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Includes materials pertaining to the Established Populations Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE), which was a large multi-site research program funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Four universities were selected as sites for comprehensive longitudinal epidemiologic studies of population-based samples of adults age 65 and older at baseline. Duke University was one of the four sites. Duke's EPESE program was funded by 3 consecutive awards. The first two award were contracts with the NIA; the third was via a R01. Dr. Dan Blazer was the principal investigator (PI) on all three awards. Linda K. George, PhD was a co-PI. The EPESE program in general and the Duke EPESE in particular were significant contributions to aging research nationally and internationally/ A large portion of the in-home interview data from all four sites were released into the public domain and offered at no cost to interested investigators. The Duke EPESE received a disproportionate share of external users because it was the only site that had sufficient numbers of African Americans in the sample to permit reliable estimates of black-white differences. Duke investigators published more than 100 scientific articles using the Duke EPESE data. During the later years of data collection, the MacArthur Foundation funded a "piggyback" study in which additional data were obtained from a subset of Duke EPESE participants. Blazer was the PI for the MacArthur study. George was not directly involved. Materials date from 1984 to 1996.

Contains annual director's reports for the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Materials date from 1981 to 2005.

Contains correspondence, contracts, financial records, and notes pertaining to the Study at Carol Woods in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (1979-1981). Materials date from 1982 to 1985.

Contains correspondence, contracts, financial records, and notes pertaining to the Hillhaven LaSalle Nursing Center, located in Durham, North Carolina. Materials date from 1985 to 1992.

Contains correspondence, patient files, forms, codes, reports, and data pertaining to the Duke Longitudinal Studies. The first study began in 1955 and the second in 1968. The first Duke Longitudinal Study, although groundbreaking, was of poor quality by recent standards, as it relied on a convenience sample of volunteers, the measuring tools were primitive, and the data were stored in a manner incompatible with even long outdated statistical packages. The Second Duke Longitudinal Study (SDLS) was of much better quality. The sample was representative of all but the most poor and marginalized. The measuring instruments were much better. The data were converted to be analyzable with modern statistical software. The SDLS enrolled approximately 500 adults, age 45-75 at baseline with approximately equal numbers of men and women. Data collection was extensive. Study participants spent two full days at the Center for the Study of Aging and completed extensive interviews of demographic and social variables; they were administered a variety of psychological tests, including memory tests and a personality inventory; physical health data were obtained via an assessment performed by a physician. At the time of the study, the SDLS was the most comprehensive and interdisciplinary in the field. The SDLS data were a goldmine. It generated nearly 500 articles in scientific journals and two highly-cited books: "Normal Aging II" and "Normal Aging III". ("Normal Aging I" was based on the First Duke Longitudinal Study.). Materials date from 1956 to 1989.

Contains notes, reprints, and manuscript drafts pertaining to the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) program from 1989. Materials date from 1989.