Gerontological Social Work Research Articles

Trauma and Stress Among Older Adults in the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Social Work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.

Phenomenology of Pain and Suffering at the End of Life: A Humanistic Perspective in Gerontological Health and Social Work

In this article, the author examines the phenomenology of pain and suffering and the fundamentally social nature of living with serious illness for older adults at life's end. She focuses on three concerns in gerontological health and social work: developing a phenomenological account of lived experiences of pain and suffering; articulating a humanistic phenomenological perspective on the axiological and ethical dimensions of pain and suffering; and exploring a phenomenological approach to a more humanistic, person-centered social work practice with older adults in end-of-life and palliative care. The contribution that the author makes through this article is in elaborating a humanistic framework for understanding agency, obligation, and ethical choice in end-of-life decision making.

Advancing an Aging-Prepared Community: Models and Lessons From Training Initiatives in Gerontological Social Work

For ten years the Geriatric Social Work Initiative has advanced progressively evolving projects to increase gerontological curricular content and aging expertise in faculty. These efforts include the Geriatric Enrichment in Social Work Education (GeroRich) initiative, Curriculum Development Institutes, and the Partnership Program for Aging Education in field placements among others. All of these projects have benefited from Hartford Foundation funding. This article describes the models and lessons learned by one large Midwestern university as it implemented several aging related programs. A competency approach is suggested as effective strategy in curriculum design. Recommendations are provided to assist seminaries and religion programs in developing their own aging focus.

Two Birds With One Stone: Using Gerontology Experiences to Meet CSWE Competencies

In 2008 the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) developed competency-based accreditation standards that establish and define operational practice behaviors. To implement the 2008 accreditation standards, baccalaureate program faculty throughout the country are using curriculum mapping strategies to review and critique current course content and assessment measures. CSWE's National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education offers faculty development opportunities and curriculum resources to promote gerontology competence at the generalist level. Through the curriculum mapping process faculty can determine how to include gerontological social work competency achievement among their students while meeting the 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards requirements. This article uses an evidence-based framework to provide examples of pedagogy that can serve this dual function.

Assisted Living Facility Administrator and Direct Care Staff Views of Resident Mental Health Concerns and Staff Training Needs

This community needs assessment surveyed 21 administrators and 75 direct care staff at 9 larger and 12 smaller assisted living facilities (ALFs) regarding perceptions of resident mental health concerns, direct care staff capacity to work with residents with mental illness, and direct care staff training needs. Group differences in these perceptions were also examined. Both administrators and directcare staff indicated that direct care staff would benefit from mental health-related training, and direct care staff perceived themselves as being more comfortable working with residents with mental illness than administrators perceived them to be. Implications for gerontological social work are discussed.

Creating Images of Old People as Home Care Receivers

Central to the assessment process in case management is how older people’s needs are constructed through documentation and case files. This article examines how older people’s needs are categorized in written documentation. Sixteen case files from three social work districts in Sweden were studied using discourse analysis. The results identified two general types of case files; the fact-oriented (using objective language) and event-oriented case file (using more personal language) — which depicted the older individuals quite differently. All case files employed several need categories; though social needs were important in describing living conditions, it was medical and physical needs that impinged on home care decisions. This raises questions about how case documentation depicts older people through society’s eyes and about the discourses prevailing in gerontological social work.

Why Do They Leave? Factors Associated With Job Termination Among Personal Assistant Workers in Home Care

Recruiting and retaining an adequate number of personal support workers in home care is both challenging and essential to allowing elders to age in place. A mixed-method, longitudinal study examined turnover in a sample of 261 personal support workers in Maine; 70 workers (26.8%) left their employment in the first year of the study. Logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and lack of health insurance were significant predictors of turnover. Analysis of telephone interviews revealed three overarching themes related to termination: job not worthwhile, personal reasons, and burnout. Implications of study findings for gerontological social workers are outlined.

Using Spiritually Modified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Help Clients Wrestling with Depression: A Promising Intervention for Some Older Adults

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective method for treating many older adults with depression. Efficacy may be enhanced for some clients, however, by modifying cognitive behavioral therapy with beliefs and values drawn from clients' spiritual narratives. Potential enhancements include faster recovery, improved treatment adherence, lower posttreatment relapse, and reduced treatment disparities. In light of the lack of training many gerontological social workers have received on spirituality, this paper orients readers to spiritually modified cognitive behavioral therapy. Toward this end, the research on this modality is reviewed, rationales for its suitability with older adults are provided, the process of constructing spiritually modified cognitive behavioral therapy self-statements with older adults wrestling with depression is illustrated, and ethical guidelines are discussed.

The Role of Mastery and Social Support in the Association Between Life Stressors and Psychological Distress in Older Canadians

Gerontological social workers and other health professionals are often dealing with older adults in psychological distress. Greater clarity on the relationship between stress and psychological distress will enhance the efficacy of outreach and treatment initiatives for older adults. This study explored the underlying causal structure of the relationships of common life stressors and psychosocial resources for Canadians 65 years and older (542 men and 835 women). Using structural equation modeling of data collected in the National Population Health Survey in 2004–2005 and 2002–2003, the roles played by socioeconomic conditions, physical health, chronic stress, sense of mastery, and perceived social support in the stress–psychological distress relationship were estimated and compared. Findings revealed that chronic stress was the strongest determinant of the level of psychological distress for both genders; however its effect was higher for men compared to women. Poor physical health played a more important role in determining women's psychological distress compared to men. Higher levels of mastery and perceived social support were associated with lower levels of psychological distress for both men and women. These associations were somewhat stronger for men compared with women. Socio-economic conditions played a minor role in the stress–mental health relationship for both genders.

Holocaust Survivors: Resilience Revisited

This article revisits the findings of an earlier study, “Holocaust Survivors: A Study in Resilience,” that appeared in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work in 2002. That study's findings were generally consistent with other research related to resilience that suggested that survivors rebuilt their lives, forming families, establishing careers, and engaging in community service. These findings are also consistent with the theme of this issue, which celebrates the day-to-day struggles and challenges that survivors overcame.

Care management in practice: on the use of talk and text in gerontological social work

Cedersund E, Olaison A. Care management in practice: on the use of talk and text in gerontological social workInt J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 339–347 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare.This is a study of encounters between social workers and citizens in one type of welfare organisation, the municipal elder care system. The article sheds light on how older people's claims are dealt with in the processing of home care applications. Twenty encounters between social workers and older people were studied using discourse analysis. The findings reveal that discursive practices are part of the routine when the applications are processed. The application handling follows an agenda‐bound pattern that is visible in the encounters. In these standardised procedures, oral discourse is embedded in routines that also include the use of texts. However, within this institutional order, there is also an important element of negotiation between the parties. It is therefore claimed that the encounters include a negotiated order that does not exist on its own, but is achieved in the ongoing interaction.

Spirituality and Older Adults: Ethical Guidelines to Enhance Service Provision

Spirituality plays an important role in the lives of many older adults. Consequently, it is not surprising that gerontological social workers frequently engage spirituality in practice settings. The paucity of training gerontological workers have received on this topic, however, is a cause for concern. To help equip workers, three ethical principles are proposed to guide interactions in the area of spirituality. These principles can be summarized as: 1) client autonomy, 2) spiritual competence, and 3) professional competence. The application of these principles in practice settings will enhance the ability of gerontological social workers to interact with older adults’ spirituality in a professional and ethical manner.

A Partnership Among a University, Foundation and Community Agencies for Training Gerontological Social Workers

Attention to preparing social workers for our aging society has increased with concern that there may be insufficient professionals to meet the need. Interest in training gerontologically-savvy social work students had led to the development of models to achieve this end. This article reports on a collaboration among a university's school of social work, a foundation, and community agencies, to provide special training for students interested in aging. The model presented here offers locally-focused and smaller founders in aging an educational strategy to achieve their goals. The evaluation of the model and the findings of this evaluation are reviewed.

Serving Older Native Americans: Challenges Facing Gerontological Social Work in Indian Country

Recognizing that Native American elders are a growing segment of the minority aged in the United States, this paper highlights the relevant social service issues of Native American elderly and focuses on building social work knowledge of these topics on a national and state level. The authors offer three practice strategies for a sound social work response in serving older Native Americans: (1) inclusion and collaboration with tribal nations, (2) outreach to households and local communities, and (3) capacity building, These strategies are framed against the realities of Native American elders residing in Oklahoma, a state with one of the highest American Indian populations in the United States and 39 sovereign tribal governments.

Community Reentry and Older Adult Offenders: Redefining Social Work Roles

The number of older adults in US prisons continues to rise. In 2002, adults ages 50 and older made up 8% of the US prison population, up from 4% a decade prior. Many older offenders are released to communities that are poorly equipped to meet their special needs. and largely unprepared for the social and fiscal costs of their reentry. The focus of gerontological social work education on the returning older adult offender has been limited. This article examines social work roles in the community reentry/reintegration of older adult offenders. Best practices from the gerontological social work literature are presented and implications for social work practice are discussed.

Lifelong Resiliency Learning: A Strength-Based Synergy for Gerontological Social Work

The significance of the synergy between promoting resiliency and the strengths-based perspective is well established in gerontological social work. This article reports on qualitative research that suggests another potentially productive synergy, one that can result from the interaction between the capacities for resiliency and lifelong learning. These findings emerged from a qualitative study involving 12 older women (ages 64–72) participating in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine. Lifelong learning is defined as a cognitive process by which individuals continue to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes over their lifetime. The implications of the data are considered from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes gerontological social work, educational gerontology, and adult learning. Specific social work research and practice initiatives that could confirm and operationalize this synergy are suggested.

A Year of Living Dynamically: A Gerontological Social Worker's Experience as a Congressional Fellow During Health Care Reform

A Year of Living Dynamically: A Gerontological Social Worker’s Experience as a Congressional Fellow During Health Care Reform Get access Gretchen E. Alkema Gretchen E. Alkema Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Public Policy & Aging Report, Volume 19, Issue 4, Fall/Winter 2010, Pages 26–27, https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/19.4.26 Published: 01 September 2010

Examining the Curricula for Entry-Level Social Workers in Aging-Related Fields

The rapidly growing older population necessitates the provision of more gerontological social workers. This study evaluates the social work programs that are offered by a university in Hong Kong, based on separate surveys of alumni and employers. It also examines the effects of alumni background characteristics on perceived training adequacy. The training is found to be moderately adequate in preparing the alumni for practice in aging-related jobs, but there is a need to improve the existing curricula. Implications for the improvement of the curricula and suggestions for further studies are also discussed.

Social Work Student Interest in Nursing Home Employment: A North American Study

Nursing homes (NHs) are a primary setting for gerontological social work; yet, little is known about social workers' career interest relative to this setting. This article reports the findings of an online survey of social work students (177 US and 91 Canadian) that sought to identify personal characteristics and beliefs that influence NH employment intentions. Students who were enrolled in bachelors programs, lacked previous practice experience, and had already had a NH field placement or wanted this experience were more likely to express employment intent. The implications of these findings for social work education and research are discussed.

Enhancing Forgiveness: A Group Intervention for the Elderly

This article describes a therapeutic model of forgiveness (Enright, 2001) and discusses its applicability to social work intervention with older adults. A total of 20 men and women, aged 57–82, participated in 2 different forgiveness groups, each of which met weekly for 8 sessions with a 4-month follow-up session. Measures of forgiveness, as well as biopsychosocial functioning, were collected before and after the group intervention. Results indicated that participants experienced long-term improvement with respect to forgiveness and depression, short-term improvement of physical health, and no change in relation to anxiety or social support. Clinical issues that emerged during the forgiveness group are discussed, and suggestions for gerontological social workers are offered.