Frank Whittington
Associate Dean, Academic Affairs
Unit: Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Mail Stop: 2G7
Office Location: Robinson B 413A
Phone: 703-993-1913
Email: fwhittin@gmu.edu
Dr. Whittington’s research interests focus on the social dimensions of health and health care of older persons, especially African Americans. His goal is to understand how the kind and quality of long-term care older people receive affects their overall social and physical functioning and quality of life. Dr. Whittington has studied prescription drug use and misuse by older people, the use of physical and chemical restraints in nursing homes, and the experience of poor African American elders as recipients of long-term home care services. Most of his recent research has been aimed at understanding how to promote independence and autonomy among residents of assisted living facilities. His publications include 8 books and over 50 articles and chapters on aging and long-term care. With 5 colleagues in the Gerontology Institute and based on research funded by the National Institute on Aging and the AARP Andrus Foundation, he co-authored a 2005 book published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, entitled Communities of Care: Assisted Living for African Americans. His current project is an edited volume, with colleagues Erdman Palmore of Duke and Suzanne Kunkel of Miami University, entitled the International Handbook on Aging. Currently under contract with Praeger Publishers, the handbook will include chapters about aging research, education, and policy in 50 countries around the world and is expected to appear in early 2009.
Dr. Whittington currently serves as President of the Southern Gerontological Society and recently assumed the position of Book Review Editor of The Gerontologist. He enjoys mentoring students and has directed 13 doctoral dissertations and 15 master’s theses.
Recent Publications:
Whittington, F. J.. Adherence. In Richard Schulz (ed.), Encyclopedia of Aging, 4th edition. New York: Springer Publishing Co.
Taylor, L., Whittington, F. J., Strasser, D. C., Hennessy, C. H., Miller, S. W., & Archea, C. Gender Differences in Psychotropic Drug Use in a Nursing Home: Patterns of Psychotropic Drug Prescribing. Journal of Aging and Pharmacotherapy, 13, 67-81.
Whittington, F. J. You Might Be a Gerontologist . . .
If You Decide to Buy This Book.
The Gerontologist, 46, 840-844.
King, S. V., Gachuhi, M., Ice, G., Cattell, M., & Whittington, F. J. Gerontology Education and Research in Kenya: Establishing a U.S.-African Partnership in Aging. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 26, 117-135.
Ball, M.M., Perkins, M.M., Whittington, F.J., Hollingsworth, C., King, S.V., & Combs, B.L. Communities of Care: Assisted Living for African American Elders. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Whittington, F. J., Ball, M. M., & Perkins, M. M. Ageism in Assisted Living. In E. B. Palmore, L. G. Branch, & D. Harris (Eds.), The Concise Encyclopedia of Ageism. New York: The Haworth Press.