Areas of Emphasis

The Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) Program has identified seven major areas of emphasis to focus on during the next several years. These areas have been selected because: (1) they represent new and important perspectives or emphases that have not been adequately highlighted in the past, (2) they are areas that have a potential for major scientific advancement, or (3) they have important implications for policy and for the future well-being of older persons in the United States.

New program announcements are being developed in each of these special initiative areas. The intent of announcing these special initiatives is not to diminish the important research already conducted in many areas by BSR, but to show where BSR will be focusing its own development efforts and staff time (e.g., workshops and commissioned papers).

The seven special initiatives of BSR are: (1) Health Disparities; (2) Aging Minds; (3) Increasing Health Expectancy; (4) Health, Work, and Retirement; (5) Interventions and Behavior Change; (6) Genetics, Behavior, and the Social Environment; and (7) The Burden of Illness and the Efficiency of Health Systems.

Principles Cutting Across BSR Research Programs

• Aging From Birth to Death—Life Course Perspectives
• Biobehavioral Linkages and Collaboration With Other NIA Programs
• Integration and Synthesis—Multilevel Interactions Among Psychological, Physiological, Social, and Cultural Levels
• Development of Improved Methodologies and Measurement
• Translation and Application of Findings