Duke
University
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
ABOUT THE CENTER
EXCELLENCE
IN THE CARE OF THE AGING
Duke's research and teaching programs in geriatrics are among
the nation's oldest. The Center for the Study of Aging and Human
Development, was one of five centers for geriatric research established
by the Surgeon General of the United States in 1955. It is the
only continuously funded member of the original group. With more
than 30 core staff members and more than $3 million in annual
direct research funding, it remains a vital national resource
for the study of aging. Current research includes studies of
dysmobility, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, viruses,
depression in later life and caregiver stress. The Center also
is involved in an ambitious program designed to identify and
educate future geriatricians.AGING
WELL
Until recently, most Americans regarded aging
as inevitable and undesirable. Growing older was seen as a process
over which individuals had little control, much less as something
that could be done well. Old age--the trip "over the hill"--was
something to postpone for as long as possible.
But as the bulk of our nation's population reaches their middle years, aging is being regarded with positive interest. Americans want to know how to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. They want to plan for retirement and keep their independence for as long as possible. In other words, they want to age well.
HISTORY
Long before "aging" became a topic of conversation and a national concern, far-sighted academicians at Duke University documented and understood the implications of an aging population. The leaders were men and women whose distinction is now recognized nationally and internationally, including biochemist Philip Handler, PhD, demographer Joseph Spengler, PhD, economist Juanita Kreps, PhD, psychiatrist Ewald W. Busse, MD, and Duke Chancellor William Anlyan, MD.
They were backed by an equally progressive university administration that chartered a university council on aging in 1955 to promote and coordinate multidisciplinary research, training and service. Two years later, the US Public Health Service designated the Duke center as one of five regional resource centers on aging. The Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development is the oldest continually-funded member of the original group.
The center's first initiatives included the Duke Longitudinal Studies, a 20-year project begun in 1956 that monitored the physical, mental, social and economic status of approximately 800 older adults. These studies, which received the 1983 Sandoz International Prize for multidisciplinary research in aging, documented the capacity of most older adults to age well, helping revolutionize thinking about human aging. In 1975, the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Program developed the first comprehensive technique for assessment of functional impairment in the elderly. OARS methods, updated to reflect changes in the aging population, still are used in hundreds of research studies and geriatric clinics across the country. Duke's Geriatric Evaluation and Treatment (GET) Clinic, opened in 1967, continues to serve older adults from throughout the southeastern United States.
Since 1988 the Center's Long Term Care Resources Program has assisted North Carolina in developing and implementing sound public policies for serving older adults and their families in the long term.
LEADERSHIP
IN AGING
Leadership
in Aging has been one of the hallmarks of the Duke Center for
the Study of Aging and Human Development. The center has produced
four Presidents of The Gerontological Society of America: Ewald
W. Busse, MD, Carl Eisdorfer, MD, George L. Maddox, PhD, and
Linda K. George, PhD. Three center scholars have served as President
of the American Geriatrics Society: Ewald W. Busse, MD, Dan G.
Blazer, MD, PhD, and Harvey Jay Cohen, MD. At the international
level, Dr. Busse served as President, and Dr. Maddox as Secretary
General/Vice President of the International Association of Gerontology,
1985-89. These individuals and many others have held important
offices in the most prestigious organizations in gerontology
and geriatrics.THE
CENTER TODAY
Under the leadership of Director Harvey Jay Cohen, MD, the Duke
center continues to serve as a national resource for information
about aging and as a training ground for future generations of
researchers, teachers, practitioners and planners.THE
CENTER TOMORROW
Duke researchers understand that the growing number of older adults will have a significant impact on our society's arrangements for income maintenance, health care, social services, housing and transportation. Studies being conducted at Duke today already are addressing the complex health problems of a longer-lived population, and developing programs that will enable the elderly to receive care while maintaining their independence for as long as possible.
The
center plans to initiate and expand its aging research in several
areas in the future:
Cellular and molecular biology of aging
Interventions to enhance longevity
Health care and health services utilization
Cardiovascular disease and cancer
Family relationships in later life
Improving disability for osteoporosis and Pagets disease of
bone
Risk factors for chronic disease and mental illness
The economic status of older adults
Director, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
Box 3003
Duke University Medical Center
Durham NC 27710
FAX: 919/684-8569
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