Internet Resources to Teach about Aging

Updated July 2007

by Martha W. Bonney.

Here is a link to a revised version of this material (dated May 2008), as a PowerPoint file, from the SU Gerontology Center website.

Caveat: Strengths of Online Resources...
and Weaknesses
  • Cost: not all material is free. However, your school library may subscribe.
  • Quality: Almost no peer review, validation, quality control.
  • Volume: If you read it all, that's all you'd have time to do.
Copyright and Fair Use
  • Copyright Management Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis provides access to a wide variety of resources about copyright in general and its importance to higher education, including a variety of other pages dealing with the subject of copyright. It includes a Checklist for Fair Use to help individuals determine whether an anticipated use of a copyrighted work is "fair use" or not, and several articles by Kenneth D. Crews, Associate Dean of the Faculties for Copyright Management, to teach faculty about fair use.
  • Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. processes requests to copy copyrighted material for web sites, course packs, library reserves, books, and journal articles.
Electronic Listservs
  • Current Awareness in Aging Research Report is a weekly email report produced by the Center for Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that helps researchers keep up to date with the latest developments in the field. They have an archive of back issues. They also disseminate CAAR E-Clippings, a daily notice of relevant newspaper articles, along with Internet pointers to the full text of the articles when such articles appear. These notices will be sent no more than one message per day (due to the fact that newspaper articles on the Internet are not generally freely available for more than one day). Coverage is limited to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post at present, unless a story in another major newspaper merits attention.
  • Ecnaging Listserv, a quick, inexpensive way to tell a worldwide audience, currently 300 subscribers,  about job announcements, upcoming workshops, data availability, solicitations for papers, or research inquiries. To subscribe send the message "sub ecnaging your_name" (substitute your own name) to listserv@listserv.syr.edu.
  • International Longevity Center-USA is a center for policy, research, and education about population aging, affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine. ILC publishes a monthly policy report, as well as the Economics of Aging (EoA) Interest Group newsletter.
  • Internet Scout Project. "Surf smarter, not longer. Let the Internet Scout Project show you the way to the best resources on the Internet--then you can choose what's best for you. Librarians and educators do the filtering for you, reading hundreds of announcements each week looking for the online resources most valuable to the education community."
Demographic Information and Social Research Methods
  • Census Bureau Home Page
  • 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States. The official National Data Book contains statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. The Abstract is also your guide to sources of other data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations.
  • World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Demography and Population Studies. This facility, established in 1994, is provided by the Australian National University. Last updated January 2004.
  • Social Science Research Methods Knowledge Base. William M.K. Trochim is a Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. He has taught both the undergraduate and graduate required courses in applied social research methods since joining the faculty at Cornell in 1980. He received his Ph.D. in 1980 from the program in Methodology and Evaluation Research of the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University. His research interests include the theory and practice of research, conceptualization methods (including concept mapping and pattern matching), strategic and operational planning methods, performance management and measurement, and change management. He is the developer of The Concept SystemŽ and founder of Concept Systems Incorporated.
Lists of Aging Resources
  • The National Aging Information and Referral Support Center The National Aging Information and Referral Support Center is designed to enhance the capacity of aging information and referral/assistance (I&R/A) systems to provide the information, counseling, decision supports, and advocacy needed to secure services and benefits for an ever-growing and increasingly diverse population of older persons and caregivers. Major funding for the Center is provided by the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA).
  • Older Americans 2006: Key Factors of Well-Being, by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, is a comprehensive profile of this significant and burgeoning demographic. This updated report provides the latest data on the 37 key indicators selected by the Forum for its 2004 report to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families. It is divided into five subject areas: population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care.
College and University Aging Programs
  • UNC Institute on Aging, based at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, works to enhance the well-being of older North Carolinians through statewide collaboration in research, education, and public service. News articles about aging, links to databases about aging, a center on minority aging, and a Partners page with links to affiliated state, regional, national, and international organizations are among its resources.
Federal Budget, Legislation
  • The 2007 Economic Report of the President, prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers. Reports from 1996 forward are accessible from this site. Many of them contain chapters about various economic aspects of aging in the United States, e.g., 2007, Chapter 4: The Fiscal Challenges Facing Medicare; 2006, Chapter 3: Saving for Retirement; 2004, Chapter 6: Restoring Solvency to Social Security; 2002, Chapter 2: Strengthening Retirement Security; 1999, Chapter 4: Work, Retirement, and the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly; 1997, Chapter 3: Economic Challenges of an Aging Population.
  • Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government FY 2008.
  • [Link to THOMAS Home Page]Acting under the directive of the leadership of the 104th Congress to make Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public, a Library of Congress team brought the THOMAS World Wide Web system (named after Thomas Jefferson, upon whose library the Library of Congress was founded) online in January 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The first database made available was Bill Text, followed shortly by Congressional Record Text, Bill Summary & Status, Hot Bills (now covered under the headings "Congress Now" and "Major Legislation"), the Congressional Record Index, and the Constitution (now found, along with other historical Congressional documents, under the "Historical Documents" category on the THOMAS home page). Enhancements in the types of legislative data available, as well as in search and display capabilities, have been continuously added.
Statistics and Data for Aging Research
  • Statistics on the Aging Population from the U.S. Administration on Aging. Updated November 2006.
  • The National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging. Funded by the National Institute on Aging, located at The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan. NACDA's mission is to advance research on aging by helping researchers to profit from the under-exploited potential of a broad range of datasets. NACDA acquires and preserves data relevant to gerontological research, processing as needed to promote effective research use, disseminates them to researchers, and facilitates their use. By preserving and making available the U.S.'s largest library of electronic data on aging, NACDA offers opportunities for secondary analysis on major issues of scientific and policy relevance.
  • HRS/AHEAD longitudinal study. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study surveys more than 22,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. Supported by the National Institute on Aging, the study paints an emerging portrait of an aging America's physical and mental health, insurance coverage, financial status, family support systems, labor market status, and retirement planning. HRS data are available for free to researchers and analysts. Registration is required.
  • United States Age Data , from the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Trends in Health and Aging, Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics. Also the Longitudinal Studies of Aging, a family of surveys designed to measure changes in health status, health-related behaviors, health care utilization, and the causes and consequences of these changes within and across two cohorts of elderly Americans; and the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-related Statistics, which promotes cooperation and collaboration among Federal agencies in order to improve the quality and utility of data on the aging population.
  • International Data Base Population Pyramids for any of 228 countries, U.S. Census Bureau data.
  • An Aging World, 2001, by Kevin Kinsella and Yvonne J. Gist, November 2001, 190 pages, International Programs Centre (IPC), U.S. Census Bureau. Other aging-related publications are available on the IPC Web site.
  • The AARP Research Center provides reference information, research results, and policy insights on a variety of topics about older adults and aging. Coverage includes Health and Long Term Care, Economic Security and Work, Independent Living, Consumer Issues, and Demographics and Reference. The Research Digest section offers brief reports of recent findings and news about projects in progress.
  • The Office of Policy (OP) of the Social Security Administration serves as the Social Security Administration's focal point for policy development, policy analysis and research, evaluation, and statistics about Social Security and other retirement income.
Elder Abuse
  • Elder Abuse , prepared by the Administration on Aging.
  • Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America. The National Academy Press (NAP) has provided the Internet community access to a prepublication copy of this book (announced July 3, 2002). Recent research has shown that between one and two million Americans age 65 or older have been abused and mistreated by someone (either a relative or caregiver) responsible for their care and/or protection. Although a frequent occurrence, little research has been conducted to examine the causes and effective means of preventing mistreatment of the elderly. By highlighting some of its causes and consequences, this report intends to bring forth a better understanding of the nature and scope of elderly mistreatment in the hopes that the information will prompt "the development of informed policies and programs" to help combat this problem. This document is viewable in HTML format and consists of nine chapters and four appendixes. [MG]. Description quoted from the Internet Scout Report, July 3, 2002.
Folklore/Images of Aging
  • Aging and Death in Folklore, assembled by D. L. Ashliman, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh. Contents include: Aging: realism and resignation expressed in proverbs; Distrust of old people in folklore; Widowhood; Caring for old people; Euthanasia and geronticide; Sacrificing one's grandmother; The old woman in the chest; Disposing of the corpse: A legend that is still alive; Why old people are no longer put to death; Gaining care by trickery; Grandchildren come to their grandparents' aid; When enlightened self interest fails; Inevitability of senility and death; Stages of life; No one wants to die; Death's approach should surprise no one; Attempts to trick Death; Death trivialized; Death as punishment; Excessive grief; Death as a divine release. Revised November 2006.
  • 70 UP is a multimedia project assembled in 2003 whose mission is to put forth a positive image of women's aging via a travelling exhibit, web site, and book. Don't let the name fool you. 70 Up is of interest to all women, especially those in their thirties and forties, who are for the first time starting to reflect on their own aging process and looking for powerful role models. All women need a view of the possibilities in the later years that energize life's journey. 70 Up delves into the lives of 25 remarkable and ethnically diverse women through photography and interviews. It explores what the real deal is on subjects such as power, sex, love, fear, courage, and aging itself. Surprisingly refreshing takes on topics like these are revealed through candid interviews. Combined with cutting edge photography, we are impelled to see aging through Raybans, not granny specs! Our old ideas are turned upside down and are replaced with exciting, new images of aging.
Geriatrics, Health
  • Health, United States, 2006. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) annual report on the health status of the Nation. Includes report description, trend tables, health and aging chartbook description, and health and aging chartbook figures.
  • Alcohol and Aging, Alcohol Alert No. 40, April 1998 (updated in 2000), published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. "Persons age 65 and older constitute the fastest growing segment of the American population. Although the extent of alcoholism among the elderly is debated, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems are likely to become increasingly important as the elderly population grows. This Alcohol Alert reviews recent research on the extent of alcohol consumption and associated problems among the elderly."
  • Challenges for the 21st Century: Chronic and Disabling Conditions, twelve data profiles by the National Academy on an Aging Society. The series includes Chronic Conditions, Hearing Loss, Heart Disease, At Risk, Arthritis, Diabetes, Caregiving, Childhood Asthma, Depression, Workers and Chronic Conditions, Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, and Hypertension.
  • HealthWeb: Evaluating Health Resources on the Internet. "Health Professionals and consumers need to know how to evaluate health and biomedical information on the Internet. Listed below are links to Web resources and references to articles that will assist in the evaluative process." updated June 2002.See also bibliographic management software.
  • HealthWeb: Geriatrics and Gerontology. This resource is a collaborative effort between the Library of the Health Sciences at the University of Illinois - Chicago (LHS-Chicago) and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation's HealthWeb project.
  • MedWeb., use the search term geriatrics. Sponsored by Emory University Health Sciences Center Library.
  • Hardin, M.D., Geriatrics and Aging, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa. Updated December 2006.
  • Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research. The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Nursing Research, and the Office of Research in Minority Health created a program to decrease the minority/non-minority differential in health and its social sequelae for older people by focusing research upon health promotion, disease prevention, and disability prevention.
  • Health Information from the National Institute on Aging.
  • The Nun Study is a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease. It began in 1986 as a pilot study on aging and disability using data collected from the older School Sisters of Notre Dame living in Mankato, Minn. In 1990, the Nun Study was expanded to include older Notre Dames living in the midwestern, eastern, and southern regions of the United States. The goal of the Nun Study is to determine the causes and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, other brain diseases, and the mental and physical disability associated with old age....We are finding that traits in early, mid, and late life have strong relationships with the risk of Alzheimer's disease, as well as the mental and cognitive disabilities of old age.
  • Dr. Stall's Home Page, Dedicated to Geriatrics & Hospice Care. An eclectic site, much of it written by Dr. Stall. Updated June 2007.
  • Macular Degeneration Foundation.
  • Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases~National Resource Center
  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Older Adults and Mental Health, Chapter 5 of the U.S. Surgeon General's report on Mental Health, issued in 1999. "The capacity for sound mental health among older adults notwithstanding, a substantial proportion of the population 55 and older—almost 20 percent of this age group—experience specific mental disorders that are not part of “normal” aging (see Table 5-1). Research that has helped differentiate mental disorders from “normal” aging has been one of the more important achievements of recent decades in the field of geriatric health. Unrecognized or untreated, however, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, alcohol and drug misuse and abuse, anxiety, late-life schizophrenia, and other conditions can be severely impairing, even fatal; in the United States, the rate of suicide, which is frequently a consequence of depression, is highest among older adults relative to all other age groups (Hoyert et al., 1999)."
Government Agencies on Behalf of Older People
  • New York State Office for the Aging provides information about the EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) program, Medicare participating physicians and suppliers (MEDPARD), and senior housing.
  • Health Insurance Information, Counseling and Assistance from the New York State Office for the Aging. Free, accurate and unbiased consumer help with Medicare, managed care, Medigap insurance, long term care insurance and more for Medicare beneficiaries, their families and others.
Hospice, End-of-Life Care
  • Growth House, Inc. Guide to Death, Dying, Grief, Bereavement, and End of Life Resources. Our primary mission is to improve the quality of compassionate care for people who are dying through public education and global professional collaboration.
Housing, Living Arrangements
  • AARP Research Center Information, research results & policy insights about: housing options (including assisted living); home modification, reverse mortgages; public & personal transportation services; older driver issues & developments; assistive devices for life's challenges; adult children's perceptions of parents' needs.
Long-Term Care
  • Nursing Home Compare provides detailed information about the performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the country, as well as suggestions for choosing a nursing home.
  • National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center. An Ombudsman is an advocate for residents of nursing homes, board and care homes, and assisted living. Ombudsmen provide information about how to find a facility and what to do to get quality care. They are trained to resolve problems. If you want, the ombudsman can assist you with complaints. However, unless you give the ombudsman permission to share your concerns, these matters are kept confidential. Under the federal Older Americans Act, every state is required to have an Ombudsman Program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long term care system. To find the ombudsman nearest you, contact your State Ombudsman office.
  • Projections of Expenditures for Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly, Congressional Budget Office, March 1999. "On the basis of projections made by the Lewin Group and researchers at Duke University, CBO estimates that inflation-adjusted expenditures for long-term care for the elderly will grow annually by 2.6 percent between 2000 and 2040. Those expenditures are projected to reach $207 billion in 2020 and $346 billion in 2040....(All estimates of spending are presented in inflation-adjusted 2000 dollars to facilitate comparisons over time.) Long-range projections of the expenditures should be viewed cautiously, however, because such projections cannot be made with certainty. That is why this memorandum focuses mainly on expenditures for the 2000-2020 period."
Pensions
Policy Advocacy and Information
  • Policy Choices Posed by the Aging of America, The Urban Institute. A discussion briefing prepared for the Urban Institute Board of Trustees meeting, May 20, 1998. Contributing authors include Urban Institute researchers Len Burman, Rudolph Penner, Gene Steuerle, Eric Toder, Marilyn Moon, Larry Thompson, Michael Weisner, and Adam Carasso.
Professional Organizations for Gerontologists, Gerontology Educators
  • The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) was established in 1974 to advance gerontology as a field of study in institutions of higher learning. The objectives are to foster research, instructional, and service programs to enhance the capacities of institutions of higher education in the field of aging and to help make their resources available to benefit the wider community and society. AGHE is the only national membership organization devoted primarily to gerontological and geriatrics education. Its membership consists of over 300 colleges, universities, and other organizations interested in gerontological education and research and providing aging-related instructional and research programs. Among other things, AGHE offers information about careers in aging and a database of educational programs in gerontology, which is searchable for a small fee.
  • The American Society on Aging is one of the two best known American societies for gerontology educators, researchers, and geriatricians. They provide: Information about the field of aging; Academic resources and publications; Professional development through student paper presentations and committee membership; Careers in aging information; Scholarship and fellowship sources; Free Annual Meeting registration for student volunteers; National database of over 1,000 gerontology programs.
  • The Gerontological Society of America was founded in 1945 to promote the scientific study of aging, and towards that goal the Society publishes several refereed journals and holds an annual scientific meeting that brings together more than 3000 professionals for meetings, discussions, seminars, symposiums, exhibits and fellowship. GSA's Web site lists job openings in the field of gerontology.
Psychology
Retirement
  • Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. "The goals of the Center for Retirement Research are to promote research on retirement issues, to transmit new findings to the policy community and the public, to help train new scholars, and to broaden access to valuable data sources. Through these initiatives, the Center hopes to forge a strong link between the academic and policy communities around an issue of critical importance of the nation's future." Working papers are available here. This Center is part of a consortium funded by the Social Security Administration. Affiliates include the Boston University School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, The Brookings Institution, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and The Urban Institute.
Social Security, Income Security
  • Social Security Administration Home Page. On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted ... "To provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of federal old-age benefits and by enabling the several states to make more adequate provision..." This was the country's first major federal government program to deal directly with the economic security of its citizens. Before then, such matters were handled by states and private sources. You can apply online for a Social Security Statement, formerly called a Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement (PEBES), which shows your Social Security earnings history and how much Social Security taxes you have paid into the program. It also estimates your future benefits and tells you how to qualify for those benefits. The SSA suggest you check this record every three years. The Social Security e-newsletter began early in 2000. It's published monthly. Subscribers "may also elect to receive timely updates in the following areas: disability, retirement, survivors, Supplemental Security income Medicare, laws and regulations, press office, wage reporting, and data studies and research."
  • Medicare, administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly known as HCFA, is the nation's largest health insurance program, which covers 37 million Americans. Medicare provides health insurance to people age 65 and over and those who have permanent kidney failure and certain people with disabilities.
  • Medicaid is "a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for certain low-income and needy people. It covers approximately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments." It is the main public funding source for long-term care, including nursing home care, for older adults.
  • Social Security Network, sponsored by The Century Foundation. A source for information, analysis, and expert commentary on the Social Security debate, the Social Security Network will be continuously updated.

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