Gerontological Knowledge Research Articles

Demographics and Reality

Social work education has neglected gerontology at the same time that the demand for aging-competent practitioners has increased. Surveys, focus groups, and other sources of data from the John A. Hartford Foundation SAGE-SW project at the Council on Social Work Education indicate a lack of current curriculum content, little encouragement for students, limited gerontological expertise among faculty, and more interest by students in gaining gerontological knowledge than expected. Suggested actions for practitioners and field agency supervisors are provided.

Mentoring Between and Within “Generations” of Gerontology Students

This article examines the use of mentoring during the implementation of an intergenerational service-learning project. An intergenerational mentoring model was developed to include the students in two required courses in the undergraduate model, with the assistance of a student from the MA in Gerontology program. Students were asked to work together in designing and implementing a program focused on melding learning with meeting community needs. Three kinds of mentoring roles were identified in both group and individual mentoring. These include the roles of “door openers,” “information providers,” and “role models.” This paper discusses the value of mentoring to engage undergraduates in gerontology, to provide a measure of advanced undergraduates' competence and ability to use ge-rontological knowledge, and to extend unpaid faculty resources in a gerontology program.

ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING AMONG PACIFIC ISLANDER HEALTH STUDENTS IN FIJI

The relation between attitudes to aging and cultural values is a complex one. This study contrasts attitudes to aging among Pacific Islander students with attitudes in a comparable Australian sample. Australian society is represented as ageist, whereas Pacific Islander cultures are reported to be age-inclusive. Attitudes were assessed using the Reactions to Ageing Questionnaire, and data also were collected on levels of intimate contact with older people, said to be related to attitude. A comparison of Australian with Pacific Islander data showed no difference in attitude or degree of intimate contact. Within the Pacific Islander sample indigenous Fijians had significantly more positive attitudes than did Indo-Fijians and significantly more intimate contact. Indo-Fijians, but not indigenous Fijians, also were significantly more negative in attitude than Australian students. Educators aiming to incorporate gerontological knowledge and to challenge ageism in the curriculum should not assume student attitudes are congruent with traditional cultural beliefs. They need to be knowledgeable about and sensitive to differences among various cultural groups within the student population, especially where those students will have the health care of the old in their hands in the future.

A Survey of Undergraduate Gerontology Certificate Graduates

This article reports on a follow-up study of graduates of an undergraduate gerontology certificate program over a five-year period. Results indicated that fewer than half were employed in gerontology positions. The majority of those who were in gerontology were satisfied with their work and intended to remain in the field. Those who were not in gerontology cited a variety of reasons. Regardless of employment status, the majority of the graduates viewed the certificate program as a valuable addition to their education, indicating a high degree of satisfaction with their overall experience, courses, faculty, and career preparation. Respondents' comments on the importance of gerontology knowledge in their personal lives suggest that program effectiveness should not be determined solely by employment in gerontology positions.

Intergenerational Family Relations: Two Disciplines Meet Two Generations

ABSTRACT Fifty older parents and their adult offspring participated in interviews designed to study intergenerational family relationships from both perceptual and interactional perspectives. The study was devised to bridge some of the gaps between research on older couples within the gerontological literature and knowledge within the field of family therapy. Among other factors, the results support ideas that self-reported adult functioning, specifically social anxiety and loneliness, are linked to perceptions of family of origin experience and that coherence in views of the family of procreation as rated by parents is related to individual well-being for offspring and positive feelings about the current intergenerational family functioning.

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND TRAINING IN SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY−THE ISRAELI EXPERIENCE

This article examines the multidimensionality of education, research, and training in gerontology through a discussion of the significance and implications of developments in this area based on the Israeli scene. The discussion focuses on the issue of whether gerontology is an academic discipline based on the development of specialized knowledge, along with education and training, in a distinct academic framework, or whether it constitutes part of professional training in a variety of academic fields. The article begins with a presentation of milestones in the development of gerontology in Israel, focusing mainly on social gerontology. It then offers a definition of an academic discipline and of a profession and distinguishes between them by examining the development of curricula in the field of aging in two contexts: social work studies, on the one hand, and specialization in gerontology toward a Master's degree in this area at Haifa and Ben-Gurion Universities, on the other. A model is presented that examines the mutuality among the evolutions in technology, demography, and information, and their significance in the development of standards in education, training, and the dissemination of gerontological knowledge.

Care of the geriatric patient in chronic renal failure.

Currently, there are around one million chronic dialysis patients worldwide. More than half of these are older than 65. For various reasons this is a fast growing population. When the indication is considered to start dialysis, a distinction must be made between biological age in the third and fourth decade on the one hand, and a specific geriatric profile on the other, which implies adequate gerontological knowledge. Besides the patient-directed choice of the best tolerated treatment technique, the specific treatment of age-linked polypathology as well as the appropriate approach of inter- and intradialysis related problems regarding access and haemodynamics are the best guaranties of success in this highest age dialysis group. By means of a multidisciplinary geriatric assessment, which makes it possible to carry out an objective analysis and observation from the somatic, psychic and social points of view, an ultimate objective is achieved: the improvement of quality of life by means of rehabilitation. The survival of elderly dialysis patients has favourably evolved since the 90's after the introduction of EPO, bicarbonate dialysate, the monitoring of dialysis adequacy and support of prognostic and comorbid factors. The problems surrounding dialysis drop-out is a sensitive and controversial matter in which well founded communication with the patient, the family, the dialysis team, domestic care and the general practitioner is vital. "Add life to years and not years to life" remains a challenge for every nephrologist.

Medical House staff Performance on the Facts of Aging Quiz

The Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) is a self-administered quiz that has been used to measure gerontological knowledge. The release of a multiple-choice version of the FAQ provided the opportunity to compare performance of medical housestaff on the true-false and multiple-choice formats. This cross-sectional study evaluated performance of medical housestaff on the true-false version and on the multiple choice format. To understand selection of responses, an additional sample of medical housestaff were debriefed on their choices of answers to the true-false version. Findings show that the true-false format produced significantly more correct responses than the multiple-choice version, and that physician performance on the FAQ varied with format of the quiz. The FAQ may not be a relevant instrument for determining knowledge of medical post-graduate residency trainees.

Social Work Gerontological Practice

There is a pressing need to upgrade the gerontological knowledge and skills of practicing social workers. Geriatrics and gerontology, as specialized fields of knowledge, have not been sufficiently integrated into formal academic training programs. There are major trends in the health care environment which impact on social work education, including technological advances, a shift from inpatient to outpatient and community care settings, increasing diversity of the older population, and client and family participation in decisionmaking. These trends necessitate social work education to emphasize new content areas in gerontology and the development of new skills in clinical, case management, care coordination, and teamwork. A significant obstacle to the preparation of future social workers to deliver the complex services needed by older adults and their families is a serious shortage of social work faculty in gerontology. Sustained and broad initiatives, such as the John A. Hartford Foundation funded Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program, are needed to develop academic and practice-based faculty in gerontology. This is crucial if social work is to maintain an important service role in the new millennium.

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Workload and stress in caring for the elderly: status of research and research agenda

Providing adequate care of the aged, geriatric caregivers take a key position for the transfer of gerontological knowledge into practice. However, little attention has been focussed on the work conditions and staff distress by gerontologists. The purpose of this paper is to review studies on occupational stress relating to professional geriatric caregivers. Based on relevant research concepts and paradigms, findings of the international literature are summarized. The review shows that occupational stress is affected by a number of work-related factors from behavior problems of the residents to time pressure and organizational deficits. The stress in turn can cause burnout, mental health problems, somatic complaints, and increased turnover. Social support and control at the workplace are supposed to contribute essentially to stress reduction. There are few empirical studies dealing with occupational stress among geriatric caregivers in Germany. Strengths and weaknesses of the studies will be analyzed and suggestions offered for future research in this area. Extending research is needed particularly on the work conditions in the increasing field of geriatric outpatient community services. Inspite of its theoretical and methodological shortcomings, the findings highlight the need for strategies to prevent physical and mental health problems, burnout, and job turnover. It is a challenge for gerontological research to obtain more knowledge on the work-related factors leading to stress as well as to establish effective intervention strategies to reduce its long-term consequences.

Social work with the elderly--current orientation and strategies

Social work for the elderly in a demographical ageing society is not justified per se, but has to prove its utility under the altering social conditions of the changing age-structure. In the field of practice, this has led to an increasing need for professional orientation and to searching for profiles of performance with greater attraction. As manifold as the target groups are the spectra of social work for the elderly is also manifold in its content and methods. Nevertheless, we are able to recognize some general orientations and strategies, which are conceptual adaptions from social work in general, cultural work and educational work--combined with fundamental supplies of social gerontological knowledge. In this sense, social work, for the elderly--in its most advanced realms--should be integrated into an ageing-policy concept, which is of relevance for the society as a whole.

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Faculty Training in Geriatrics and Gerontology

A one and one-half year faculty in-service geriatric/gerontological training project whose goal was to integrate aging-related content into the existing curricula of two “sister” institutions is described. Results of a pretest/posttest analysis showed that the participating faculty significantly increased their knowledge of geriatrics and gerontology after the didactic training and subsequently were successful in integrating geriatrics and gerontology content into their own course syllabi. A manual listing the steps required in replicating the project and a resource manual for faculty participants were products of this project.

EMPOWERING COUNSELORS TO WORK WITH SENIOR ADULT CLIENTS IN THE COMPUTER AGE

It is critical that counselors link their gerontological knowledge with that of various information technologies. Not only must counselors understand themselves as they work with diverse clients, they must also stay abreast of current information as it pertains to senior adults. This serves to expand and enhance the use of vital resources applicable to this client population. Staying abreast of available information and technologies and their uses with senior adults allows the counseling profession to mind its mission of service. This article addresses considerations that are essential as counselors prepare themselves to work effectively with senior adult clients in the computer age. Ten helpful Internet sites for counselors working with this group are also highlighted.

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

Comparison of Bachelor's and Master's Degree Gerontology Programs

In this study, graduates of bachelor's and master's degree programs in gerontology completed the Standardized Survey Instrument for Graduates of Gerontology Programs developed by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. In addition, employers were surveyed about the level of gerontological knowledge, skills, and work performance of these graduates. Findings suggest differences between master's and bachelor's degree graduates with regard to sources used to obtain positions, types of employment found, and job duties. Employers reported that the majority of the graduates had high levels of gerontology knowledge and skills and exhibited high performance levels in working for or with older adults.

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge. Stephen Katz

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsDisciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge. Stephen Katz William GraebnerWilliam Graebner Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 88, Number 2Jun., 1997 Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/383758 Views: 1Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1996 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: John Neu Current Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences, 1997, Isis 88 (Oct 2015): 1–308.https://doi.org/10.1086/383918

Book Reviews: Images of Aging: Cultural Representations of Later Life, Inequality and Old Age, Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge, Children, Health and the Social Order, Family Connections: An Introduction to Family Studies, Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women, Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought, Understanding Classical Sociology: Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Sociological Theory. What

Book Reviews: Images of Aging: Cultural Representations of Later Life, Inequality and Old Age, Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge, Children, Health and the Social Order, Family Connections: An Introduction to Family Studies, Technologies of the Gendered Body: Reading Cyborg Women, Marx, Durkheim, Weber: Formations of Modern Social Thought, Understanding Classical Sociology: Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Sociological Theory. What

Disciplining Old Age: The Formation of Gerontological Knowledge

In Disciplining Old Age Stephen Katz gives us a sophisticated and theoretically rigorous approach to what gerentology does. He deftly and subtly combines the theories of Foucault, Bourdieu, and the Althusser in his analysis of what he calls the gerontological web.Katz explores how political and social sciences have differentiated the elderly as a special kind of population characterized in negative terms, and he examines the literature of the discipline and shows how gerontology as built itself as a discipline through its journals, associations, funding agencies, and schools of thought.