here are some tips on how to get started:

Sort your “evidence” or research into analytical categories:

• Some people file note cards into categories.
• The technologically-oriented among us take notes using computer database programs that have built-in sorting mechanisms.
• Others cut and paste evidence into detailed outlines on their computer.
• Still others stack books, notes, and photocopies into topically-arranged piles.There is not a single right way, but this step—in some form or fashion—is essential!

If you’ve been forcing yourself to put subject headings on your notes as you go along, you’ll have generated a number of important analytical categories. Now, you need to refine those categories and sort your evidence. Everyone has a different “sorting style.”

Formulate working arguments for your entire thesis and individual chapters. Once you’ve sorted your evidence, you need to spend some time thinking about your project’s “big picture.” You need to be able to answer two questions in specific terms:

• What is the overall argument of my thesis?
• What are the sub-arguments of each chapter and how do they relate to my main argument?

Keep in mind that “working arguments” may change after you start writing. But a senior thesis is big and potentially unwieldy. If you leave this business of argument to chance, you may end up with a tangle of ideas. See our handout on arguments and handout on thesis statements for some general advice on formulating arguments.

Divide your thesis into manageable chunks. The surest road to frustration at this stage is getting obsessed with the big picture. What? Didn’t we just say that you needed to focus on the big picture? Yes, by all means, yes. You do need to focus on the big picture in order to get a conceptual handle on your project, but you also need to break your thesis down into manageable chunks of writing. For example, take a small stack of note cards and flesh them out on paper. Or write through one point on a chapter outline. Those small bits of prose will add up quickly.

Just start! Even if it’s not at the beginning. Are you having trouble writing those first few pages of your chapter? Sometimes the introduction is the toughest place to start. You should have a rough idea of your overall argument before you begin writing one of the main chapters, but you might find it easier to start writing in the middle of a chapter of somewhere other than word one. Grab hold where you evidence is strongest and your ideas are clearest.

Keep up the momentum! Assuming the first draft won’t be your last draft, try to get your thoughts on paper without spending too much time fussing over minor stylistic concerns. At the drafting stage, it’s all about getting those ideas on paper. Once that task is done, you can turn your attention to revising.

Peter Elbow, in Writing With Power, suggests that writing is difficult because it requires two conflicting tasks: creating and criticizing. While these two tasks are intimately intertwined, the drafting stage focuses on creating, while revising requires criticizing. If you leave your revising to the last minute, then you’ve left out a crucial stage of the writing process. See our handout for some general tips on revising . The challenges of revising an honors thesis may include:

Juggling feedback from multiple readers

A senior thesis may mark the first time that you have had to juggle feedback from a wide range of readers:

• your adviser
• a second (and sometimes third) faculty reader
• the professor and students in your honors thesis seminar

You may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of incorporating all this advice. Keep in mind that some advice is better than others. You will probably want to take most seriously the advice of your adviser since they carry the most weight in giving your project a stamp of approval. But sometimes your adviser may give you more advice than you can digest. If so, don’t be afraid to approach them—in a polite and cooperative spirit, of course—and ask for some help in prioritizing that advice. See our handout for some tips on getting and receiving feedback .

Refining your argument

It’s especially easy in writing a lengthy work to lose sight of your main ideas. So spend some time after you’ve drafted to go back and clarify your overall argument and the individual chapter arguments and make sure they match the evidence you present.

Organizing and reorganizing

Again, in writing a 50-75 page thesis, things can get jumbled. You may find it particularly helpful to make a “reverse outline” of each of your chapters. That will help you to see the big sections in your work and move things around so there’s a logical flow of ideas. See our handout on  organization  for more organizational suggestions and tips on making a reverse outline

Plugging in holes in your evidence

It’s unlikely that you anticipated everything you needed to look up before you drafted your thesis. Save some time at the revising stage to plug in the holes in your research. Make sure that you have both primary and secondary evidence to support and contextualize your main ideas.

Saving time for the small stuff

Even though your argument, evidence, and organization are most important, leave plenty of time to polish your prose. At this point, you’ve spent a very long time on your thesis. Don’t let minor blemishes (misspellings and incorrect grammar) distract your readers!

Formatting and final touches

You’re almost done! You’ve researched, drafted, and revised your thesis; now you need to take care of those pesky little formatting matters. An honors thesis should replicate—on a smaller scale—the appearance of a dissertation or master’s thesis. So, you need to include the “trappings” of a formal piece of academic work. For specific questions on formatting matters, check with your department to see if it has a style guide that you should use. For general formatting guidelines, consult the Graduate School’s Guide to Dissertations and Theses . Keeping in mind the caveat that you should always check with your department first about its stylistic guidelines, here’s a brief overview of the final “finishing touches” that you’ll need to put on your honors thesis:

• Honors Thesis
• Name of Department
• University of North Carolina
• These parts of the thesis will vary in format depending on whether your discipline uses MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago (also known in its shortened version as Turabian) style. Whichever style you’re using, stick to the rules and be consistent. It might be helpful to buy an appropriate style guide. Or consult the UNC LibrariesYear Citations/footnotes and works cited/reference pages  citation tutorial
• In addition, in the bottom left corner, you need to leave space for your adviser and faculty readers to sign their names. For example:

Approved by: _____________________

Adviser: Prof. Jane Doe

• This is not a required component of an honors thesis. However, if you want to thank particular librarians, archivists, interviewees, and advisers, here’s the place to do it. You should include an acknowledgments page if you received a grant from the university or an outside agency that supported your research. It’s a good idea to acknowledge folks who helped you with a major project, but do not feel the need to go overboard with copious and flowery expressions of gratitude. You can—and should—always write additional thank-you notes to people who gave you assistance.
• Formatted much like the table of contents.
• You’ll need to save this until the end, because it needs to reflect your final pagination. Once you’ve made all changes to the body of the thesis, then type up your table of contents with the titles of each section aligned on the left and the page numbers on which those sections begin flush right.
• Each page of your thesis needs a number, although not all page numbers are displayed. All pages that precede the first page of the main text (i.e., your introduction or chapter one) are numbered with small roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc.). All pages thereafter use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).
• Your text should be double spaced (except, in some cases, long excerpts of quoted material), in a 12 point font and a standard font style (e.g., Times New Roman). An honors thesis isn’t the place to experiment with funky fonts—they won’t enhance your work, they’ll only distract your readers.
• In general, leave a one-inch inch margin on all sides. However, for the copy of your thesis that will be bound by the library, you need to leave a 1.25-inch margin on the left.

How do I defend my honors thesis?

Graciously, enthusiastically, and confidently. The term defense is scary and misleading—it conjures up images of a military exercise or an athletic maneuver. An academic defense ideally shouldn’t be a combative scene but a congenial conversation about the work’s merits and weaknesses. That said, the defense probably won’t be like the average conversation that you have with your friends. You’ll be the center of attention. And you may get some challenging questions. Thus, it’s a good idea to spend some time preparing yourself. First of all, you’ll want to prepare 5-10 minutes of opening comments. Here’s a good time to preempt some criticisms by frankly acknowledging what you think your work’s greatest strengths and weaknesses are. Then you may be asked some typical questions:

• What is the main argument of your thesis?
• How does it fit in with the work of Ms. Famous Scholar?
• Have you read the work of Mr. Important Author?

NOTE: Don’t get too flustered if you haven’t! Most scholars have their favorite authors and books and may bring one or more of them up, even if the person or book is only tangentially related to the topic at hand. Should you get this question, answer honestly and simply jot down the title or the author’s name for future reference. No one expects you to have read everything that’s out there.

• Why did you choose this particular case study to explore your topic?
• If you were to expand this project in graduate school, how would you do so?

Should you get some biting criticism of your work, try not to get defensive. Yes, this is a defense, but you’ll probably only fan the flames if you lose your cool. Keep in mind that all academic work has flaws or weaknesses, and you can be sure that your professors have received criticisms of their own work. It’s part of the academic enterprise. Accept criticism graciously and learn from it. If you receive criticism that is unfair, stand up for yourself confidently, but in a good spirit. Above all, try to have fun! A defense is a rare opportunity to have eminent scholars in your field focus on YOU and your ideas and work. And the defense marks the end of a long and arduous journey. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments!

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Atchity, Kenneth. 1986. A Writer’s Time: A Guide to the Creative Process from Vision Through Revision . New York: W.W. Norton.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. 2012. The Modern Researcher , 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Elbow, Peter. 1998. Writing With Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process . New York: Oxford University Press.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. 2014. “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing , 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Lamott, Anne. 1994. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life . New York: Pantheon.

Lasch, Christopher. 2002. Plain Style: A Guide to Written English. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Turabian, Kate. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Senior Theses

• Categories: Strategies for Learning

Doing a senior thesis is an exciting enterprise. It’s often the first time students are engaging in truly original research and trying to develop a significant contribution to a field of inquiry. But as joyful as an independent research process can be, you don’t have to go it alone. It’s important to have support as you navigate such a large endeavor, and the ARC is here to offer one of those layers of support. 

Whether or not to write a senior thesis is just the first in a long line of questions thesis writers need to consider. In addition to questions about the topic and scope of your thesis, there are questions about timing, schedule, and support. For example, if you are collecting data, when should data collection start and when should it be completed? What kind of schedule will you write on? How will you work with your adviser? Do you want to meet with your adviser about your progress once a month? Once a week? What other resources can you turn to for information, feedback, and support? 

Even though there is a lot to think about and a lot to do, doing a thesis really can be an enjoyable experience! Keep reminding yourself why you chose this topic and why you care about it. 

Tips for Tackling Big Projects:  

• When you’re approaching a big project, it can seem overwhelming to look at the whole thing at once, so it’s essential to identify the smaller steps that will move you towards the completed project. 
• Your advisor is best suited to help you break down the thesis process with field-specific advice. 
• If you need to refine the breakdown further so it makes sense for you, schedule an appointment with an Academic Coach . An academic coach can help you think through the steps in a way that works for you. 
• Pre-determine the time, place, and duration. 
• Keep it short (15 to 60 minutes). 
• Have a clear and reasonable goal for each writing session. 
• Make it a regular event (every day, every other day, MWF). 
• time is not wasted deciding to write if it’s already in your calendar; 
• keeping sessions short reduces the competition from other tasks that are not getting done; 
• having an achievable goal for each session provides a sense of accomplishment (a reward for your work); 
• writing regularly can turn into a productive habit. 
• In addition to having a clear goal for each writing session, it’s important to have clear goals for each week and to find someone to communicate these goals to, such as your adviser, a “thesis buddy,” your roommate, etc. Communicating your goals and progress to someone else creates a useful sense of accountability. 
• If your adviser is not the person you are communicating your progress to on a weekly basis, then request to set up a structure with your adviser that requires you to check in at less frequent but regular intervals. 
• Commit to attending Accountability Hours at the ARC on the same day every week. Making that commitment will add both social support and structure to your week. Use the ARC Scheduler to register for Accountability Hours. 
• Set up an accountability group in your department or with thesis writers from different departments. 
• It’s important to have a means for getting consistent feedback on your work and to get that feedback early. Work on large projects often lacks the feeling of completeness, so don’t wait for a whole section (and certainly not the whole thesis) to feel “done” before you get feedback on it! 
• Your thesis adviser is typically the person best positioned to give you feedback on your research and writing, so communicate with your adviser about how and how often you would like to get feedback. 
• If your adviser isn’t able to give you feedback with the frequency you’d like, then fill in the gaps by creating a thesis writing group or exploring if there is already a writing group in your department or lab. 
• The Harvard College Writing Center is a great resource for thesis feedback. Writing Center Senior Thesis Tutors can provide feedback on the structure, argument, and clarity of your writing and help with mapping out your writing plan. Visit the Writing Center website to schedule an appointment with a thesis tutor . 
• Working on a big project can be anxiety provoking because it’s hard to keep all the pieces in your head and you might feel like you are losing track of your argument. 
• To reduce this source of anxiety, try keeping a separate document where you jot down ideas on how your research questions or central argument might be clarifying or changing as you research and write. Doing this will enable you to stay focused on the section you are working on and to stop worrying about forgetting the new ideas that are emerging. 
• You might feel anxious when you realize that you need to update your argument in response to the evidence you have gathered or the new thinking your writing has unleashed. Know that that is OK. Research and writing are iterative processes – new ideas and new ways of thinking are what makes progress possible. 
• It’s also anxiety provoking to feel like you can’t “see” from the beginning to the end of your project in the way that you are used to with smaller projects. 
• Breaking down big projects into manageable chunks and mapping out a schedule for working through each chunk is one way to reduce this source of anxiety. It’s reassuring to know you are working towards the end even if you cannot quite see how it will turn out. 
• It may be that your thesis or dissertation never truly feels “done” to you, but that’s okay. Academic inquiry is an ongoing endeavor. 
• Thesis work is not a time for social comparison; each project is different and, as a result, each thesis writer is going to work differently. 
• Just because your roommate wrote 10 pages in a day doesn’t mean that’s the right pace or strategy for you. 
• If you are having trouble figuring out what works for you, use the ARC Scheduler to make an appointment with an Academic Coach , who can help you come up with daily, weekly, and semester-long plans. 
• If you’re having trouble finding a source, email your question or set up a research consult via Ask a Librarian . 
• If you’re looking for additional feedback or help with any aspect of writing, contact the Harvard College Writing Center . The Writing Center has Senior Thesis Tutors who will read drafts of your thesis (more typically, parts of your thesis) in advance and meet with you individually to talk about structure, argument, clear writing, and mapping out your writing plan. 
• If you need help with breaking down your project or setting up a schedule for the week, the semester, or until the deadline, use the ARC Scheduler to make an appointment with an Academic Coach . 
• If you would like an accountability structure for social support and to keep yourself on track, come to Accountability Hours at the ARC. 

Important Addresses

Harvard College

University Hall Cambridge, MA 02138

Harvard College Admissions Office and Griffin Financial Aid Office

86 Brattle Street Cambridge, MA 02138

Social Links

If you are located in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway (the “European Economic Area”), please click here for additional information about ways that certain Harvard University Schools, Centers, units and controlled entities, including this one, may collect, use, and share information about you.

• Application Tips
• Navigating Campus
• Preparing for College
• How to Complete the FAFSA
• What to Expect After You Apply
• View All Guides
• Parents & Families
• School Counselors
• Información en Español
• Undergraduate Viewbook
• View All Resources

Search and Useful Links

Search the site, search suggestions, preparing for a senior thesis.

Every year, a little over half of Harvard’s senior class chooses to pursue a senior thesis. While the senior thesis looks a little different from field to field, one thing remains the same: completion of a senior thesis is a serious and challenging endeavor that requires the student to make a genuine intellectual contribution to their field of interest.

The senior thesis is a significant task for students to undertake, but there is a variety of support resources available here at Harvard to ensure that seniors can make the best of their senior thesis experience.

Wandering the library stacks at Widener.

I do most of my research in Widener Library. Hannah Martinez

As a rising senior in the History department, I am planning on pursuing a senior thesis on the history and use of the SAT in college admissions, and I am using the following support systems and resources to research and write my thesis:

• Staff at the History department. Every student within the department is assigned an academic advisor, who is a graduate student studying History at Harvard and knows the support available within the department. My academic advisor has helped me throughout the thesis process by connecting me with potential faculty members to advise my thesis and pick classes with a lighter course load so I can focus on completing my thesis. The Director of Undergraduate Studies in History (the History DUS) has also been pivotal in making sure that I attended a lot of information sessions about what the thesis looks like and how much of a commitment it is.
• History faculty at Harvard! All of my professors in History have been incredibly helpful in teaching me how to write like a historian, how to use primary sources in my essays, and how to undertake a serious research project over the course of a semester. Of course, while the thesis will require me to go far beyond what I’ve ever done before, I feel prepared to take on such a task because of the unwavering support from the History faculty. My mentor, Emma Rothschild, is one of the members of the faculty who has been invaluable in encouraging me to go as far as I am able.
• And last but certainly not least: funding. Funding, whether in term-time of the summer before senior year, is crucial towards making the senior thesis possible. Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships is dedicated to connecting Harvard students to funding sources across the university so they can pursue their research and get paid for it. This summer, I received a grant from the university of almost $2,000 so I am able to travel to libraries, buy books, and potentially take time off of work and do my research. Without such a grant, it would be incredibly difficult for me to do enough research so I can write a thesis this upcoming fall.

As you can see, there are multiple avenues for support and resources here at Harvard so your senior thesis is as easy as possible. While the senior thesis is still a challenging project that will take up a lot of time, Harvard’s resources make it possible for senior students to do their very best in all of their theses. I’m excited to start writing this fall!

Hannah Class of '23 Alumni

Hello! My name is Hannah, and I am a rising senior at Harvard concentrating in History from southeast Los Angeles County.

Student Voices

My unusual path to neuroscience, and research.

Raymond Class of '25

How the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Propelled My Love of Archives into Academic Aspirations

Beginning my senior thesis: A personal commitment to community and justice

Amy Class of '23 Alumni

How to Write a Senior Project Research Paper

As the author, the student comes up with a concept or question, which he or she addresses throughout the project. They then proceed to collect relevant data and information, find out the right methodology that they will use for data analysis to conclude their project’s results. This kind of write-up is a basic requirement for most colleges to an undergraduate before graduating. If you need assistance with this process, you can seek services to help edit your research paper for clarity and accuracy.

The college does this purposefully to find out if the student is capable of conducting research using the knowledge they have learned throughout their college education experience across their field of study. If you consider an undergraduate in the field of business, for example, they will be dealing with a variety of subjects such as finance, business management, and accounting. Their SRP has to address or emphasize a specific concept in these elements.

Nowadays, it is very rare to find a college that will award undergraduate students with Bachelor’s degrees without completing senior research projects during their final academic year period. Before students can get clearance to graduate, they have to present the results of their research findings to the satisfaction of the committee of members from their faculty. The committee must consent formally that the presentation of the student meets the outline college standards of a senior project research paper.

The context must be set out clearly while writing the introduction part of the paper. The audience wants to know if the main idea that you are bringing forth and the arguments regarding the topic make sense, therefore, you need to explain the situation by introducing the general information regarding the concept. Your essay should be compelling, give the reader a reason why they should continue reading the paper.

What claim or position are you going to be supporting throughout the paper? You should state it using sound reasoning. Make the primary research question to be the paper’s thesis statement if you want the audience to understand why you came up with the inquiry in the first place. After stating the claim, give your readers an overview of the sources where you obtained all the relevant data and information. When dealing with a long paper, you can outline the structure and the various sources that you explored.

Do not forget to consult your instructor regarding the most appropriate tone that you should use when writing the forecast of the paper. Including a forecast in your paper helps your readers to easily follow your ideas as they can easily relate to the structure that you have outlined beforehand. And as for the thesis of the SRP, it is more than just a general statement; you must point out your position using supportive proofs.

You must understand that a title cannot do a thesis; there is more than what a title can say. Again, the thesis is not an announcement of some given subject; neither is it a statement of fact, you have to get deeper into the specific details of an issue you are dealing with. A thesis statement is what you use to formulate the topic as well as your point of view; it must be specific.

Your paper should be organized, move from general to the specific details of the problem. Every time you are introducing a new subject, you should have in your mind an inverted pyramid. As you begin the paragraphs, start by the general ideas, and then you narrow down to specific details and evidence that support the claim as you progress into the paragraphs that come below the narrow part of the pyramid. Each subject should end with the author explaining how or why the information supports his or her thesis.

In the r esearch paper conclusion , focus on general information that restates your points and arguments. It can also include a call for action or give an overview of possible future research. Our company is one of the best writing companies in the world; you can rely on us to write your projects.

Proposal Contents for the Best Senior Project Research Paper Examples

The student, first, obtains a supervisor from the faculty before attempting to do anything. The student then chooses a topic of interest, which must strictly come from his or her field of study. The student should obtain good senior research paper topics from their coursework; the best way to identify an issue or topic is to think of the concepts you have learned or ideas studied about that you feel you should continue to do an in-depth study about.

You can easily establish an appropriate topic for your paper once you look back into the issues that you discussed previously in the context of the courses that you have studied. Alternatively, you can also check for senior project research paper examples that previous graduates did and see the topics that they chose for their projects.

You can also look at recent articles published in journals addressing issues that are closely related to your coursework; these are great sources of senior research paper topic ideas. Take your time also to research the internet for magazines and professional work that are relevant to what you studied, reading this kind of work will shift your focus to the contemporary issues that need more attention in the form of research in your specialty.

Once you develop a senior research paper topics list, you can discuss these ideas with your supervisor with other class members to help you narrow down your options so you can settle down to that appropriate viable idea. You should know that you are the one choosing the topic because the research has a lot to do with you and not the supervisor who is only there to ensure you are doing the right thing.

You can then alter your idea into a research question; avoid research that does not address that specific question of interest. You can determine how valid your topic is by determining if you can formulate it into a research question or not. Ensure that you do not do your research on a very broad or too narrow topic because you can get confused or limited when working on it.

After choosing and coming to an agreement with your supervisor about the topic, you can then come up with a good proposal for your research. The proposal is a document that is not more than three pages where you focus on describing the project’s problem statement, objectives, the methodology and the kind of sources that you used to accomplish your research. In other words, your proposal should contain a brief introduction, problem statement, a literature review, and the research methodology.

The literature review should present other researchers’ opinions on the topic analytically. Therefore, writing an effective literature review means you have to demonstrate a great capacity to summarize and synthesize information. Do not forget to give credit to other researchers that you have referred to in your paper, and make sure you stay on course by focusing on key issues because you will cover a large amount of research when working on your paper.

Constantly seek advice from your lecture so you can get the right methodology that will enable you to get to the right conclusions for the project. To accomplish a great SRP effectively, the author must have a good methodology; so, this means you need to identify an appropriate methodology during the early stages of the project.

Senior Project Research Paper Outline for a Good Abstract

From the abstract, your readers need to get a brief overview of your project’s key elements. Your abstract’s senior project research paper outline has to be concise and straight to the point, write it using the present tense. As far as a senior project research paper format is concerned, your abstract should contain the following parts:

• Introduction: Write a short overview of the project’s background that explains why you chose to research the topic. State the problem you are trying to solve in a precise expression.
• The body: This section should address the solution that your readers are expecting from your senior seminar research paper. The first sentence should include a clear statement of what the research solves.
• Methodology: Here, you are supposed to use sufficient details in describing the process you went through to establish your final design solution. Include any assumptions and the rationale you used to get the decision.
• Expectations: You should end your abstract by explaining the results which you expect to attain after implementing the study.

For those who have been wondering what they are expected to do on how to write a senior research paper, this is a great article for you. Moreover, if you need an expert writer to help you to write your research paper, you can just call or send us an email, and we will assign the best writers who can help you to complete your research paper.

15% OFF Your first order!

Aviable for the first 1000 subscribers, hurry up!

You might also like:

150 Qualitative and Quantitative Nursing Research Topics for Students

Why You Should Read a Data Gathering Procedure Example

What Is Culture and What Are Some Popular Culture Essay Topics?

Money-back guarantee

24/7 support hotline

Safe & secure online payment

Best Senior Thesis Topics

Table of contents

• 0.1 Key Points:
• 1 The Importance Of A Good Senior Thesis Topics
• 2.1 1. Identify your interests and passions
• 2.2 2. Consider the scope and feasibility of the topic
• 2.3 3. Seek guidance from your professors and advisors
• 3 Good Senior Thesis Topics
• 4 Senior Thesis Topics For High School And College Students
• 5 Psychology Senior Thesis Ideas
• 6 English Literature Senior Thesis Topics
• 7 Graphic Design Senior Thesis Ideas
• 8 Political Science Senior Thesis Topics
• 9 History Senior Thesis Ideas
• 10 Criminal Justice Senior Thesis Ideas
• 11 Conclusion

Senior thesis topics are research projects students undertake in their final year of undergraduate studies or graduate programs. These senior thesis topics allow students to demonstrate their expertise in academic writing.

School senior thesis topics can cover a wide range of disciplines. This spans science and humanities to social sciences and engineering. All of these allow students to explore their academic interests in depth and make valuable contributions to their respective fields against any grade stereotypes or even gender stereotypes.

With a thousand ideas, it may be hard to nail a good topic. This article covers a series of college and high school senior thesis topics for different subjects.

Key Points:

• School senior thesis topics allow students to dig deep into a specific study area within their chosen field.
• A strong senior thesis topic can potentially make a valuable impact on the academic community and shape future research in the field.

The Importance Of A Good Senior Thesis Topics

Well-selected senior thesis topics capture the interest of the student and hold significance in their field of study. This is important for the following reasons.

Firstly, well-chosen school senior thesis topics provide students with an opportunity to explore a specific area of study. This fosters a sense of ownership and engagement with the research process. These personal investment projects enhance motivation and dedication, resulting in a higher quality of work. However, not every student had the luxury of time. In case you have a question like, who can write my thesis , there are professional platforms that can render such a service. With 24/7 customer support and experienced writers, for you to write a thesis becomes so easy.

Secondly, good high school senior thesis topics enable students to make original contributions to their field by conducting research, analyzing data, and generating new insights. This can lead to advancements in knowledge and potential solutions to existing problems.

Lastly, a strong senior thesis topic demonstrates students’ ability to think critically and develop analytical skills. It requires formulating search questions, designing methods, and interpreting complex data. These processes cultivate intellectual maturity, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication skills.

Tips On How To Select The Best Senior Thesis Topic?

Selecting the best high school senior thesis topic requires a thoughtful and systematic approach. With numerous options available, it is important to consider the topic selection process carefully. Nonetheless, you can buy thesis paper pieces online if you cannot spare that much time for the steps involved, with professors available to help. Listed below are some tips to help you choose the best senior thesis topics.

1. Identify your interests and passions

Choose topics in the subjects that excite you and the areas of study that keep you on your toes. This will keep you energetic throughout the search process and increase the worth of your work.

2. Consider the scope and feasibility of the topic

Ensure that the topic is manageable within the given timeframe and aligns with the resources and expertise available to you. It is essential to strike a balance between a topic that is challenging enough to showcase your abilities and one that is realistic and achievable.

3. Seek guidance from your professors and advisors

They possess valuable expertise and can provide insights into potential research areas or suggest topics based on your academic strengths. They can also provide ideas on how to write a thesis for research paper pieces – a crucial aspect of research writing. Engage in discussions with them to receive feedback and better understand the viability and relevance of your topic ideas.

Good Senior Thesis Topics

The right thesis topic showcases a student’s expertise and passion and sets the stage for a quality research experience.

However, the steps of choosing a senior thesis topic can be overwhelming. Below is a curated list of topic ideas for your next project.

• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Job Automation: Analyzing the Effect on Employment Trends.
• Accessing the Effects of Plastics in the Evolution of Marine Ecology
• A Closer Look at the Relationship Between Social Media Usage and Mental Health Outcomes.
• Exploring the Thin Line Between Genetic Engineering and Moral Ethics
• A Case Study on the Impact of Climate Change on Ecological Biodiversity
• Analyzing the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives on Consumer Behavior and Brand Perception.
• Exploring the Intersection of Gender and Leadership: A Comparative Study of Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance.
• Investigating the Psychological Effects of Virtual Reality: Examining its Potential in Therapy and Mental Health Treatment.
• Assessing the Impacts of Global Warming Policies on Energy Transition: Case Studies from Different Countries.
• Exploring the Representation of Race and Identity in Contemporary Literature: Comparative Analysis of Works by Diverse Authors.

Senior Thesis Topics For High School And College Students

When it comes to selecting senior thesis topics, both high school and college students are faced with a challenge. This challenge is finding a subject that aligns with academic interests and demonstrates their research abilities.

An important point to remember is to seek help from your professors. They provide valuable advice on questions like – how to finish my thesis and strategic planning to craft a good one if you feel unsure. Listed are some popular topics for both college and high school senior thesis.

• The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health: An Analysis of the Relationship between Social Media Usage and Psychological Well-being in Society.
• Renewable Energy Solutions: Assessing the Feasibility and Environmental Benefits of Implementing Solar Energy Systems in a Local Community.
• Cultural Differences in Perception of Beauty: Examining how cultural norms shape the perception of beauty and body image ideals.
• The Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity: Investigating the Relationship between Global Warming and Species Extinction Rates.
• Gender Equality in the Workplace: Analyzing the Factors Affecting the Gender Pay Gap
• Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Assessing the Best Practices for Protecting Personal and Organizational Data in the Digital Age.
• The Influence of Music on Emotion and Memory: Investigating the Cognitive and Psychological Effects of Music and Its Potential Therapeutic Applications.
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sports Injuries Prevention Programs among Professional Athletes
• Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Analyzing the Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits of Organic Farming
• Urbanization and Urban Planning: Evaluating the Impacts of Rapid Urban Growth on Infrastructure, Transportation, and Quality of Life in Urban Society.

Psychology Senior Thesis Ideas

When selecting  psychology senior thesis topics and how to write them, the choices can be vast and exciting. This list explores some topics to help most students generate compelling senior thesis best topics.

• The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Mental Health: Physiological Responses Study
• Examining the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Social Anxiety Disorder and Stress in College Students
• The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents
• Investigating the Role of Parenting Styles in the Development of Emotional Intelligence in Children
• Exploring the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Functioning and Executive Functioning
• The Influence of Personality Traits on Career Choice and Self Esteem
• Understanding the Psychology of Eating Disorders and Self-Esteem in Young Adults
• Investigating the Impact of Social Support Therapy on Depression Treatment and Anxiety Reduction
• The Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Cardiovascular Dysfunction in Children
• Examining the Effects of Exercise on Eating Disorders and Anxiety Symptoms in Individuals with Major Depression

English Literature Senior Thesis Topics

With a vast landscape of works in literature and critical theories to explore, finding the perfect English literature senior thesis topics can be exciting and challenging. Students can draw inspiration for writing from the following listed English literature senior thesis topics:

• Exploring gender roles in Shakespeare’s Tragedies: The Differences of Women like Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, and Desdemona.
• The Influence of Colonialism in Postcolonial Literature: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
• Shakespearean Tragedy in Modern Context: A Comparative Study of Hamlet and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• An Analysis of Gothic Elements in the Books of Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe.
• The Illustration of Mother Nature in Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth’s Poetry.
• Politics and Religion in Literature Periods
• The Portrayal of Social Class, Civil Rights and Inequality in Women from Jane Austen’s Novels.
• Social Critique and Satire in the Novels of Charles Dickens
• A Comparative Study of Gender and Sexuality in the Works of Virginia Woolf
• The Influence of Colonialism and Imperialism on Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea.

Graphic Design Senior Thesis Ideas

Writing a senior thesis in graphic design can be interesting as it offers students an opportunity to showcase their creative prowess. Some topics to refine for creative folks in this field are:

• Designing Dynamic Interactions in the Digital World for the Human Mind.
• Visual Storytelling: Examining the Role of Graphic Design in Narrative Communication
• The Intersection of Graphic Design and Social Justice: Using Design as a Catalyst for Promoting Positive Social Impact.
• Sustainable Design Practices in Graphic Design: Exploring Eco-Friendly Approaches and Materials.
• The Evolution of Branding in the Digital Age: Analyzing the Shift from Traditional to Digital Branding Strategies.
• Graphic Design for User Experience: Investigating the Creation and Impact of Visual Design on User Engagement and Satisfaction.
• Visualizing Data: Exploring Innovative Techniques for Information Design and Data Visualization.
• Exploring Cultural Identity through Graphic Design: Examining the Representation of Identity and Diversity in Visual Communication.
• The Power of Color in Graphic Design: Investigating the Psychological and Emotional Effects of Color in Visual Communication.
• Designing for Accessibility: Examining Inclusive Design Principles and Practices in Graphic Design.

Political Science Senior Thesis Topics

Science senior thesis topics offer a chance to demonstrate your research writing skills and critical thinking abilities. The thesis topics you choose will shape your writing and research journey and ultimately determine the success of your thesis.

Therefore, getting all the help you need can help you generate interesting political science senior thesis topics. So, some interesting political science senior thesis topics to look into include:

• Analysis of European Union Protests and the Use of Social Media in Political Mobilization.
• Investigating how Gender Quotas Affect the Political Representation of Women in Parliamentary Systems.
• The Influence of Political Campaigns on Voter Behavior: A Case Study of a Recent National Election.
• Assessing the connection between governance stability and disparities in wealth in modern society.
• Analysis of Right- and Left-Wing Populist Leaders’ Political Rhetoric Use in Populist Movements.
• Evaluating how well international human rights treaties work to encourage adherence to human rights.
• An analysis of non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) influence on environmental policy in modern society.
• Public Trust in Politics and National Scandals: A Comparative Analysis of Previous Cases.
• Exploring the Rise of Authoritarianism in Democracies: Factors and Challenges.
• Investigating the Influence of Media Ownership and Control on Media Bias in Political Reporting.

History Senior Thesis Ideas

History is a vast field with countless potential topics to explore for writing. This makes the selection process both exciting and daunting.

However, with careful consideration and planning process, researchers can write and find the perfect history senior thesis topics. Some history senior thesis topics that showcase history students’ analytical skills and intellectual prowess are:

• The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on Modern Society and Culture in the Renaissance Era
• Breaking Gender Limitations: The Contribution of Women to the Equal Rights Campaign
• The Causes and Consequences of the Cold War: A Comparison of the USA and the USSR
• Evaluating the Causes and Effects of the French Revolution
• The African-American Experience during the Reconstruction Era: Progress and Challenges
• The Role of Propaganda in World War II Development: Analysis of Nazi and Allied Strategies
• The Rise and Fall of Colonialism: Examining the Impact of European Powers on Africa
• The Origins and Development of Ancient Greece Culture
• The Great Depression: A Case Study on its Effects on the Society.
• The Impact of Rational Concepts on the American Revolution and the Rise of the US.

Criminal Justice Senior Thesis Ideas

Criminal justice senior thesis topics should address significant issues within the field. This gives students the chance to contribute to understanding the challenges and improvement of the criminal justice system. Listed are some senior thesis topics to consider:

• The Impact of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Accountability and Public Trust
• The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices in Reducing Recidivism Rates
• A Look at the Correlation between Mental Health and Criminal Behavior
• Exploring the Impact of Race and Ethnicity in the Law Enforcement System’s Sentencing Inequalities
• Analyzing the Effectiveness of Drug Courts in Keeping Substance Abuse Offenders Out of the Regular Law Enforcement System
• The Use of Risk Assessment Tools in Sentencing and Parole Decision-Making
• Investigating the Factors Influencing False Confessions and Their Implications for the Criminal Justice System
• Evaluation of the Impact of Capital Punishment on Criminal Activity Suppression and Community Response.
• Investigating the Links Between Halt and Search and Racism in Policing
• Rates of Juvenile Delinquency and Relapse and the Effectiveness of Rehab Initiatives

Senior thesis topics chosen with careful deliberation allow students to demonstrate their prowess in academic research. It is an opportunity for students to make original contributions to their fields, advance knowledge, and potentially impact the broader academic community.

The selection of good senior thesis topics for writing should be based on personal interest, feasibility, and relevance. This ensures a meaningful and successful research project. Good luck!

Readers also enjoyed

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Just fill out the form, press the button, and have no worries!

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.

• Search Menu
• Sign in through your institution
• The Journals of Gerontology, Series A (1995-present)
• Journal of Gerontology (1946-1994)
• Advance Articles
• Editor's Choice
• Supplements
• Special Issues
• Translational articles
• Calls for Papers
• Author Guidelines
• Biological Sciences Submission Site
• Medical Sciences Submission Site
• Why Submit to the GSA Portfolio?
• Advertising and Corporate Services
• Advertising
• Reprints and ePrints
• Sponsored Supplements
• Journals Career Network
• About The Journals of Gerontology, Series A
• About The Gerontological Society of America
• Editorial Board - Biological Sciences
• Editorial Board - Medical Sciences
• Self-Archiving Policy
• Dispatch Dates
• Terms and Conditions
• GSA Journals
• Journals on Oxford Academic
• Books on Oxford Academic

Article Contents

C ognitive d ecline, d epression, t he h ormonal f ountain of y outh, f railty /s arcopenia, c ardiovascular d isease, i mmune s ystems and a ging, “t he m erchants of i mmortality ”, s ystems in g eriatrics, c onclusion.

• < Previous

The Top 10 Hot Topics in Aging

• Article contents
• Figures & tables
• Supplementary Data

John E. Morley, The Top 10 Hot Topics in Aging, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A , Volume 59, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages M24–M33, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/59.1.M24

• Permissions Icon Permissions

I enjoy talking with very old people. They have gone before us on a road by which we, too, may have to travel, and I think we do well to learn from them what it is like. —Socrates, in Plato's The Republic

EACH year in January, I have tried to review the cutting edge of geriatrics over the previous 2 years ( 1 , 2 ). This review is based to some extent on the high impact articles in the literature ( 3 , 4 ), but also on emerging areas. The Journals of Gerontology Series A also continue to welcome articles from some of our distinguished colleagues who have gone before us on the exploration of the wonders of aging and remain active contributors to the field of gerontology ( 5–8 ). This year, being my last year as editor of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences , I have decided to list what I believe are the top 10 hot areas in geriatrics.

There is no question that finding solutions to cognitive decline and the behavioral problems associated with it is a central area in geriatrics ( 9–11 ). Our knowledge of the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease is moving forward rapidly. While beta-amyloid has taken center stage, both as a neurotransmitter that produces learning and memory disturbances ( 12 , 13 ) as well as an initiator of tissue destruction, possibly through free radical activation ( 14 , 15 ), there is also increasing understanding of the tauopathies ( 16 ). A recent article showed that measuring tau protein in lip epithelial tissue could possibly be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease ( 17 ).

There is an increasing awareness of the importance in early recognition of mild cognitive impairment ( 18 , 19 ). Acute illness causes not only short-term but also long-term functional decline in persons with preexisting cognitive impairment ( 20 ). In particular, it is now becoming clear that cognitive decline is associated with a decline in physical performance ( 19 , 21–27 ). This is in part due to the decrease in reaction time associated with central nervous system damage ( 22 ). Cognitive dysfunction, whatever the cause, is associated with a high rate of medical comorbidity ( 23 , 28 ) and earlier mortality ( 24 , 29 ). The effects on mortality are worsened when cognitive dysfunction coexists with depression ( 29 ).

Over the last decade, there has been much enthusiasm for the possibility that hormone replacement therapy may improve cognition and slow progression of Alzheimer's disease ( 30–33 ). However, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in older women showed that hormone replacement therapy resulted in both a greater degree of cognitive dysfunction and an increase in the incidence of Alzheimer's disease ( 34 , 35 ). At the same time, as these results have become known, there is an increasing belief that testosterone in males may improve cognitive function ( 36–38 ). A relationship between elevated homocysteine and vitamin B 12 and folate deficiency with Alzheimer's disease has been found ( 30 , 39 ). Other studies have suggested that hypercholesterolemia may play a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease and worsening cognitive function ( 40 , 41 ). Centenarians with high HDL (high-density lipoprotein) levels have better cognitive function and exceptional longevity ( 42 ). It is possible that cholesterol-lowering, especially in mid-life, results in a decline in atherothrombotic brain infarction, which may, in itself, be a causative agent for Alzheimer's disease ( 43–46 ).

In the arena of treatment for Alzheimer's disease, data continue to emerge that cholinesterase inhibitors slow the progression of the disease ( 9 ). Memantine, a drug that modulates the glutamate/NMDA system, can now be added to our therapeutic armamentarium and may prove useful either alone or in combination with cholinesterase inhibitors ( 47 ). Studies continue to appear that gingko biloba is a useful therapeutic adjuvant for persons with Alzheimer's disease ( 48 ). The effects of gingko appear to be equivalent to some of the more mainstream therapeutic agents ( 49 ). There is an urgent need for high-quality, large (i.e., sufficiently well powered) studies utilizing this agent. An exciting recent study has shown that aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in humans ( 50 ). Resistance exercise has recently been shown to improve function in people with dementia ( 51 ). These findings strongly reinforce the calls in the Journals to continue to exercise throughout life and maintain healthy lifestyle habits in order to compress morbidity ( 52–55 ).

While antibodies to beta-amyloid can reverse cognitive dysfunction in mice ( 48 , 49 ), the human immunization studies led to disastrous consequences, with some of the patients developing an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system ( 56 ). Thus, while we await the potential of antisense to beta-amyloid that can switch off its production or drugs that can inhibit the function of the amyloid precursor protein cleavage enzymes (secretases) ( 10 , 57 , 58 ), most of the care of patients with Alzheimer's disease still need to focus on end-of-life care ( 59 ). As has been demonstrated by Simmons and colleagues ( 60 ), feeding the older demented patient takes an inordinately long time. New methods need to be developed to accurately quantify the amount of food consumed by older patients ( 61 ). Protein energy malnutrition can cause a marked decline in quality of life in nursing homes ( 62 ). Small changes in the emotional status of institutionalized elders can markedly alter food intake ( 63 , 64 ). Innovative programs such as the “Eden” alternative or even mechanical pet therapy need to be put in place to improve quality of care in nursing homes ( 65–68 ). As so eloquently suggested by John Schnelle ( 69 ), we need to “capture the voice of cognitively impaired elders” to improve their quality of life. Kane and colleagues ( 70 ) have provided one approach to doing this. Kane ( 71 ) has also called for professionals who have the experience of having loved ones cared for in long-term care facilities to band together in an attempt to find new solutions that will improve the quality of care in institutions. Volicer ( 11 ) has provided great insight into the management of behavioral systems in the demented person. It is important to realize that behavioral management and appropriate attention to the caregiver's needs are far more powerful tools than the use of drugs to deal with behavioral problems. The recent explosion of the use of expensive antipsychotics, any of which have no proven efficacy, to treat behavioral problems in nursing homes is particularly to be deplored!

Finally, there is an increased awareness of the problems associated with driving in older cognitively impaired individuals and the need to more fully develop adequate transportation systems ( 72 , 73 ). Richardson and colleagues ( 74 ) have highlighted the importance of visual attention in maintaining driving skills. Global positioning devices are emerging as the best way to test true driving skills in older persons ( 75 ). Given the horrendous accident that occurred in California when an older person drove into a group of persons and couldn't stop, better testing tools are badly needed! Previously, a survey of geriatricians suggested that they have little comprehension when an older person is no longer a safe driver ( 76 ).

An excellent review by Dan Blazer has summarized that state of the art for the management of depression ( 77 ). Depression remains underrecognized and undertreated in older persons, highlighting the need for continued screening ( 51 , 53 , 63 , 78 ). Physicians need to be made more aware of the effectiveness of treatment for depression. This is particularly important, as depression is associated with worse outcomes following a myocardial infarction, in persons with diabetes or congestive heart failure, or in those undergoing rehabilitation ( 55 , 77 , 79 ). Persons with depression are more likely to fall ( 80 , 81 ). Depression is also associated with increased mortality ( 29 ). The good outcomes seen with electroconvulsive therapy, particularly when bipolar electrodes are used, needs to be more widely advertised among physicians and the elderly population. In addition, resistance exercise has been shown to be an excellent adjuvant therapy for depression ( 82 ).

The importance of mobility as an emerging area in geriatrics was highlighted by the fact that a single issue of the Journals was devoted to this topic ( 83–88 ). Lan and colleagues ( 89 ) have developed an objective index of mobility-related limitation. Walking speed is becoming recognized as an excellent measure of function. The ability to walk rapidly over a distance involves not only muscle strength ( 90–92 ), but also the integration of cardiovascular fitness ( 86 ), vision ( 93 ), postural stability ( 94 , 95 ), pain ( 91 ), and cognitive processing time ( 96 ). Habitual walking has been shown to decrease the onset of physical disability in older persons ( 97 ).

Undernutrition continues to be demonstrated to be a major factor associated with mortality in older persons ( 98 ). DeCastro ( 99 ) has painstakingly demonstrated the changes in eating behavior that occur with aging, including the decreased snacking between meals, that lead to the physiological anorexia of aging ( 100 , 101 ). Abnormal eating behaviors such as dietary restriction occur commonly in older women ( 102 ), but only in the minority of cases do they lead to disease processes such as recurrence of anorexia nervosa or anorexia tardive ( 103 ). The physiological factors involved in the pathophysiology of this aging-related anorexia have been recently reviewed in the Journals ( 95 , 104 ). Ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates eating and releases growth hormone, is emerging as a potentially important hormone in the regulation of feeding behavior. It is released from the stomach in response to fasting. Studies so far in older humans have shown no change or a small decrease with aging ( 105 , 106 ). PYY (3-36) , another gut hormone, has been shown to inhibit feeding in humans ( 107 ) and cause weight loss in mice ( 108 ). To date, however, the best evidence for the early satiation that occurs in older persons implicates cholecystokinin ( 109 ).

New approaches to the management of weight loss in older persons have included using taste enhancers ( 110 ) and giving caloric supplements between meals rather than with the meal ( 111 ). A clearly emerging area is the use of orexigenics to stimulate appetite ( 112 , 113 ). Yeh and colleagues ( 114 ) have shown in a controlled trial that megestrol acetate produces weight gain in malnourished older persons. Its effect appears to be mainly due to inhibition of cytokines. The orexigenic effect of megestrol has been confirmed in other studies ( 115 ). Megestrol, however, does decrease testosterone levels in males ( 116 ). Thus, in males, when it is used, consideration should be given to giving testosterone at the same time. Females have better weight gain than males when they are given megestrol. For centuries, cannabis has been known to create the desire to eat ( 117 ). Recently dronabinol, a pure tetrahydrocannabinol, has become available as an orexigenic. It has a smaller orexigenic effect than does megestrol. Its ideal use is most probably in the palliative care arena, where, not only does it increase food intake, but it also decreases pain and nausea and improves mood. There is a need for large studies to determine the utility of orexigenic agents in the treatment of undernutrition.

Unfortunately, little attention is being paid to the role of vitamin and trace element deficiency in the pathogenesis of functional impairment in older persons. Certainly, they can play an important role in delirium; now that the yellow intravenous multivitamin (“banana bag”) mix is widely available again, consideration should be given to its use in older hospitalized patients. Urinary incontinence is a major reason for institutionalization in older persons ( 118 , 119 ). Vitamin B 12 deficiency has been associated with the development of incontinence ( 120 ). Zinc deficiency is extremely common, especially in older diabetics ( 121 , 122 ). It is associated with anorexia, immune dysfunction, and poor wound-healing. More studies are needed on the role of zinc deficiency in chronically ill elderly individuals. Creatine supplementation enhances isometric strength when utilized together with resistance training in older adults ( 123 ).

While inadequate attention is paid to undernutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiency, a large amount of research is actively exploring the role of dietary restriction as a means to extend life span. Bodkin and colleagues ( 124 ) have suggested, from early studies in dietary-restricted rhesus monkeys, that this approach may decrease mortality and morbidity. Banks and colleagues ( 125 ), in studying Ethiopian baboons over the life span, suggested that dietary restriction really represents prevention of obesity, as baboons in the wild have minimal fat stores as measured by leptin. While dietary restriction does not appear to prevent central nervous system damage ( 126 ), it certainly decreases glycation in nonhuman primates ( 127 ) and improves beta-cell sensitivity ( 128 ). Banks and colleagues ( 129 ) found that some garbage-eating baboons in Kenya developed the metabolic (insulin resistance) syndrome. Their studies strongly suggested that the environment interacts with the genome to produce this syndrome, as not all the baboons were affected. In the human studies in Biosphere 2, caloric restriction appeared to have a number of potentially beneficial effects ( 130 ).

The WHI has created great disarray among the adherents to the concept that hormonal replacement will reverse the stigmata of aging. While the WHI did not show that estrogen/progestagen replacement increased mortality, it did show an increase in breast cancer, heart disease, and pulmonary embolism ( 131 , 132 ). This was offset by a decrease in colon cancer and hip fracture. This enormously expensive study was stopped prematurely based on a convoluted formula for early stoppage of the trial, thus leaving room for doubt about whether long-term hormone replacement therapy would increase or decrease mortality. In addition, as already alluded to, the study showed worsening cognitive function in the women receiving hormones ( 34 , 35 ). The estrogen-alone arm of this study continues and may help give further insight into these conundrums. Progesterone clearly increases the propensity to form thrombi and may also have played a major role in the pathogenesis of breast carcinogenesis. The women in this study were older, and thus the study provided little guidelines for the appropriate use of hormonal replacement therapy at the time of the menopause. However, it would seem clear that women in their sixties and beyond should not receive combination hormonal therapy.

In males, the enthusiasm for testosterone replacement continues unabated, but is based on a relatively small body of evidence-based medicine ( 36 , 133–135 ). A number of studies on testosterone replacement in older males have appeared in the Journals ( 136–139 ). Overall, testosterone in older men appears to be a quality-of-life drug improving libido ( 134 ) and the ability to obtain an erection when phosphodiesterase inhibitors are taken ( 140 ), as well as increasing muscle mass and possibly strength ( 141 ), and bone mineral density ( 142 , 143 ), while decreasing body fat ( 136 ). The effects of testosterone on cognition are controversial ( 36 , 138 , 141 , 142 , 144 , 145 ). Testosterone clearly increases hematocrit in older men. The effects of testosterone on prostate cancer carcinogenesis are controversial ( 36 , 133 ). The need for a large men's health study to determine the efficacy and safety of testosterone in older males should be a national imperative. The intriguing hypothesis of Bhasin and colleagues ( 146 ) that testosterone plays a role in determining the fate of mesenchymal pluripotent stem cells may hold a major key to understanding the aging process. The role of testosterone in the development of frailty in older women is also coming of age ( 147 ).

While data suggesting that growth hormone and insulin-growth factor-1 may play a role in maintaining muscle mass ( 144 , 148 , 149 ), the enthusiasm for the use of growth hormone in the aged appears to be ebbing ( 150 , 151 ). One publication did, however, suggest that, in a single large family, growth hormone dwarfs had a shorter life span than their normal-sized siblings ( 152 ). This would appear to be in contradiction to animals where growth hormone deficiency confers longevity ( 153 , 154 ).

The role of vitamin D beyond its importance in maintaining bone mineral density remains controversial. There is a suggestion that it may play a role in preventing disability in older persons ( 155 ). There is, however, evidence that physicians continue to fail to diagnose and treat osteoporosis in older persons ( 156 , 157 ).

As originally highlighted by Fried and colleagues ( 158 ) in the Journals , frailty is becoming a highly important geriatric syndrome. Frailty appears to be an important precursor of disability and functional decline (which in themselves are key predictors of mortality in older persons) ( 159 , 160–162 ). The causes of frailty are multiple and include not only alterations in muscle function, but also cognitive impairment and a decline in VO 2 max ( 163 , 164 ). Diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are clearly important in accelerating the onset of the frailty syndrome ( 165–169 ). Pain can increase the level of disability ( 170 ). As older adults are already performing their activities of daily living at close to maximum capacity, a small change can tip them over into the realm of disability ( 171 ). Exercise, particularly resistance exercise, appears to be the major weapon in the therapeutic armamentarium to reverse frailty and its consequences ( 172–181 ). Falls are a sentinel event that can cause a frail person to transition to disability and functional impairment ( 182 ). Fear of falling in frequent fallers can lead to further disability ( 183 ). The American Geriatrics Society guidelines represent an excellent approach to the management of falls ( 184 ).

Loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) is a major proximate occurrence in the development of frailty in older persons ( 169 , 185 , 186 ). The importance of sarcopenia and its causes was highlighted by a series of review articles in the Journals towards the end of last year ( 187–194 ).

Cardiovascular disease is present in over half of the older population and an even greater number of nursing home residents ( 195 ). The Journals has continued to carry a number of review articles to keep its readers abreast of the rapid developments in this field ( 196–200 ). Many of these have been written by Bill Aronow, a true geriatric giant who ages extraordinarily successfully as one of the most productive geriatricians, at an age when most have retired, and as a highly competitive tennis player. As an iconoclast who hates to embrace new expensive therapy in the older person, your editor, nevertheless, feels it incumbent upon him to point out the growing evidence of the superiority of angiotensin receptor blockers for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure ( 201–203 ).

The management of hypertension in older persons, and particularly the old-old is one full of opinions and still short on evidence ( 197 , 204 ). To highlight this area, James Goodwin ( 205 ) wrote an excellent review article, which was subject to a careful dissection by a variety of commentators ( 206–214 ). It is this kind of discourse that forces us to carefully examine the true state of evidence-based medicine in the older person. It is very important that geriatricians do not fall into the trap of considering trials conducted in middle-aged persons or even the young old as being appropriate to guide aggressive therapy in our unique population.

Finally, when treating hypertension in older persons, it is important to remember that white coat hypertension, pseudohypertension, orthostasis, and postprandial hypotension occur commonly. Orthostatis and postprandial hypotension occur more commonly in the morning than later in the day ( 215 , 216 ). Postprandial hypotension appears to be due to the release of vasodilatory peptides, such as calcitonin gene-related peptide ( 217 ).

The deterioration of the immune system with aging is well recognized ( 218 , 219 ). The development of protein energy malnutrition can further cause deterioration in the immune system, resulting in a decrease in CD 4 + T cells ( 220 ). Both nutritional supplementation and exercise have been demonstrated to boost the immune system ( 154 , 221–223 ); older persons appear to be particularly susceptible to anthrax when used as a tool of bioterrorism ( 222 ). As might be expected, older persons have worse outcomes when exposed to some of the new infectious disease outbreaks such as West Nile Virus ( 224 ) and SARS ( 225 ). Transfusion-related West Nile virus is more common in older than in younger persons ( 224 ). This reminds us all of the importance of vaccination against influenza in our older population ( 226 , 227 ).

From the start of human history, alchemists have attempted to prolong the human life span ( 228 ). The extension of life remains an appropriate area of research for gerontologists, though we should continuously be on guard for science that extends longevity without compressing morality, as was the case for Tithonus, the morning lover of the goddess of dawn, Aurora. The appropriate approach to antiaging research has been the subject of a number of commentaries in the Journals ( 229–233 ). A particularly aggressive area of longevity research is to study the factors that distinguish the successful old-old, especially centenarians, from the rest of the population in the hope of unlocking the genetic keys of longevity ( 234–241 ). This area has been closely linked to similar research in animals ( 242 , 243 ).

The mechanisms of cellular senescence, as originally shown by Leonard Hayflick, remain an important arena of immortality research ( 244–246 ). It was these studies that led initially to the search for telomerase ( 247 ). Originally thought to hold the secrets to cellular mortality, this area is now more of one in which researchers are hoping to treat cancer by controlling the enzyme. Hayflick's original studies are also the basis for modern embryonic stem cell research an area that offers promise for tissue rejuvenation ( 248 ).

The ethics of longevity research, particularly in an era of capitalistic ownership of the “useful” human genes, is clearly a slippery slope. However, it should be recognized that, while the well-meaning argue how to move forward appropriately, those who are driven by fewer misgivings will likely not be deterred, allowing this area to be controlled by those who perhaps we would prefer did not hold the secrets to our future.

Kane ( 249 ) has argued that geriatrics is at the crossroads and that to some extent we have failed, and we should remove ourselves from the mainstream and become the physicians for chronic care hospitals. This viewpoint was hotly contested by a variety of gerontological experts ( 250–259 ).

While geriatrics has not always delivered at the level I think many of us who entered the field in the 1980s hoped for, it certainly has changed the face of modern medicine. My colleagues and I have previously argued that a major role of geriatricians and our health care colleagues is to develop and run systems that decrease errors and improve care for elderly patients ( 260–262 ). This argument was based on the pioneering work of Larry Rubenstein on the value of Geriatric Evaluation and Management Units ( 263 ), whose value has been clearly confirmed ( 264 , 265 ). The importance for the installation of effective Continuous Quality Improvement systems to prevent errors is no longer in doubt ( 266 , 267 ). The addition of a high-quality computerized medical record to such a system will further enhance care ( 268 ).

Since the introduction of the geriatric evaluation and management unit concept, geriatrics has provided a number of other innovative projects that improve patient outcomes, e.g., Acute Care For the Elderly Units (ACE) ( 269 ), Delirium Intensive Care Units ( 270 ), Subacute Care Units ( 271 ), a geriatric-friendly nurse in the emergency department ( 272 ), and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) ( 273 ), we have recognized the importance of controlling the rampant polypharmacy created by our other subspecialty colleagues ( 274 ). We have shown the ability of early screening to detect treatable geriatric problems ( 275 , 276 ). The geriatric Glidepaths have been created to help primary care physicians provide appropriate care to the wide range of older persons they encounter in practice ( 277 ). While our colleagues and administrators have been slow to incorporate these systems, they are slowly penetrating the high-technological environment of modern medicine. None of these systems function without well-trained geriatricians at their helm.

The future of geriatrics would appear to be more exciting at this moment than any time in the past. To conclude this editorial, I would, however, like to look back into our past, because where we are today in geriatrics is reflective of the small steps of the giants who created modern American geriatrics. This year, David Solomon celebrated his 80th birthday and was appropriately honored by a special supplement of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society ( 278–282 ). David, together with John Beck, created the “West Coast geriatrics culture.” While extraordinarily different men in both personality and interest, David and John are truly the giants of modern geriatrics following in the footsteps of Bob Butler's extraordinary achievement on the East Coast. I would like to add my happy birthday wishes to David and thank both David and John, not only for the inspiration they were to me, but also for their leadership in the gerontological world that I hold so close to my heart.

Morley JE. Hot topics in geriatrics. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 30 -36.

Morley JE. Drugs, aging, and the future. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M2 -M6.

Morley JE. Highly cited papers in the Journal . J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1098 -1102.

Morley JE. Citations, impact factor, and the Journal . J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M765 -M769.

Bortz WM, II. A conceptual framework of frailty: a review. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M283 -M288.

Blumenthal HT. The aging-disease dichotomy: true or false? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 138 -145.

Butler RN. Report and commentary from Madrid: the United Nations World Assembly on Ageing. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M770 -M771.

Blumenthal HT. The autopsy in gerontological research: a retrospective. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M433 -M437.

Grossberg GT, Desai AK. Management of Alzheimer's Disease. J Gerontol Med Sci. 2003;331–353.

Banks WA, Morley JE. Memories are made of this: recent advances in understanding cognitive impairments and dementia. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 314 -321.

Volicer L, Hurley AC. Management of behavioral symptoms in progressive degenerative dementias. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 837 -845.

Flood JF, Roberts E, Sherman MA, Kaplan BE, Morley JE. Topography of a binding site for small amnestic peptides deduced from structure activity studies—relation to amnestic effect of amyloid beta-protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. . 1994 ; 91 : 380 -384.

Morley JE, Kumar VB, Bernardo AE, et al. Beta-amyloid precursor polypeptide in SAMP8 mice affects learning and memory. Peptides. . 2000 ; 21 : 1761 -1767.

Farr SA, Poon HF, Dogrukol-Ak D, et al. The antioxidants alpha-lipoic acid and N-acetylcysteine reverse memory impairment and brain oxidative stress in aged SAMP8 mice. J Neurochem. . 2003 ; 84 : 1173 -1183.

Khodr B, Howard J, Watson K, Khalil Z. Effect of short-term and long-term antioxidant therapy on primary and secondary ageing neurovascular processes. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 698 -708.

Tonay M, Probst A. The neuropathological spectrum of neurodegenerative tauopathies. IUBMB Life. . 2003 ; 55 : 299 -305.

Hattori H, Matsumoto M, Iwai K, et al. The tau protein of oral epithelium increases in Alzheimer's disease. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M64 -M70.

Turner RS. Biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: are we there yet? Exp Neurol. . 2003 ; 183 : 7 -10.

Nguyen HT, Black SA, Ray LA, Espino DV, Markides KS. Predictors of decline in MMSE scores among older Mexican Americans. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M181 -M185.

Sands LP, Yaffe K, Lui L-Y, Stewart A, Eng C, Covinsky K. The effects of acute illness on ADL decline over 1 year in frail older adults with and without cognitive impairment. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M449 -M454.

Blaum CS, Ofstedal MB, Liang J. Low cognitive performance, comorbid disease, and task-specific disability: findings from a nationally representative survey. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M523 -M531.

Tabbarah M, Crimmins EM, Seeman TE. The relationship between cognitive and physical performance: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M228 -M235.

Doraiswamy PM, Leon J, Cummings JL, Marin D, Neumann PJ. Prevalence and impact of medical comorbidity in Alzheimer's disease. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M173 -M177.

Bittles AH, Petterson BA, Sullivan SG, Hussain R, Glasson EJ, Montgomery PD. The influence of intellectual disability on life expectancy. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M470 -M472.

Binder EF, Kruse RL, Sherman AK, et al. Predictors of short-term functional decline in survivors of nursing home-acquired lower respiratory tract infection. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 60 -67.

McConnell ES, Pieper CF, Sloane RJ, Branch LG. Effects of cognitive performance on change in physical function in long-stay nursing home residents. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M778 -M784.

Sands LP, Yaffe K, Covensky K, et al. Cognitive screening predicts magnitude of functional recovery from admission to 3 months after discharge in hospitalized elders. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 37 -45.

Raji MA, Ostir GV, Markides KS, Goodwin JS. The interaction of cognitive and emotional status on subsequent physical functioning in older Mexican Americans: findings from the Hispanic established population for the epidemiologic study of the elderly. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M678 -M682.

Mehta KM, Yaffe K, Langa KM, Sands L, Whooley MA, Covinsky KE. Additive effects of cognitive function and depressive symptoms on mortality in elderly community-living adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 461 -467.

Whitmer RA, Haan MN, Miller JW, Yaffe K. Hormone replacement therapy and cognitive performance: the role of homocysteine. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 324 -330.

Asthana S. Estrogen and cognition: the story so far. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 322 -323.

Petitti DB, Buckwalter JG, Crooks VC, Chiu V. Prevalence of dementia in users of hormone replacement therapy as defined by prescription data. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M532 -M538.

Ott BR, Belazi D, Lapane KL. Cognitive decline among female estrogen users in nursing homes. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M594 -M598.

Schumaker SA, Legault C, Rapp SR, et al. Estrogen plus progestin and the incidence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in postmenopausal women—the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. . 2003 ; 289 : 2651 -2662.

Rapp SR, Espeland MA, Shumaker SA, et al. Effect of estrogen plus progestin on global cognitive function in postmenopausal women—the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. . 2003 ; 289 : 2663 -2672.

Matsumoto AM. Andropause: clinical implications of the decline in serum testosterone levels with aging in men. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M76 -M99.

Kenny AM, Bellantonio S, Gruman CA, Acosta RD, Prestwood KM. Effects of transdermal testosterone on cognitive function and health perception in older men with low bioavailable testosterone levels. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M321 -M325.

Tariq SH. Knowledge about low testosterone in older men. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 382 -383.

Lokk J. News and views on folate and elderly persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 354 -361.

Adunsky A, Chesnin V, Davidson M, Gerber Y, Alexander K, Haratz D. A cross-sectional study of lipids and ApoC levels in Alzheimer's patients with and without cardiovascular disease. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M757 -M764.

Hajjar I, Schumpert J, Hirth V, Wieland D, Eleazer GP. The impact of the use of statins on the prevalence of dementia and the progression of cognitive impairment. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M414 -M418.

Atzmon G, Gabriely I, Greiner W, Davidson D, Schechter C, Barzilai N. Plasma HDL levels highly correlate with cognitive function in exceptional longevity. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M712 -M715.

Aronow WS, Ahn C, Gutstein H. Reduction of new coronary events and new atherothrombotic brain infarction in older persons with diabetes mellitus, prior myocardial infarction, and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥125 mg/dl treated with statins. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M747 -M750.

Aronow WS, Ahn C. Risk factors for new atherothrombotic brain infarction in older Hispanic men and women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M61 -M63.

Aronow WS, Ahn C, Gutstein H. Incidence of new atherothrombotic brain infarction in older persons with prior myocardial infarction and serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥125 mg/dl treated with statins versus no lipid-lowering drug. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M333 -M337.

Ostir GV, Raji MA, Ottenbacher KJ, Markides KS, Goodwin JS. Cognitive function and incidence of stroke in older Mexican Americans. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 531 -535.

Wilcock GK. Memantine for the treatment of dementia. Lancet Neurol. . 2003 ; 2 : 503 -505.

Andrieu S, Gillette S, Amouyal K, et al. Association of Alzheimer's disease onset with gingko biloba and other symptomatic cognitive treatments in a population of women aged 75 years and older from the PIDOS study. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 372 -377.

Fisher A, Morley JE. Antiaging medicine: the good, the bad, and the ugly. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M636 -M639.

Colcombe SJ, Erickson KI, Raz N, et al. Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 176 -180.

Robison J, Gruman C, Gaztambide S, Blank K. Screening for depression in middle-aged and older Puerto Rican primary care patients. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M308 -M314.

Morley JE, Flaherty JH. It's never too late: health promotion and illness prevention in older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M338 -M342.

Flaherty JH, McBride M, Marzouk S, et al. Decreasing hospitalization rates for older home care patients with symptoms of depression. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1998 ; 46A : 31 -38.

Hubert HB, Bloch DA, Oehlert JW, Fries JF. Lifestyle habits and compression of morbidity. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M347 -M351.

Rosenthal MJ, Fajardo M, Gilmore S, Morley JE, Naliboff BD. Hospitalization and mortality of diabetes in older adults—a 3-year prospective study. Diabetes Care. . 1998 ; 21 : 231 -235.

Akiyama H, Barger S, Barnum S, et al. Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging. . 2000 ; 21 : 383 -421.

Banks WA, Farr SA, Butt W, Kumar VB, Franko MW, Morley JE. Delivery across the blood-brain barrier of antisense directed against amyloid beta: Reversal of learning and memory deficits in mice overexpressing amyloid precursor protein. J Pharmacol Exper Ther. . 2001 ; 297 : 1113 -1121.

Kumar VB, Vyas K, Franko M, et al. Molecular cloning, expression, and regulation of hippocampal amyloid precursor protein of senescence accelerated mouse (SAMP8). Biochem Cell Biol [Biochim Biol Cell]. . 2001 ; 79 : 57 -67.

Michel J-P, Pautex S, Zekry D, Zulian G, Gold G. End-of-life care of persons with dementia. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M640 -M644.

Simmons SF, Babineau S, Garcia E, Schnelle JF. Quality assessment in nursing homes by systematic direct observation: feeding assistance. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M665 -M671.

Berrut G, Favreau AM, Dizo E, et al. Estimation of calorie and protein intake in aged patients: validation of a method based on meal portions consumed. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M52 -M56.

Crogan NL, Pasvogel A. The influence of protein-calorie malnutrition on quality of life in nursing homes. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 159 -164.

Minicuci N, Maggi S, Pavan M, Enzi G, Crepaldi G. Prevalence rate and correlates of depressive symptoms in older individuals: the Veneto Study. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M155 -M161.

Paquet C, St-Arnaud-McKenzie D, Kergoat M-J, Ferland G, Dube L. Direct and indirect effects of everyday emotions on food intake of elderly patients in institutions. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 153 -158.

Morley JE, Flaherty JH. Putting the “home” back in nursing home. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M419 -M421.

Thoesen Coleman M, Looney S, O'Brien J, Ziegler C, Pastorino CA, Turner C. The Eden alternative: findings after 1 year of implementation. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M422 -M427.

Banks MR, Banks WA. The effects of animal-assisted therapy on loneliness in an elderly population in long-term care facilities. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M428 -M432.

Tamura T, Yonemitsu S, Itoh A, et al. Is an entertainment robot useful in the care of elderly people with severe dementia? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2004 ; 59A : 83 -85.

Schnelle JF. Improving nursing home quality assessment: capturing the voice of cognitively impaired elders. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 238 -239.

Kane RA, Kling KC, Bershadsky B, et al. Quality of life measures for nursing home residents. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 240 -248.

Kane RL. Professionals with personal experience in chronic care (PPECC). J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 867 .

Flaherty JH, Stalvey B, Rubenstein L. A consensus statement on nonemergent medical transportation services for older persons [Guest Editorial]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 826 -831.

Margolis KL, Kerani PK, McGovern P, Songer T, Cauley JA. Ensrud KE for the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Risk factors for motor vehicle crashes in older women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M186 -M191.

Richardson ED, Marottoli RA. Visual attention and driving behaviors among community-living older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 832 -836.

Porter MM, Whitton MJ. Assessment of driving with the Global Positioning System and video technology in young, middle-aged, and older drivers. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M578 -M582.

Miller DJ, Morley JE. Attitudes of physicians toward elderly drivers and driving policy. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1993 ; 41 : 722 -724.

Blazer DG. Depression in late life: review and commentary. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 249 -265.

Blazer DG. The prevalence of depressive symptoms. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M150 -M151.

Evans WJ. Exercise as the standard of care for elderly people. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M260 -M261.

Cesari M, Landi F, Torre S, Onder G, Lattanzio F, Bernabei R. Prevalence and risk factors for falls in an older community-dwelling population. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M722 -M726.

Thomas VS, Hageman PA. Can neuromuscular strength and function in people with dementia be rehabilitated using resistance-exercise training? Results from a preliminary intervention study. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 746 -751.

Singh NA, Clements KM, Singh MAF. The efficacy of exercise as a long-term antidepressant in elderly subjects: a randomized, controlled trial. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M497 -M504.

Morley JE. Mobility performance: a high-tech test for geriatricians. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 712 -714.

Newman AB, Haggerty CL, Kritchevsky SB, Nevitt MC. Simonsick EM, for the Health ABC Collaborative Research Group. Walking performance and cardiovascular response: associations with age and morbidity—the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 715 -720.

Lan T-Y, Deeg DJH, Guralnik JM, Melzer D. Responsiveness of the index of mobility limitation: comparison with gait speed alone in the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 721 -727.

Bean JF, Leveille SG, Kiely DK, Bandinelli S, Guralnik JM, Ferrucci L. A comparison of leg power and leg strength within the InCHIANTI Study: which influences mobility more? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 728 -733.

Alexander NB, Dengel DR, Olson RJ, Krajewski KM. Oxygen-Uptake (VO 2 ) kinetics and functional mobility performance in impaired older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 734 -739.

Brandon LJ, Gaasch DA, Boyette LW, Lloyd AM. Effects of long-term resistive training on mobility and strength in older adults with diabetes. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 740 -745.

Lan T-Y, Melzer D, Tom BDM, Guralnik JM. Performance tests and disability: developing an objective index of mobility-related limitation in older populations. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M294 -M301.

Sicard-Rosenbaum L, Light KE, Behrman AL. Gait, lower extremity strength, and self-assessed mobility after hip arthroplasty. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M47 -M51.

Reid MC, Guo ZC, Towle VR, Kerns RD, Concato J. Pain-related disability among older male veterans receiving primary care. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M727 -M732.

Slade JM, Miszko TA, Laity JH, Agrawal SK, Cress ME. Anaerobic power and physical function in strength-trained and non-strength-trained older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M168 -M172.

Cromwell RL, Newton RA, Forrest G. Influence of vision on head stabilization strategies in older adults during walking. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M442 -M448.

Lord SR, Murray SM, Chapman K, Munro B, Tiedemann A. Sit-to-Stand performance depends on sensation, speed, balance, and psychological status in addition to strength in older people. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M539 -M543.

Hamerman D. Molecular-based therapeutic approaches in treatment of anorexia of aging and cancer cachexia. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M511 -M518.

Bean JF, Kiely DK, Leveille SG, et al. The 60 minute walk test in mobility-limited elders: What is being measured? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M751 -M756.

Wong CH, Wong SF, Pang WS, Azizah MY, Dass MJ. Habitual walking and its correlation to better physical function: implications for prevention of physical disability in older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58 : 555 -560.

Liu L, Bopp MM, Roberson PK, Sullivan DH. Undernutrition and risk of mortality in elderly patients within 1 year of hospital discharge. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M741 -M746.

de Castro JM. Age-related changes in the social, psychological, and temporal influences on food intake in free-living, healthy, adult humans. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M368 -M377.

Morley JE, Silver AJ. Anorexia in the elderly. Neurobiol Aging. . 1988 ; 9 : 9 -16.

Morley JE. Anorexia of aging—physiologic and pathologic. Am J Clin Nutr. . 1997 ; 66 : 760 -773.

Hays NP, Gathalon GP, Roubenoff R, Lipman R, Robert SB. The association of eating behavior with risk for morbidity in older women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M128 -M133.

Miller DK, Morley JE, Rubenstein LZ, Pietruszka FM. Abnormal eating attitudes and body image in older undernourished individuals. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1991 ; 39 : 462 -466.

Choy NL, Brauer S, Nitz J. Changes in postural stability in women aged 20 to 80 years. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 525 -530.

Strum K, MacIntosh CG, Parker BA, Wishart J, Horowitz M, Chapman IM. Appetite, food intake, and plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and other gastrointestinal hormones in undernourished older women and well-nourished young and older women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 2003 ; 88 : 3747 -3755.

Rigamonti AE, Pincelli AI, Corra B, et al. Plasma ghrelin concentration in elderly subjects: comparison with anorexic and obese patients. J Endocrinol. . 2002 ; 175 : R1 -R5.

Batterham RL, Cohen MA, Ellis SM, et al. Inhibition of food intake in obese subjects by peptide YY3-36. N Engl J Med. . 2003 ; 349 : 941 -948.

Morley JE, Flood JF. An investigation of tolerance to the actions of leptogenic and anorexigenic drugs in mice. Life Sci. . 1987 ; 41 : 2157 -2165.

MacIntosh CG, Morley JE, Wishart J, et al. Effect of exogenous cholecystokinin (CCK)-8 on food intake and plasma CCK, leptin, and insulin concentrations in older and young adults: evidence for increased CCK activity as a cause of the anorexia of aging. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 2001 ; 86 : 5830 -5837.

Mathey MFAM, Siebelink E, de Graaf C, Van Staveren WA. Flavor enhancement of food improves dietary intake and nutritional status of elderly nursing home residents. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M200 -M205.

Wilson MMG, Purushothaman R, Morley JE. Effect of liquid dietary supplements on energy intake in the elderly. Am J Clin Nutr. . 2002 ; 75 : 944 -947.

Morley JE. Anorexia and weight loss in older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 131 -137.

Thomas DR. The relationship between functional status and inflammatory disease in older adults [Guest Editorial]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 995 -998.

Yeh SS, Wu SY, Levine DM, et al. The correlation of cytokine levels with body weight after megestrol acetate treatment in geriatric patients. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M48 -M54.

Karcic E, Philpot C, Morley JE. Treating malnutrition with megestrol acetate: literature review and review of our experience. J Nutr Hlth Aging. . 2002 ; 6 : 191 -200.

Lambert CP, Sullivan DH, Evans WJ. Effects of testosterone replacement and/or resistance training on interleukin-6 tumor necrosis factor alpha, and leptin in elderly men ingesting megestrol acetate: a randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 165 -170.

Morley JE, Logi P, Bensusan AD. The subjective effects of dagga: including comparative studies with Britain and America. S Afr Med J. . 1973 ; 47 : 1145 -1149.

Wilson MMG. Urinary incontinence: bridging the gender gap. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 752 -754.

Nuotio M, Tammela TLJ, Luukkaala T, Jylha M. Predictors of institutionalization in an older population during a 13-year period: the effect of urge incontinence. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 756 -762.

Endo JO, Chen S, Potter JF, Ranno AE, Asadullah S, Lahiri P. Vitamin B 12 deficiency and incontinence: is there an association? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M583 -M587.

Kinlaw WB, Levine AS, Morley JE, Silvis SE, McClain CJ. Abnormal zinc metabolism in type II diabetes mellitus. Am J Med. . 1983 ; 75 : 273 -277.

Niewoehner CB, Allen JI, Boosalis M, Levine AS, Morley JE. Role of zinc supplementation in type II diabetes mellitus. Am J Med. . 1986 ; 81 : 63 -68.

Brose A, Parise G, Tarnopolsky MA. Creatine supplementation enhances isometric strength and body composition improvements following strength exercise training in older adults. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 11 -19.

Bodkin NL, Alexander TM, Ortmeyer HK, Johnson E, Hansen BC. Mortality and morbidity in laboratory-maintained Rhesus monkeys and effects of long-term dietary restriction. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 212 -219.

Banks WA, Phillips-Controy JE, Jolly CJ, Morley JE. Serum leptin levels in wild and captive populations of baboons (Papio): implications for the ancestral role of leptin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 2001 ; 86 : 4315 -4320.

Morgan WW, Richardson AG, Nelson JF. Dietary restriction does not protect the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway of older animals from low-dose MPTP-induced neurotoxicity. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 394 -399.

Sell DR, Lane MA, Obrenovich ME, et al. The effect of caloric restriction on glycation and glycoxidation in ski collagen of nonhuman primate. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 508 -516.

Gresl TA, Colman RJ, Havighurst TC, Allison DB, Schoeller DA, Kemnitz JW. Dietary restriction and beta-cell sensitivity to glucose in adult male rhesus monkeys. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 598 -610.

Banks WA, Altmann J, Sapolsky RM, Phillips-Conroy JE, Morley JE. Serum leptin levels as a marker for a syndrome X-like condition in wild baboons. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 2003 ; 88 : 1234 -1240.

Wolford RL, Mock D, Verdery R, MacCallum T. Calorie restriction in Biosphere 2: alterations in physiologic, hematologic, hormonal, and biochemical parameters in humans restricted for a 2-year period. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B211 -B224.

Manson JE, Hsia J, Johnson KC, et al. Estrogen plus progestin and the risk of coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med. . 2003 ; 349 : 523 -534.

Roussouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women—principal results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. . 2002 ; 288 : 321 -333.

Morley JE. The need for a men's health initiative. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 614 -617.

Anderson JK, Faulkner S, Cranor C, Briley J, Gevirtz F, Roberts S. Andropause: knowledge and perceptions among the general public and health care professionals. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M793 -M796.

Morley JE, Perry HM. Andropause: an old concept in new clothing. Clin Geriatr Med. . 2003 ; 19 : 507 -528.

Wittert GA, Chapman IM, Haren MT, Mackintosh S, Coates P, Morley JE. Oral testosterone supplementation increases muscle and decreases fat mass in healthy elderly males with low-normal gonadal status. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 618 -625.

Kenny AM, Prestwood KM, Gruman CA, Fabregas G, Biskup B, Mansoor G. Effects of transdermal testosterone on lipids and vascular reactivity in older men with low bioavailable testosterone levels. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M460 -M465.

Kenny AM, Prestwood KM, Gruman CA, Marcello KM, Raisz LG. Effects of transdermal testosterone on bone and muscle in older men with low bioavailable testosterone levels. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M266 -M272.

Tariq SH, Haleem U, Omran ML, Kaiser FE, Perry HM, Morley JE. Erectile dysfunction: etiology and treatment in young and old patients. Clin Geriatr Med. . 2003 ; 19 : 539 -551.

Sih R, Morley JE, Kaiser FE, Perry HM, Patrick P, Ross C. Testosterone replacement in older hypogonadal men—a 12-month randomized controlled trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 1997 ; 82 : 1661 -1667.

Morley JE. Andropause: is it time for the geriatrician to treat it? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M263 -M265.

Christmas C, O'Connor KG, Harman SM, Tobin JD, et al. Growth hormone and sex steroid effects on bone metabolism and bone mineral density in healthy aged women and men. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M12 -M18.

Tan RS, Pu SJ. A pilot study on the effects of testosterone in hypogonadal aging male patients with Alzheimer's disease. Aging Male. . 2003 ; 6 : 13 -17.

Morley JE. Testosterone and behavior. Clin Geriatr Med. . 2003 ; 19 : 605 -616.

Bhasin S. The mechanisms of androgen effects on body composition: mesenchymal pluripotent cell as the target of androgen action. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1103 -1110.

Morley JE, Perry HM, III. Androgens and women at the menopause and beyond. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 409 -416.

Waters DL, Yau CL, Montoya GD, Baumgartner RN. Serum sex hormones, IGF-1, and IGFBP3 exert a sexually dimorphic effect on lean body mass in aging. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 57A : 648 -652.

Baumgartner RN, Waters DL, Gallagher D, Morley JE, Garry PJ. Predictors of skeletal muscle mass in elderly men and women. Mech Ageing Develop. . 1999 ; 107 : 123 -136.

Bartke A, Coschigano K, Kopchick J, et al. Genes that prolong life: relationships of growth hormone and growth to aging and life span. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : B340 -B349.

Morley JE. Growth hormone: fountain of youth or death hormone? J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1999 ; 47 : 1475 -1476.

Benson A, Salemi S, Gallati S, et al. Reduced longevity in untreated patients with isolated growth hormone deficiency. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. . 2003 ; 88 : 3664 -3667.

Dozmorov I, Galecki A, Chang Y, Krzesicki, , Vergara M, Miller RA. Gene expression profile of long-lived Snell dwarf mice. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B99 -B108.

Ikeno Y, Bronson RT, Hubbard GB, Lee S, Bartke A. Delayed occurrence of fatal neoplastic diseases in Ames Dwarf Mice: correlation to extended longevity. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 291 -296.

Zamboni M, Zoico E, Tosoni P, et al. Relation between vitamin D, physical performance, and disability in elderly persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M7 -M11.

Kamel HK, Perry HM, Morley JE. Hormone replacement therapy and fractures in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2001 ; 59 : 179 -187.

Kamel HK, Hussain MS, Tariq S, Perry HM, Morley JE. Failure to diagnose and treat osteoporosis in elderly patients hospitalized with hip fracture. Am J Med. . 2000 ; 109 : 326 -328.

Fried LP, Tangen CM, Walston J, et al. Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotpye. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M146 -M156.

Thomas DR. Focus on functional decline in hospitalized older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M567 -M568.

McCusker J, Kakuma R, Abrahamowicz M. Predictors of functional decline in hospitalized elderly patients: a systematic review. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M569 -M577.

Gill TM, Kurland B. The burden and patterns of disability in activities of daily living among community-living older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 70 -75.

Valderrama-Gama E, Damian J, Ruigomez A, Martin-Moreno JM. Chronic disease, functional status, and self-ascribed causes of disabilities among noninstitutionalized older people in Spain. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M716 -M721.

Lipsitz LA. Dynamics of stability: the physiologic basis of functional health and frailty. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B115 -B125.

Morley JE, Perry HM, III, Miller DK. Something about frailty. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M698 -M704.

Ottenbacher KJ, Ostir GV, Peek MK, Goodwin JS, Markides KS. Diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for hip fracture in Mexican American older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M648 -M653.

Newman AB, Gottdiener JS, McBurnie MA, et al. Associations of subclinical cardiovascular disease with frailty. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56A : M158 -M166.

Rodriguez-Saldana J, Morley JE, Reynoso MT, et al. Diabetes mellitus in a subgroup of older Mexicans: prevalence, association with cardiovascular risk factors, functional and cognitive impairment, and mortality. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2002 ; 50 : 111 -116.

Miller DK, Lui LYL, Perry HM, Kaiser FE, Morley JE. Reported and measured physical functioning in older inner-city diabetic African Americans. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 1999 ; 54 : M230 -M236.

Iannuzzi-Sucich M, Prestwood KM, Kenny AM. Prevalence of sarcopenia and predictors of skeletal muscle mass in healthy, older men and women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M772 -M777.

Reid MC, Guo Z, Towle VR, Kersn RD. Concato. Pain-related disability among older male veterans receiving primary care. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M727 -M732.

Hortobagyi T, Mizelle C, Beam S, DeVita P. Old adults perform activities of daily living near their maximal capabilities. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 453 -460.

Miszko TA, Cress ME, Slade JM, Covey CJ, Agrawal SK, Doerr CE. Effect of strength and power training on physical function in community-dwelling older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 171 -175.

Nicklas BJ, Dennis KE, Berman DM, Sorkin J, Ryan AS, Goldberg AP. Lifestyle intervention of hypocaloric dieting and walking reduces abdominal obesity and improves coronary heart disease risk factors in obese, postmenopausal, African American and Caucasian women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 181 -189.

Figueroa A, Going SB, Milliken LA, et al. Effects of exercise training and hormone replacement therapy on lean and fat mass in postmenopausal women. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 266 -270.

Hortobagyi T. The positives of negatives: clinical implications of eccentric resistance exercise in older adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 417 -418.

LaStayo PC, Ewy GA, Pierotti DD, Johns RK, Lindstedt S. The positive effects of negative work: increased muscle strength and decreased fall risk in a frail elderly population. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 419 -424.

Carmeli E, Kessel S, Coleman R, Ayalon M. Effects of a treadmill walking program on muscle strength and balance in elderly people with down syndrome. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M106 -M110.

Trappe S, Williamson D, Godard M. Maintenance of whole muscle strength and size following resistance training in older men. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B138 -B143.

Singh MAF. Exercise comes of age: rationale and recommendations for a geriatric exercise prescription. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M262 -M282.

Signorile JF, Carmel MP, Czaja SJ, et al. Differential increases in average isokinetic power by specific muscle groups of older women due to variations in training and testing. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M683 -M690.

Dubbert PM, Cooper KM, Kirchner KA, Meydrech EF, Bilbrew D. Effects of nurse counseling on walking for exercise in elderly primary care patients. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M733 -M740.

Morley JE. A fall is a major event in the life of an older person. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M492 -M495.

Murphy SL, Dubin JA, Gill TM. The development of fear of falling among community-living older women: predisposing factors and subsequent fall events. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 943 -947.

Lundebjerg N, Rubenstein LZ, Kenny RA, et al. Guideline for the prevention of falls in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2001 ; 59 : 664 -672.

Kenny AM, Dwason L, Kleppinger A, Iannuzzi-Sucich M, Judge JO. Prevalence of sarcopenia and predictors of skeletal muscle mass in nonobese women who are long-term users of estrogen-replacement therapy. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 436 -440.

Aronow WS, Ahn C. Elderly diabetics with peripheral arterial disease and no coronary artery disease have a higher incidence of new coronary events than elderly nondiabetics with peripheral arterial disease and prior myocardial infarction treated with statins and with no lipid-lowering drug. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 573 -575.

Morley JE. Sarcopenia revisited [Editorial]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 909 -910.

Marcell TJ. Sarcopenia: causes, consequences, and preventions [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 911 -916.

Yarasheski KE. Exercise, aging, and muscle protein metabolism [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 918 -922.

Barton E, Morris C. Mechanisms and strategies to counter muscle atrophy [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 923 -926.

Leeuwenburgh C. Role of apoptosis in sarcopenia [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 999 -1001.

Bhasin S. Testosterone supplementation for aging-associated sarcopenia [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1002 -1008.

Hawkins SA, Wiswell RA, Marcell TJ. Exercise and the master athlete—a model of successful aging? [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1009 -1011.

Roubenoff R. Sarcopenia: effects on body composition and function [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1012 -1017.

Aronow WS, Ahn C, Gutstein H. Prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular disease in 1160 older men and 2464 older women in a long-term health care facility. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M45 -M46.

Aronow WS. Management of the older person with atrial fibrillation. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M352 -M363.

Aronow WS. What is the appropriate treatment of hypertension in elders? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M483 -M486.

Vogel T, Verreault R, Turcotte J-F, Kiesmann M, Berthel M. Intracerebral aneurysms: a review with special attention to geriatric aspects. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 520 -524.

Aronow WS. Treatment of unstable angina pectoris/non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infraction in elderly patients [Review Article]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 927 -933.

Aronow WS. Should hypercholesterolemia in older persons be treated to reduce cardiovascular events? J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M411 -M413.

White HD. Should all patients with coronary disease receive angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors? Lancet. . 2003 ; 362 : 755 -757.

Pfeffer MA, Swedberg K, Granger CB, et al. Effects of candesartan on mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic heart failure: the CHARM-Overall Programme. Lancet. . 2003 ; 362 : 759 -766.

McMurray JJV, Ostergren J, Swedberg K, et al. Effects of candesartan in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced left-ventricular systolic function taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors: the CHARM-Added trial. Lancet. . 2003 ; 362 : 767 -771.

Hajjar I, Miller K, Hirth V. Age-related bias in the management of hypertension: a national survey of physicians' opinions on hypertension in elderly adults. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M487 -M491.

Goodwin JS. Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 653 -658.

Aronow WS. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 659 -660.

Denson S. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 660 -661.

Hajjar RR. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 661 -662.

Harris TB. Aging well and aging poorly: primary and secondary low blood pressure [Commentary]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 662 -663.

Lowenthal DT. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 664 -665.

Michel J-P, Grab B, Perrenoud JJ. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 665 -666.

Newman AB. Commentary on “Embracing complexity: a consideration of hypertension in the very old.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 666 -667.

Thomas DR. The struggle to relate epidemiology to real people. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 667 -668.

Goodwin JS. Author's response to commentaries. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 669 -670.

Vloet LCM, Smits R, Jansen RWMM. Effect of meals at different mealtimes on blood pressure and symptoms in geriatric patients with postprandial hypotension. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 1031 -1035.

Morley JE. Postprandial hypotension—the ultimate Big Mac attack. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2001 ; 56 : M741 -M743.

Edwards BJ, Perry HM III, Kaiser FE, et al. Relationship of age and calcitonin gene-related peptide to postprandial hypotension. Mech Ageing Develop. . 1996 ; 87 : 61 -73.

Breitbart E, Wang X, Leka LS, Dallal GE, Meydani SN, Stollar BD. Altered memory B-cell homeostasis in human aging. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B304 -B311.

Li M, Torres C, Auna-Castillo C, et al. Defect in ERK2 and p54 JNK activation in aging mouse splenocytes. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B41 -B47.

Kaiser FE, Morley JE. Idiopathic CD4+ T lymphopenia in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1994 ; 42 : 1291 -1294.

McElhaney JE. Nutrition, exercise, and influenza vaccination. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M555 -M556.

Kohut ML, Cooper MM, Nickolaus MS, Russell DR, Cunnick JE. Exercise and psychosocial factors modulate immunity to influenza vaccine in elderly individuals. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M557 -M562.

Wouters-Wesseling W, Rozendaal M, Snijder M, et al. Effectof a complete nutritional supplement on antibody response to influenza vaccine in elderly people. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M563 -M566.

Pealer LN, Marfin AA, Petersen LR, et al. Transmission of West Nile virus through blood transfusion in the United States in 2002. N Engl J Med. . 2003 ; 349 : 1236 -1245.

Tsang KW, Ho PL, Ooi GC, et al. A cluster of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. N Engl J Med. . 2003 ; 348 : 1977 -1985.

McElhaney JE. Influenza: A preventable lethal disease. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M627 -M628.

Menec VH, MacWilliam L, Aoki FY. Hospitalizations and death due to respiratory illnesses during influenza seasons: a comparison of community residents, senior housing residents, and nursing home residents. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M629 -M635.

Chase P, Mitchell K, Morley JE. In the steps of giants: the early geriatrics texts. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2000 ; 48 : 89 -94.

Smith JR, Olshansky SJ. Position statement on human aging. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B291 .

Olshansky SJ, Hayflick L, Carnes BA. Position statement on human aging. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B292 -B297.

Butler RN, Fossel M, Harman SM, et al. Is there an antiaging medicine? J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B333 -B338.

Bergamini E. In response to: “Is there an antiaging medicine?” [Letter]. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 483 .

Fisher A, Morley JE. Antiaging medicine: the good, the bad, and the ugly. J Gerontol Med Sci. 57A:M636–M639.

Zuliani G, Cherubini A, Volpato S, et al. Genetic factors associated with the absence of atherosclerosis in octogenarians. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M611 -M615.

Barzilai N. Discovering the secrets of successful longevity. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 225 -226.

Choi Y-H, Kim J-H, Kim DK, et al. Distributions of ACE and APOE polymorphisms and their relations with dementia status in Korean centenarians. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 227 -231.

Evert J, Lawler E, Bogan H, Perls T. Morbidity profiles of centenarians: survivors, delayers, and escapers. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 232 -237.

Horiuchi S, Finch CE, Mesle F, Vallin J. Differential patterns of age-related mortality increase in middle age and old age. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 495 -507.

Butler RN, Austad SN, Barzilai N, et al. Longevity genes: from primitive organisms to humans. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 581 -584.

Da Cruz IBM, Oliveira G, Taufer M, et al. Angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in two ethnic groups living in Brazil's southern region: association with age. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 851 -856.

Tan Q, Yashin AI, Bladbjerg EM, et al. A case-only approach for assessing gene by sex interaction in human longevity. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B129 -B133.

Jackson AU, Galecki AT, Burke DT, Miller RA. Mouse loci associated with life span exhibit sex-specific and epistatic effects. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B9 -B15.

Hornsby PJ. Cellular senescence and tissue aging in vivo. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B251 -B256.

Marcotte R, Wang E. Replicative senescence revisited. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B257 -B269.

Smith JR, Venable S, Roberts TW, Metter EJ, Monticone R, Schneider EL. Relationship between in vivo age and in vitro aging: assessment of 669 cell cultures derived from members of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : B239 -B246.

Nakamura E, Miyao K. Further evaluation of the basic nature of the human biological aging process based on a factor analysis of age-related physiological variables. J Gerontol Biol Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 196 -204.

He Q, Li J, Bettiol E, Jaconi ME. Embryonic stem cells: new possible therapy for degenerative diseases that affect elderly people. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 279 -287.

Kane RL. The future history of geriatrics: Geriatrics at the crossroads. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M803 -M804.

Hazzard WR. Geriatrics at the crossroads—or simply early in the journey? [Commentary]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M806 .

Warshaw G. Commentary on “The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M806 -M807.

Rodin MB. Commentary on “The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M807 -M808.

Flaherty JG. The adolescence of geriatrics [Commentary]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M808 -M810.

Tangalos EG. Commentary on “The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M811 .

Sinclair AJ. Commentary on “The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M811 -M812.

Michel J-P, Pils K, Sieber C. Commentary on “The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads.”. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M812 -M813.

Kane RL. Authors' response to commentaries. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2002 ; 57A : M813 -M814.

Thomas DR. The future history of geriatrics: consulting the experts [Letter]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 92 .

Singh MAF. Commentary on “Dr. Kanes article. The future history of geriatrics: geriatrics at the crossroads” [Letter]. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 92 -93.

Morley JE, Miller DK. Total quality assurance: an important step in improving care for older individuals. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1992 ; 50 : 974 -975.

Miller DK, Coe RM, Romeis JC, Morley JE. Improving quality of geriatric health care in four delivery sites—suggestions from practitioners and experts. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1995 ; 43 : 60 -65.

Miller DK, Coe RM, Morley JE, Gettman J. Total quality management and geriatric care. Aust J Ageing. . 1998 ; 17 :(1 Suppl S): 60 -65.

Rubenstein LZ, Josephson KR, Wieland GD, English PA, Sayre JA, Kane RL. Effectiveness of a geriatric evaluation unit. A randomized clinical trial. N Engl J Med. . 1984 ; 311 : 1664 -1670.

Cohen HJ, Feussner JR, Weinberger M, et al. A controlled trial of inpatient and outpatient geriatric evaluation and management. N Engl J Med. . 2002 ; 346 : 905 -912.

Stuck AE, Siu AL, Wieland GD, Adams J, Rubenstein LZ. Comprehensive geriatric assessment: a meta-analysis of controlled trials. Lancet. . 1993 ; 342 : 1032 -1036.

Morley JE, Flaherty JH, Thomas DR. Geriatricians, continuous quality improvement, and improved care for older persons. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 809 -812.

Tsilimingras D, Rosen AK, Berlowitz DR. Patient safety in geriatrics: a call for action. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 813 -819.

Nebeker JR, Hurdle JF, Bair BD. Medical informatics in geriatrics. J Gerontol Med Sci. . 2003 ; 58A : 820 -825.

Palmer Rm, Landefeld CS, Kresevic D, Kowal J. A medical unit for the acute care of the elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1994 ; 42 : 545 -552.

Flaherty JH, Tariq SH, Raghavan S, Bakshi S, Moinuddin A, Morley JE. A model for managing delirious older inpatients. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 : 1031 -1035.

Makowski TR, Maggard W, Morley JE. The Life Care Center of St. Louis experience with subacute care. Clin Geriatr Med. . 2000 ; 16 : 701 -724.

Miller DK, Lewis LM, Nork MJ, Morley JE. Controlled trial of a geriatric case-finding and liaison service in an emergency department. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1996 ; 44 : 513 -520.

Wieland D, Lamb VL, Sutton SR, et al. Hospitalization in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE): rates, concomitants, and predictors. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2000 ; 48 : 1373 -1380.

Flaherty JH. Psychotherapeutic agents in older adults. Commonly prescribed and over-the-counter medications—causes of confusion. Clin Geriatr Med. . 1998 ; 14 : 101–127 .

Miller DK, Brunworth D, Brunworth DS, Hagan R, Morley JE. Efficiency of geriatric case-finding in a private practitioners office. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1995 ; 43 : 533 -537.

Miller DK, Morley JE, Rubenstein LZ, Pietruszka FM, Strome LS. Formal geriatric assessment instruments and the care of older general medical outpatients. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 1990 ; 38 : 645 -651.

Flaherty JH, Morley JE, Murphy DJ, Wasserman MR. The development of outpatient clinical Glidepaths. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2002 ; 50 : 1886 -1901.

Yoshikawa TT, Reuben DB, Ouslander JG. Tribute to David H. Solomon, MD, for his contributions to geriatrics and gerontology, on his 80th birthday. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 :(7 Suppl S): S327 .

Yoshikawa TT, Reuben DB, Ouslander JG. Biographical sketch of David H. Solomon, MD. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 :(7 Suppl S): S330 -S332.

Warshaw WA, Gragg EJ. The training of geriatricians in the United States: three decades of progress. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 :(7 Suppl S): S338 -S345.

Reuben DB, Shekelle PG, Wenger NS. Quality of care for older persons at the dawn of the third millennium. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 :(7 Suppl S): S346 -S350.

Morley JE. Hormones and the aging process. J Am Geriatr Soc. . 2003 ; 51 :(7 Suppl S): S333 -S337.

Email alerts

Citing articles via, looking for your next opportunity.

• Recommend to Your Librarian

Affiliations

• Online ISSN 1758-535X
• Copyright © 2024 The Gerontological Society of America
• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Institutional account management
• Rights and permissions
• Get help with access
• Accessibility
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

• Skip to content
• Skip to site navigation

GIVE TO THE LIBRARY

Robert E. Kennedy Library

Digital commons.

• Detailed Upload Instructions
• Formatting Your Senior Project
• Copyright and Intellectual Property
• Advisors and Departments
• Locate Senior Projects
• Master's Theses This link opens in a new window
• Graduate Reports and Projects
• Submission Instructions
• Staff Research
• ADA Compliance and Inclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Accepted File Formats

General Format Recommendations

Each academic department determines the standards for the successful completion of senior projects, including style guides. Please consult your advisor or department for specific department guidelines.

The Library has some general recommendations:

1. Title Page

Please include a title page. A sample title page and title page template can found at the bottom of this page. The title page is the first page of the senior project and should include:

• Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title except for coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), prepositions, and articles.
• Name(s) of author(s)
• Full name of department
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• Typically reflects the date your final project was provided to your advisor
• The Copyright symbol ©
• The year of publication
• The name(s) of the author(s)
• Example: © 2019 Jane Doe
• If the work was created as a joint work by multiple authors, include all names in the notice.
• Example: © 2019 Jane Doe, Jóna Jónsdóttir, Jaime Ramírez, and Rajwinder Kaur

2. Approval Page

Kennedy Library does not require an approval page.

However, check with your department to see if an approval page is required. If an approval page is required by your department, the approval page should be a separate page that appears immediately after the title page. The approval page should include the typed name and title of the advisor. Check with your department for additional guidelines.

3. File Type

If your Senior Project is in the form of a research paper, upload all pages as ONE SINGLE FILE PDF .

• Title Page Example
• Title Page Template
• << Previous: Detailed Upload Instructions
• Next: Copyright and Intellectual Property >>
• Last Updated: May 16, 2023 10:32 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.calpoly.edu/digitalcommons

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Biomed Res Int

The Importance of Physical Activity Exercise among Older People

Birgitta langhammer.

1 Oslo Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Astrid Bergland

2 Oslo Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo, Norway

Elisabeth Rydwik

3 Karolinska Institutet, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Huddinge, Sweden

4 Stockholm County Council, Research and Development Unit for the Elderly, Järfälla, Sweden

In this special issue of BioMed Research International, the focus is on lifestyle and in particular physical activity (PA) as a driver for a healthy and long life for older people.

As populations continue to extend life expectancy, a central concern is whether the added time comprises years of healthy life and promotes a high health-related quality of life into old age. PA is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. PA encompasses exercise, sports, and physical activities performed as part of daily living, occupation, leisure, or active transportation. Exercise is a subcategory of PA that is planned, structured, and repetitive and that has as a final or intermediate objective for improvement or maintenance of physical fitness. Physical function is the capacity of an individual to perform the physical activities of daily living. Physical function reflects motor function and control, physical fitness, and habitual PA [ 1 ].

PA is a protective factor for noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer [ 2 ] and PA is associated with improved mental health [ 3 ], delay in the onset of dementia [ 4 ], and improved quality of life and wellbeing [ 5 , 6 ]. The health benefits of PA are well documented with higher levels and greater frequency of PA being associated with reduced risk and improved health in a number of key areas [ 7 ].

The dose of PA or exercise is described by the duration, frequency, intensity, and mode [ 8 ]. For optimal effects, the older person must adhere to the prescribed exercise program and follow the overload principle of training, i.e., to exercise near the limit of the maximum capacity to challenge the body systems sufficiently, to induce improvements in physiological parameters such as VO2max and muscular strength [ 1 ].

Improvements in mental health, emotional, psychological, and social well-being and cognitive function are also associated with regular PA. Despite these health benefits, PA levels amongst older adults remain below the recommended 150 min/week [ 9 ]. The crude global prevalence of physical inactivity is 21.4% [ 10 ]. This translates to one in every four to five adults being physically inactive, or with activity levels lower than the current recommendations from WHO [ 11 ]. Inactivity and aging increase the risk of chronic disease, and older people often have multiple chronic conditions (NFH, 2010). The exercise recommendations from WHO include both aerobic exercise and strength exercise as well as balance exercises to reduce the risk of falls. If older adults cannot follow the guidelines because of chronic conditions, they should be as active as their ability and conditions allow [ 12 ]. It is important to note that the recommended amount of PA is in addition to routine activities of daily living like self-care, cooking, and shopping, to mention a few.

Inactivity is associated with alterations in body composition resulting in an increase in percentage of body fat and a concomitant decline in lean body mass. Thus, significant loss in maximal force production takes place with inactivity. Skeletal muscle atrophy is often considered a hallmark of aging and physical inactivity. Sarcopenia is defined as low muscle mass in combination with low muscle strength and/or low physical performance [ 13 ]. Consequently, low physical performance and dependence in activities of daily living is more common among older people [ 14 , 15 ]. However, strength training has been shown to increase lean body mass [ 16 ], improve physical performance [ 17 , 18 ], and to a lesser extent have a positive effect on self-reported activities of daily living [ 18 ]. These aspects are at focus in the papers of K. Kropielnicka et al. “Influence of the Physical Training on Muscle Function and Walking Distance in Symptomatic Peripheral Arterial Disease in Elderly” as well as G. Piastra et al. “Effects of Two Types of 9-Month Adapted Physical Activity Program on Muscle Mass, Muscle Strength, and Balance in Moderate Sarcopenic Older Women.”

Participation in PA and exercise can contribute to maintaining quality of life, health, and physical function and reducing falls [ 19 – 21 ] among older people in general and older people with morbidities in particular. The increased attention to the relationship between exercise and HRQOL in older adults over the last decade is reflected in a recent review, which showed that a moderate PA level combining multitasking exercise components had a positive effect on activities in daily living, highlighting the importance of physical, mental, and social demands [ 22 ]. To reduce falls, balance training is also recommended to be included in physical exercise programs for older adults [ 12 ]. Exercise has also been shown to reduce falls with 21%, with a greater effect of exercise programs including challenging balance activities for more than 3 hours/week [ 23 ].

The gender perspective and motivators for fall prevention are at focus in M. Sandlund et al. qualitative study “Gender Perspective on Older People's Exercise Preferences and Motivators in the Context of Falls Prevention: A Qualitative Study,” in this special issue.

Exercise training in older people has been associated with health benefits such as decreased cardiovascular mortality [ 24 ]. Explanatory mechanism likely to be involved following exercise was a change in the cardiac autonomic balance producing an increase, or a relative dominance, of the vagal component [ 25 ]. Furthermore, endurance exercise training in older people decreases resting and submaximal exercise heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure and increases stroke volume [ 26 ]. This is especially notable during peak effort in which stroke volume, cardiac output, contractility, and oxygen uptake are increased, while total peripheral resistance and systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased. Thus lowering after-load in the heart muscle, which in turn facilitates left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, emphasizes the importance of high intensity training also for the elderly. E. Tamuleviciute-Prasciene et al. focus on the frail elderly individuals and exercise in their contribution “Frailty and Exercise Training: How to Provide Best Care after Cardiac Surgery or Intervention for Elder Patients with Valvular Heart Disease.”

Exercise may also have benefits for the brain centers that support executive control. It may be that strong executive functioning in itself may facilitate consistency for this challenging activity. Poor executive control has been associated with lower self-reported PA rates over a 2-year period [ 27 , 28 ]. The executive control's contribution to PA has been found to be 50% greater in magnitude than the contribution of PA to subsequent changes in executive control [ 29 ]. In the paper of M. A. McCaskey et al. “Making More of IT: Enabling Intensive MOtor Cognitive Rehabilitation Exercises in Geriatrics Using INFORMATION Technology Solutions,” the authors also include new technology to enhance and maintain exercise in cognitive rehabilitation.

In order to attain a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness, it is recommended to be physically active for 6 months or longer. These recommendations may also be applied to balance exercises in order to reduce falls [ 23 ]. Many elderly individuals are incapable of sustaining activities for this long on their own. Successful maintenance of PA typically requires substantial support and supervision. Even then, a high percentage of people drop out due to difficulties negotiating everyday costs of activity participation like scheduling conflicts and competing sedentary activities or health issues. This issue is highlighted in the study of T. Adachi et al. “ Predicting the Future Need of Walking Device or Assistance by Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity: A 2-Year Prospective Study of Women Aged 75 Years and Above.”

In addition, reduced bodily functions can make it difficult for elderly persons to maintain exercise under different environmental circumstances, which is demonstrated in the contribution of B. N. Balmain et al. “ Aging and Thermoregulatory Control: The Clinical Implications of Exercising under Heat Stress in Older Individuals .”

In this special issue, we have included papers that focus on the aging process and PA in a broad perspective, focusing on different aspects on PA, exercise, and older people. PA and exercise play an important role in the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, in the management of diseases, to counteract sarcopenia and falls as well as improving physical performance and activities of daily living, as these papers illustrate.

Promoting exercise among the older population is an important public health and clinical issue. A core issue is how to get older people with comorbidities to exercise.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Birgitta Langhammer Astrid Bergland Elisabeth Rydwik

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

SENIOR CITIZENS AND OLD AGE HOMES: A STUDY OF PUSHING FACTORS AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN OLD AGE HOMES OF KASKI DISTRICT A Dissertation for the Fulfillment of Requirements for the Master's Degree of Arts in Sociology Submitted By

Related Papers

Amrita Limbu

Nepal is in the phase of age structure transition with a large proportion of young working-age population. This phase is also commonly known as the phase of ‘youth bulge’, ‘demographic dividends/bonuses’ or ‘window of opportunity’. This present phase and the consistent increment in the share of older-age population over the years signifies that the elderly population will continue to increase in the years to come. Amidst a limited formal support system for senior citizens and a weakening informal support system by family, relatives and society, the situation of senior citizens is destined to become a severe problem, if it is not addressed in time through effective policies. Existing policies in Nepal have incorporated the issues of the senior citizens and a general overview suggests that the policies are in tune with age structure transition. Yet, a deeper analysis of the policies reveal that they do not fully recognize the outcome of the transition. Thus, it is the objective of this policy study to highlight the importance of the transition and analyse the status of the aged population in light of it.The policy questions focuses on understanding the trend of age structure transition of the Nepali population and analysing its implications on the older age group. This policy study proposes enhancement of the informal support system as a policy alternative to address the challenges of the senior citizens in relation to the age structure transition.

Patan Pragya

Gokarna Aryal

Elderly citizens are the sources of knowledge, experiences and collections of different ideas in every society or nation. If we use their ability, long experiences and their conscience, our society or nation will be benefitted to reform national development and prosperity. Ageing population is a global phenomenon and the number is rapidly increasing in developing countries as compared to developed countries. The government of Nepal has declared that people with 60 years or more are elderly citizens. The growth rate of the elderly population is faster than that of the total population in Nepal. The observation shows that the proportion of elderly population is high in mountain and hilly regions as compared to Terai. However, it is noted that female elderly population is the highest among three ecological regions. The growing numbers of ageing population is a major concern in most of the developing countries like Nepal. The social, economic and demographic impacts of ageing population...

Today Publication

Sathyamurthi Karibeeran

The 21st century is generally being considered as the „century of the elderly‟ and population ageing is one of the most important global trends of the period. The problems arising out of it have varied implications for developing and developed countries. In India, as a result of the change in the age composition of the population over time, there has been a progressive increase in both the number and proportion of aged people. The proportion of the population aged 60 years or more has been increasing consistently over the last century, particularly after 1951. According to official population projections, the number of elderly persons will rise to approximately 140 million by 2021. As a development concern, the projected increase of the elderly population in India may pose mounting pressures on various socio-economic fronts. Also, elderly population faces a myriad of challenges - social, physical, psychological and economic which are unique to them. It warrants greater attention to ageing-related issues and for economic and social policies to become elderly friendly. To create opportunities for positive aging, there is a need for understanding elderly persons on various aspects and to initiate policy and programme debates about ageing in India. In this context, a national conference on „Emerging Challenges of Elderly: Implementation of Programme and Policy Making‟ was organized by the Department of Social Work (Aided), Madras School of Social Work, Chennai in collaboration with ASTRA- Social Work Forum of the Department. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. This edited volume of the book, published as the outcome of the conference, contains empirical papers, case studies and conceptual papers. These are included in five different domains namely Ageing: Issues and Challenges, Ill Health and Well Being of Elderly, Aging in Institutions, Social Policies and Programmes for Elderly, and Positive Ageing: Outlook and Approaches. The book will help to identify the emerging areas of key concern in elderly care and protection. It has high relevance to government departments, policy planners, educationists, researchers, social workers, parents, children and especially for those elderly who fight for their rights and privileges.

Ageing Research Foundation of India

Ilango Ponnuswami

Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology

Pradeep Acharya

During the study information about the existing state of the seven elderly homes around Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchowk district was collected during October-November, 2007 on behalf of Geront World Nepal, Kathmandu. An attempt has been made to come across physical, economic status of different homes, their problems and challenges as well as the personal feelings of senior citizens living in there. The survey has tried to clarify the problems and challenges of elderly homes and the elders. Effort has been provided to see whether the elderly homes are helpful in providing proper care and support for the senior citizens. An analysis of four data sets (interview of 61 senior citizens out of total 122 in 7 homes, interview of all seven home&#39;s authorized persons, published/unpublished profile of the homes, and interview of key informants) as well as field observation shows significant positive effects of homes on the life of senior citizen. The survey results indicate that i...

yogesh mahor

Human development has remained one of the major concerns for social planners and policy makers over time. While improvements in human development aspects like health, decline in fertility, and an increase in longevity are desirable, the projected increase of the elderly population over the next few decades is emerging as serious development concern that warrants priority. The Paper is a first-of-its-kind attempt by Poverty Monitoring and Policy Support Unit (PMPSU) of Madhya Pradesh State Planning Commission to outline the situation analysis and major Issues that affect the elderly and review of existing gapsin policy and practice. This Paper is a compilation of various reviews, factsheets and research articles to highlight the contrast of the happy picture of increased longevity, and the prospect of long years of hopelessness, bereft of family andsociety. Finally, it provides suggestive measures so that the 'golden age' does not become synonymous with 'destitution' for about two-thirds of the elderly population in the country.

Publisher ijmra.us UGC Approved

This article helps students to evaluate their own attitudes oward people over 65. It begins with the students taking an pinion survey on the characteristics of older people and oncludes with the opportunity for students to learn the ctual statistics and summarize the "Fundamental Hurdels f ld Senior Citizens Of India"

Hom Nath Chalise

Sanevata Devi

Aging is an inevitable part of life and brings its own set of problems and challenges which may not be unique to the senior citizens but affect their life the most. In the Indian society, the family members used to be responsible for taking care of the senior citizens of the family and to help them get over the wide range of problems that they may face, ranging from psychological to physical ailments. But today’s changing family structure and the prevalence of nuclear families have exposed the elderly members of the family to physical, psychological and financial insecurity. Subsequently many laws have also been enacted and rights have been provided in order to protect the senior citizens from any possible harm that may be inflicted on them by their family members or otherwise. This study paper provides insights into the problems faced by senior citizens and their rights

Journal of Geriatric Care and Research (JGCR)

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

lochana shrestha

Neeraj Bhatia

Army Institute of Law Journal

Pritam Banerjee , Babu Sarkar

Prithvi Academic Journal

Prakash Upadhyay

International Journal of Case Studies in Business, IT and Education (IJCSBE)

Srinivas Publication

Indian Journal Of Psychological Science

RAJESH KUMAR

Interdisciplinary Journal of Management and Social Sciences

Kashi Nath Khanal

Dr. Surya B. Parajuli

Advances in Aging research

HelpAged Nepal

Mirza Tanzina

Advances in Aging Research

Prakash Bhattacharya

Nidhi Gupta

Dr Bijayalaxmi Panda

The International Journal of Indian Psychology

Dr Mohammad Amiri

Lekhanath Khanal

World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews

Dr. Nawa Raj Subba

American Journal of Aging Science and Research

Dhananjay Bansod

Srinivasan Vasan

Atlanta Talukdar

Euro Asia International Journals

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

The mental health landscape of older adults in the US

• Download the full whitepaper

Subscribe to the Economic Studies Bulletin

Vani agarwal , vani agarwal senior research assistant - economic studies , center on health policy richard g. frank , and richard g. frank senior fellow - economic studies , director - center on health policy chloe zilkha chloe zilkha senior research assistant - economic studies , center on health policy.

July 2, 2024

Aging into older adulthood introduces many mental health stressors, such as physical decline, losses of loved ones, and reduced mental acuity. These stressors may lead to a diagnosable mental illness or result in frequent bouts of psychological distress that do not meet the criteria of a diagnosable illness. Regardless of clinical diagnosis, psychological distress can impair functioning for adults ages 65 and older. In The mental health landscape for older adults in the U.S. , we extend the conception of the need for mental health care as stretching beyond using diagnosis as the principal indicator of need. We apply this perspective to analyze the need for mental health care and policy solutions to address the related sources of impairment faced by older adults.

Using a variety of rich data sources, we describe the state of mental health of older adults in the United States. We examine the following factors in depth:

• rates of diagnosis of mental illness;
• indicators of isolation, loneliness, and suicidal behavior;
• interconnections between symptoms of depression and functional impairments; 1
• the association between symptoms of depression and economic circumstances; and
• markers of access to care.

There are disparities in rates of mental illness, SUD, and suicide among older adults

First, we examine the prevalence of mental illness and suicide among older adults. 2 Rates of mental illness vary by demographic group. Non-Hispanic Black and lower income older adults are most likely to experience mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD). Women are more likely to experience mental illness, but men are more likely to experience SUD. The prevalence of mental illness remained relatively consistent between 2010 and 2019. Those ages 85 and older are most likely to experience symptoms of depression, while adults between ages 65 and 74 are most likely to experience alcohol use disorder (AUD). Across all age groups, men have significantly higher suicide rates than women. The most striking difference is between men and women ages 85 and older: women in this age group have the lowest suicide rate among all older adults, while men have the highest by a significant margin. Non-Hispanic older white adults also tend to have the highest suicide rate within our sample. There has been an uptick in suicides since the mid-to-late 2000s, particularly pronounced for men 85 and older since 2018. The difference in prevalence between mental illness and suicide reinforces the complex causes of suicide, where mental illness is one among several risk factors. Additionally, although we highlight rates of any mental illness (AMI), serious mental illness (SMI), symptoms of depression, SUD, and AUD, we emphasize the heavy burden that sub-clinical levels of psychological distress, meaning the experience of symptoms of a mental health condition that do not rise to the level of a diagnosis, also place on older adults.

Across all age groups, men have significantly higher suicide rates than women. The most striking difference is between men and women ages 85 and older: women in this age group have the lowest suicide rate among all older adults, while men have the highest by a significant margin.

Connections between mental health, functional impairment, and economic disadvantage can worsen the experience of aging

Social isolation, functional impairment, and financial insecurity appear to play a large role in the experience of poor mental health and psychological distress. Those with symptoms of depression are more likely to feel lonely often, are more likely to live alone, and have smaller social networks. Additionally, those with functional limitations, both activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), are more likely to have symptoms of depression and AUD. Rates of symptoms of depression increase as the degree of functional impairment increases. Prevalence of symptoms of depression is also highest among those in the lowest income and asset quintile. Those with symptoms of depression spend more of their income and save less. These patterns appear to be driven by the share of income spent on housing and food. We also examine the interaction between these stressors. Rates of symptoms of depression are highest among individuals with both lower income and functional limitation. Within levels of the income distribution, individuals with functional impairment have higher rates of symptoms of depression than those without. Yet, those at the top of the income distribution have lower rates of symptoms of depression than those with lower incomes regardless of disability level, indicating that higher levels of income likely afford greater access to supports which mitigate the negative effects of aging on autonomy and connection.

Barriers to accessing mental health care persist among older adults

Access to health insurance and mental health care varies among older adults. Individuals with past year SMI were most likely to be covered by Medicare alone. This implies that a significant share of people with a serious mental illness who are only covered by Medicare are likely to experience financial pressure due to their high level of treatment need. There are also disparities in access to care by demographic characteristics and medical diagnosis. Conditional on past year mental illness, female, non-Hispanic white, and higher income older adults were most likely to use mental health care. A larger share of individuals with SMI received care than the share for individuals with AMI. However, among all older adults who received mental health care in the past year, over half did not meet diagnostic criteria for mental illness. We interpret the large share of treatment resources used by people with sub-clinical levels of distress as, in part, a reflection of the complex influences on the mental well-being of older adults. The setting in which care is received also differs by markers of illness, severity, and complexity. Regardless of mental health status, care was accessed most heavily through telehealth services. Besides telehealth, private therapists are most often seen by older adults with depression or no diagnosis of a mental illness, compared to mental health clinics being utilized most by older adults with AMI, SMI, or depression with severe role impairment. In general, care for SUD is accessed at a significantly lower rate than care for mental illness. Among those with SUD that received treatment, the most common locations of care are inpatient or outpatient rehab facilities and self-help groups.

Overall, we find that the experience of mental health among older adults is wide-ranging. There are large racial, ethnic, gender, and income disparities in rates of mental illness, SUD, and suicide. Additionally, there is a significant connection between mental health, physical impairments, and economic disadvantage – all of which may exacerbate challenges related to aging. Many older adults with mental illness are not receiving treatment, suggesting barriers to accessing care such as underinsurance, financing, and stigma. In contrast, most older adults receiving care do not have a diagnosable mental health condition. Further attention must be paid to the disruptive effects of sub-clinical levels of psychological distress in older adults . Together, these observations suggest that mental health and the need for behavioral health services among older adults would benefit from a wider view than standards of care modeled for younger populations. Therefore, we recommend increased support to mitigate the stressors of aging and embedding flexibilities in insurance plans to address the mental health needs of older adults more adequately.

Read the full whitepaper here.

Related Content

Chloe Zilkha, Vani Agarwal, Richard G. Frank

March 4, 2024

Wendell Primus, Julia Paris

December 6, 2023

Richard G. Frank, Vikki Wachino, Karina Aguilar

April 4, 2022

The authors would like to thank Carol Graham for her review of an earlier draft and Caitlin Rowley for editorial assistance. 

This work was supported by a grant from The SCAN Foundation . 

The Brookings Institution is financed through the support of a diverse array of foundations, corporations, governments, individuals, as well as an endowment. A list of donors can be found in our annual reports published online  here . The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this report are solely those of its author(s) and are not influenced by any donation.

• Functional impairments are identified by activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs), referring to more complex tasks associated with living independently.
• For further discussion of these issues, please see our previous work: Zilkha, Agarwal, and Frank, “Suicide Rates Are High And Rising Among Older Adults In The US,” Health Affairs Forefront . March 4, 2024. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/suicide-rates-high-and-rising-among-older-adults-us

Economic Studies

Center on Health Policy

Richard G. Frank

July 1, 2024

Richard G. Frank, Chloe Zilkha

December 11, 2023

Richard G. Frank, Julia Paris

October 19, 2023

• News & Updates

NEW REPORT: The People's Guide to Project 2025

The People’s Guide to Project 2025

Project 2025 is among the most profound threats to the American people.

We read Project 2025’s entire 900+ page “Mandate for Leadership” so that you don’t have to.

What we discovered was a systemic, ruthless plan to undermine the quality of life of millions of Americans, remove critical protections and dismantle programs for communities across the nation, and prioritize special interests and ideological extremism over people.

From attacking overtime pay, student loans, and reproductive rights, to allowing more discrimination, pollution, and price gouging, those behind Project 2025 are preparing to go to incredible lengths to create a country only for some, not for all of us.

If these plans are enacted, which Project 2025’s authors claim can happen without congressional approval, 4.3 million people could lose overtime protections, 40 million people could have their food assistance reduced, 220,000 American jobs could be lost, and much, much, more. The stakes are higher than ever for democracy and for people.

These threats aren’t hypothetical. These are their real plans.

The Heritage Foundation and the 100+ organizations that make up the Project 2025 Advisory Board have mapped out exactly how they will achieve their extreme ends. They aim to try and carry out many of the most troubling proposals through an anti-democratic president and political loyalists installed in the executive branch, without waiting for congressional action. And, while many of these plans are unlawful, winning in court is not guaranteed given that the same far-right movement that is behind Project 2025 has shaped our current court system.

To combat the threats posed by Project 2025, we have to first understand them.

What follows are some of the most dangerous proposals that make up Project 2025, specifically those that they plan to implement through federal agencies and a far-right executive branch.

The majority of Americans share the same values and priorities, but Project 2025 wants to push an extreme, out-of-touch agenda on all of us . By reading this guide and sharing it, we can begin to address these threats and go on offense towards building a bold, inclusive democracy for all people.

Download PDF

What is Project 2025?

The Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project is a well-funded (eight-figure) effort of the Heritage Foundation and more than 100 organizations to enable a future anti-democratic presidential administration to take swift, far-right action that would cut wages for working people, dismantle social safety net programs, reverse decades of progress for civil rights, redefine the way our society operates, and undermine our economy.

A central pillar of Project 2025 is the “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900+ page policy playbook authored by former Trump administration officials and other extremists that provides a radical vision for our nation and a roadmap to implement it.

Project 2025 Snapshot

Proposals from Project 2025, discussed in detail throughout this guide, that they claim could be implemented through executive branch action alone — so without new legislation — include:

• Cut overtime protections for 4.3 million workers
• Stop efforts to lower prescription drug prices
• Limit access to food assistance, which an average of more than 40 million people in 21.6 million households rely on monthly
• Eliminate the Head Start early education program, which serves over 1 million children annually
• Cut American Rescue Plan (ARP) programs that have created or saved 220,000 jobs
• Restrict access to medication abortion
• Push more of the 33 million people enrolled in Medicare towards Medicare Advantage and other worse, private options
• Expose the 368,000 children in foster care to risk of increased discrimination
• Deny students in 25 states and Washington, D.C. access to student loans because their state provides in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants
• Roll back civil rights protections across multiple fronts, including cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion-related (DEI) programs and LGBTQ+ rights in health care, education, and workplaces

Explore Project 2025's Plans:

Cut wages, create unsafe workplaces, and destabilize our economy.

Project 2025 would enable corporations to cut overtime pay, relax worker safety rules, allow workplace discrimination, and more.

Make It Harder for Americans to Make Ends Meet

A strong democracy is one where people have the resources they need to thrive, not worry about how they will make ends meet. Project 2025 proposals would only make daily life harder for people – with fewer people able to access food assistance and affordable early education, less support for veterans with disabilities, and cuts to support for farmers.

Restrict Reproductive Rights and Access to Health Care

Despite the majority of Americans supporting comprehensive health care and reproductive freedom, Project 2025 would prefer a far different reality. Their attacks would undermine Medicare, keep prescription drug prices high, and restrict access to reproductive care.

Enable Discrimination Across Society

Threatened by decades of progress in advancing civil rights and equality for all, the authors of Project 2025 want to create a country that allows for more discrimination where we live, study, work, and play — and roll back hard-fought victories by our movements for progress.

Set Polluters Loose and Undo Climate Action

We’ve waited decades for meaningful and robust federal action to combat climate change and protect people from the harms of pollution. Project 2025 couldn’t care less about these threats — and now they want to destroy our hard-fought gains.

Make Education Unaffordable and Unwelcoming

Our public schools are foundational to our democracy. When special interests undermine public schools, they undermine the ability of students from all backgrounds to learn, feel safe in their community, and develop skills and knowledge that enable students to thrive. If Project 2025 has their way, our public schools could be stripped of funding, protections for students, and high-quality curricula.

Undermine Government’s Ability to Deliver for People

Civil servants are federal employees who work and live in all 50 states — the more than 2 million people who keep our air clean, water safe, consumers protected, and mail delivered. Attacks on the nation’s civil service are attacks on the government’s ability to work for the people.

The threats from Project 2025 do not end here.

This  People’s Guide only begins to catalog the people and communities who would be harmed if a future presidential administration began to implement Project 2025’s proposals. Businesses and industry across the country could be harmed not just from the lack of data collection discussed above, but also from proposals to politicize the Federal Reserve or to restrict free trade. Our country’s national security itself, too, is threatened by proposals to concentrate military decisionmaking, further undermine our intelligence agencies, or promote isolationist policies.

We continue to analyze these policies and their harms to people, and expect to release updated versions of the  People’s Guide  with reports on the threats that would make it harder to run a business, put our security at risk, and more. Click here to sign up to receive the updated reports directly in your inbox.

We cannot let Project 2025 write the next chapter of our nation’s story.

To learn more about how we can confront the threats presented in this guide head-on and begin to build a bold, vibrant democracy for all people, visit  democracyforward.org/join-2025 .

Our three pillars to advance a bold, vibrant democracy for all people:

Defending democracy and policies that propel progress through public education, regulatory and legal support.

Disrupting unlawful, regressive, and anti-democratic activity through litigation, investigations, and public education.

Building coalitions, supporting communities, and creating a more democratic and just future through the law.

Join us in this generational fight for people and democracy.

New york times: “the resistance to a new trump administration has already started”.

As first reported in The New York Times : Democracy Forward is “ensuring that people and communities that would be affected by a range of policies that we see with respect to Project 2025 know their legal rights and remedies and are able to access legal representation, should that be necessary.”

Public finance and budgets

Countries across the OECD are facing long-term fiscal pressures in areas such as health, ageing, climate change, and defence. At the same time, governments must grapple with mounting debt levels, rising interest rates and high levels of uncertainty. In this increasingly constrained fiscal environment, reconciling new and emerging spending pressures with already stretched public finances requires high-quality budget institutions and processes.

Select a language

Key messages, oecd countries are facing long-term fiscal pressures..

The long-term fiscal pressures associated with climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions; ageing populations and shrinking labour supply; and rising health care and social care costs continued to mount. Interest expenditures are now increasing significantly. The current geopolitical tensions are adding further new spending pressures, including in the defence area, as well as greater economic uncertainty.

Reconciling these pressures with already stretched public finances requires high quality budget institutions and strengthened public understanding

Budgets are about more than money. They are a statement of a nation’s priorities. Engagement and oversight of the budget process by Independent Fiscal Institutions, parliaments and the public is fundamental to democratic governance and trust in government. Empowering the public to understand fiscal challenges is essential for generating the will to solve them

Governments must have credible public financial management frameworks to build trust in budgetary governance and maintain enough fiscal space to be able to finance crisis responses when needed.

Governments must have credible public financial management frameworks to build trust in budgetary governance and maintain enough fiscal space to finance crisis responses when needed.

Each of the crises of recent years has shown the importance of preserving the resilience of public finances; countries need to be able to finance large and unexpected expenditures, such as in the aftermath of major natural disasters, to support a distressed sector or to address the consequences of a major pandemic. However, debt levels in OECD countries have risen significantly in recent years.  

General government expenditures amounted to 46.3% of GDP on average across OECD countries in 2021

Between 2019 and 2021 general government expenditures as a percentage of GDP increased by 5.4 percentage points, from 40.9% in 2019. This  increase is largely explained by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to significant economic disruption. This prompted  large-scale fiscal stimuluses, including increased spending on healthcare, social welfare programmes, and support for businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic, while at the same time GDP was falling.  

General Fiscal Balance

The fiscal balance is the difference between a government’s revenues and its expenditures. It signals if public accounts are balanced or if there are surpluses or deficits. Recurrent deficits over time imply the accumulation of public debt and may send worrying signals to consumers and investors about the sustainability of public accounts which, in turn, may deter consumption or investment decisions. Nonetheless, if debt is kept at a sustainable level, deficits can help to finance necessary public investment, or in exceptional circumstances, such as unexpected external shocks (e.g. pandemics, wars or natural disasters), can contribute to maintaining living conditions and preserving social stability. 

Related data

Related publications.

Related policy issues

• Fiscal Frameworks Fiscal frameworks outline the government's fiscal intentions and explain how these will be implemented concretely. Well-designed fiscal frameworks provide clarity and stability in government fiscal operations, ensuring that spending on policy priorities of governments, like healthcare, education, and climate adaptation, are funded and sustainable. Additionally, they build resilience by helping governments prepare effectively for economic challenges. Learn more
• Fiscal federalism network The OECD Network on Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government, also known as the “Fiscal Network”, provides a platform for countries to engage on intergovernmental fiscal relations and fiscal decentralisation policy issues. Its core mission is to improve the efficiency, equity and stability of fiscal systems through cross-country policy analysis and international comparisons. The Network facilitates best practice sharing through high-level meetings and maintaining a comprehensive decentralisation database, informing policymaking and reforms. Through collaborative efforts like workshops and the Fiscal Federalism publication series, the Network enables policymakers to access and contribute to research and insights on managing financial relationships across government levels. Supported by a multidisciplinary OECD team, the Network emphasises concrete outcomes, offering members a structured environment to learn, share and apply successful policy strategies. Learn more
• Gender budgeting Gender budgeting is a public governance tool that governments can use to assess how budget decisions impact gender equality. When implemented effectively, gender budgeting helps expose how gender inequalities may have inadvertently become embedded in public policies and the allocation of resources and promotes budget measures that will be effective at closing gender gaps. Learn more
• Green budgeting Green budgeting uses the tools of budgetary policy making to provide policy makers with a clearer understanding of the environmental and climate impacts of budgeting choices, while bringing evidence together in a systematic and co-ordinated manner for more informed decision making to fulfil national and international commitments. Learn more
• Health budgeting Without a major policy shift, health spending is projected to outstrip both expected growth in the overall economy and in government revenues across OECD countries. Competing priorities for government spending are also squeezing health budgets. Urgent action is therefore needed to finance more resilient health systems while ensuring the fiscal sustainability of health systems. Learn more
• Parliamentary budget offices and independent fiscal institutions Our work with parliaments and independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) supports fiscal transparency and accountability. At a time when the sustainability of public finances is under close scrutiny, these oversight institutions play a crucial role in raising the quality of the debate on fiscal policy and ensuring that public budgets are managed effectively. Learn more
• Performance budgeting In an environment of budget constraints and high citizen expectations it is necessary to demonstrate that public expenditure is providing value for money and delivering on performance. The availability of good-quality performance information not only assists policymakers in making more informed budgetary decisions but also enables the broader public to hold the government accountable for delivering the outcomes promised to citizens. Learn more
• Public accounts Good management of public money is vital for good governance, ensuring essential services like healthcare and education run smoothly. Public accounts track government income and spending, they show how money is managed and if the government can fund these crucial services. Learn more
• Public debt management Prudent public debt management is critical for well-functioning national financial systems and helps to reinforce sound fiscal and monetary policies. Public debt portfolios, both in terms of their size and composition, have the potential to generate substantial risk to countries’ balance sheets and overall financial stability. The OECD promotes good practices in public debt and risk management and provides recommendations to assist policy makers in their efforts to adopt and implement prudent debt management policies. Learn more
• Spending Reviews Spending reviews are tools for systematically analysing the government’s existing expenditure. The OECD has found that spending reviews have proved to be an important tool for governments, not only to control total expenditure by making space for more resources, but also to align spending allocations with government priorities and to improve the effectiveness of policies and programmes. Learn more