Journal profile · GERONTOLOGY
Journal of Applied Gerontology
ISSN 0733-4648 · eISSN 1552-4523 · SAGE
Journal of Applied Gerontology: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.03; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,400; review about 164 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 23.8% (journal website); 286 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Applied Gerontology is published by SAGE and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes, Health disparities and outcomes and Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving, together about 41% of its articles. Its main subfields are Demography. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Applied Gerontology provides an international forum for information that has clear and immediate applicability to the health, care, and quality of life of older persons. Each issue brings you the latest research and analysis from the field—and helps you apply it to your everyday practice. Comprehensive Coverage Journal of Applied Gerontology publishes articles in all subdisciplines of gerontology whose findings, conclusions, or suggestions have clear and sometimes immediate applicability to the problems encountered by older persons, as well as articles that inform research and the development of interventions. Read original studies by distinguished authors with comprehensive coverage of areas of gerontological practice and policy including:Caregiving Exercise Death and dying Physical activityEthnicity and agingTechnology and careAdvance directivesHousing Long-term services and supportsHome and community-based services Mental health Retirement planning Sexuality VolunteeringDriving and transportationFrontline care workersAgeismDiscussions, Information, and IdeasUnique in focus, Journal of Applied Gerontology fills a void in the existing literature on gerontology by continually enhancing the dissemination and utilization of knowledge in this fast-growing field. The journal publishes findings, recommendations, and promising ideas which have significance for older persons everywhere. Offering you more than thought-provoking articles and in-depth Special Issues, each volume features a range of discussions, information and ideas, including An annual title/author index for easy reference Contributions from leading researchers in the fieldMethods for applying research to practiceThis journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).Submit your manuscript today at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/JAG..Submit your manuscript today at .
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GERONTOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Debra DobbsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 81, United Kingdom 4, Mainland China 3, South Korea 2, Hong Kong, China 1 (95 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geriatric Care and Nursing HomesHealth Professions18%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences13.8%
- Intergenerational Family Dynamics and CaregivingSocial Sciences9.3%
- Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchMedicine8.6%
- Aging and Gerontology ResearchPsychology7.4%
- Migration, Aging, and Tourism StudiesSocial Sciences6.4%
- Retirement, Disability, and EmploymentSocial Sciences3.6%
- Technology Use by Older AdultsSocial Sciences3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Gerontology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Gerontology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geriatrics & Gerontology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.03LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 93OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,372OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.79OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 19.5%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 284LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,324 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 228 | 109 | 25 |
| 2025 | 286 | 156 | 404 |
| 2024 | 235 | 125 | 911 |
| 2023 | 212 | 121 | 1,647 |
| 2022 | 244 | 122 | 2,627 |
| 2021 | 150 | 68 | 2,666 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
164 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 23.8%Publisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 164 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 19 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,400 / GBP 3,226 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 150 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- brief reportJournal of Applied Gerontology is the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. It features full length articles (6,000 words) and brief reports …main text ≤ 2,500 words
- letter to the editorJournal of Applied Gerontology is the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. It features full length articles (6,000 words) and brief reports …Length not stated
- meta-analysisJournal of Applied Gerontology is the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. It features full length articles (6,000 words) and brief reports …Length not stated
- original research articleJournal of Applied Gerontology is the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. It features full length articles (6,000 words) and brief reports …main text ≤ 6,000 words
- systematic reviewJournal of Applied Gerontology is the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society. It features full length articles (6,000 words) and brief reports …main text ≤ 6,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Author contributions
You will be asked to list the contribution of each author as part of the submission process. Please include the Author Contributions heading within your submission after the Acknowledgements section. The information you give on submission will then show under the Author Contributions heading later at the proofing stage.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Model summary
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. If you wish to have color figures in the printed version, you will receive information regarding the cost from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice pr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical trial registration
The journal conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first participant enrollment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0733-4648
- Electronic ISSN
- 1552-4523
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Applied Gerontology
What CAS zone is Journal of Applied Gerontology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Applied Gerontology is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Gerontology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Applied Gerontology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.03; CiteScore 5.2, h-index 93.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Applied Gerontology?
The publisher reports about 164 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 23.8%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Applied Gerontology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Applied Gerontology based?
Of the 95 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (81), United Kingdom (4) and Mainland China (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Applied Gerontology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Applied Gerontology is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Applied Gerontology open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Applied Gerontology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,400.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .