Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Gerontological social work: reflections on its role, purpose and value
- Authors:
- RAY Mo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(4), 2015, pp.1296-1312.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Over the last twenty years, successive welfare policies have undermined gerontological social work as a specialist area of social work practice. The UK's ageing population offers an opportunity for gerontological social work to rebuild itself. Increasing numbers of older people with long-term conditions, significant growth in the population of family carers and enhanced community-based living for people with long-term needs combine to reposition social work as, potentially, playing a crucial role in the achievement of key policy goals. The particular skill and knowledge set of social workers uniquely equips them to manage the intersection of issues that currently challenge health and welfare services: complex needs, risk, transitions, end of life, carer stress and frailty. That older service users value the approach, input and expertise of social workers and that social workers have greater capacity to deliver sustainable support are also relevant. For gerontological social work to have a future, not only is it required to reclaim its specialist role, but it must re-establish its commitment to social justice, invest in building an evidence base of effectiveness and embed ageing-related teaching in the social work curriculum. (Edited publisher abstract)
Lessons from America
- Authors:
- SULLIVAN Mary Pat, MILNE Alisoun
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Matters (e-Magazine), February 2014, Online only
- Publisher:
- The College of Social Work
As the population ages, the author argues there is a need to develop gerontologise social work and build the profession's capacity to improve care for older people and their families. The article draws on practice from the United States which demonstrate the effective contribution that social work plays in the care of older people. Details of the John A Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative in the United States is provided as a case study of a programme to promote cultural change in social work to ensure it is meeting the needs of an ageing society in terms of social work education, training and competency. (Original abstract)
Older people and the law
- Authors:
- McDONALD Ann, TAYLOR Margaret
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 170p.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Describes the legal framework for working with older people, following the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 and the modernising agenda in health and social care. This book describes the application of law and policy relating to older people in the context of social work practice. It describes the legal framework for working with older people following the modernising agenda in health and social care and the length has been considerably expanded to enable topics to be dealt with more comprehensively. It covers the range of legal issues affecting the welfare and financial security of older people in the community and residential settings, and emphasises the empowering nature of legal knowledge. It also describes and explains the application of law and policy relating to older people in the context of social work practice.
Older people in the context of COVID-19: a European perspective
- Authors:
- PENTARIS Panagiotis, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 63(8), 2020, pp.736-742.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The Coronavirus pandemic and associated measures for the protection of the public have impacted differently on different parts of the population and across different nations. In many areas, COVID-19 has also either exacerbated already existing or created new inequalities in relation to specific parts of the population. Older individuals are one group in society that has been widely impacted, while social isolation/shielding measures have placed them in higher risk of loneliness, isolation, financial deprivation and mental health challenges, to name a few. This commentary reflects on such inequalities across four European nations (the United Kingdom (UK), Republic of Ireland, Finland, Spain) and draws attention to the critical role of Gerontological Social Work (GSW), while emphasizing the ways in which social work can intervene. First, we identify common concerns for the rights of older people that span across all four nations, and second, we identify significant roles for GSW practitioners at the individual, community and policy levels and conclude with a call for GSW in these four nations to be reimagined in a time of global crisis. (Edited publisher abstract)
Health and social work practitioners’ experiences of working with risk and older people: the interconnectedness of personalities, process and policy
- Authors:
- BEECH Christian, VERITY Fiona
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Integrated Care, 28(2), 2020, pp.197-211.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The purpose of this paper is to explore interprofessional and multidisciplinary working between health and social care practitioners providing services to older people through the prism of how risk is assessed and managed. It proposes that whilst interprofessional and multidisciplinary working is a broad and commonly researched topic, there is a relative paucity of evidence specifically regarding how health and social care practitioners work together across structural, cultural and ideological divides. The study aims to expand the domain of integrated health and social care by including perceptions, understanding and use of the concept of risk by professionals from different disciplines.Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based upon an exploratory study using an interpretivist phenomenological perspective, including 23 semi-structured individual interviews with health and social care practitioners and 2 non-participant observations of multidisciplinary team meetings. Findings:The paper provides empirical insights around the complex dynamics of interprofessional and multidisciplinary working between health and social care practitioners, in particular the saliency of the interconnectedness of individual practitioner Personalities with the Process of interprofessional and multidisciplinary working under the auspices of relevant Policy drivers. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted in Wales and, due to the increasingly divergent policy context within the UK, the research results may lack generalisability from a wider UK or international perspective. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the propositions of this research further.Practical implications: The paper includes implications for both interprofessional and multidisciplinary policy and practice with older people. With new models of integrated care being sought, the findings of this study may offer a timely and valuable contribution, particularly from the inclusion of a social care perspective and in better understanding the interconnectedness of practitioner personalities with process and policy. Originality/value: This paper fulfils an identified need to study the complex dynamics and interconnectedness between health and social care practitioners who work together to provide services to older people. (Edited publisher abstract)
On the edge of a new frontier: is gerontological social work in the UK ready to meet twenty-first-century challenges?
- Authors:
- RICHARDS Sally, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2014, pp.2307-2324.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores the readiness of gerontological social work in the UK for meeting the challenges of an ageing society by investigating the focus on work with older people in social work education and the scope of gerontological social work research. The discussion draws on findings from two exploratory studies: a survey of qualifying master's programmes in England and a survey of the content relating to older people over a six-year period in four leading UK social work journals. The evidence from master's programmes suggests widespread neglect of ageing in teaching content and practice learning. Social work journals present a more nuanced picture. Older people emerge within coverage of generic policy issues for adults, such as personalisation and safeguarding, and there is good evidence of the complexity of need in late life. However, there is little attention to effective social work interventions, with an increasingly diverse older population, or to the quality of gerontological social work education. The case is made for infusing content on older people throughout the social work curriculum, for extending practice learning opportunities in social work with older people and for increasing the volume and reporting of gerontological social work research. (Publisher abstract)
What can I do to make my practice and service more trans inclusive? Guidelines for social workers
- Authors:
- WILLIS Paul, DOBBS Christine, RAITHBY Michele
- Publisher:
- Swansea University
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 4
- Place of publication:
- Swansea
Practice guidelines to support social workers to improve their practice and service when working with older trans people. The guidelines aim to ensure services are really trans-inclusive, person-centred and anti-discriminatory. Areas covered include the importance of taking a psychosocial approach to the assessment of an older individual’s care and support needs and anxieties for trans individuals about how they will be treated by social care practitioners. The guidelines are based on findings from The Trans Ageing and Care (TrAC) research project, carried out by researchers at Bristol and Swansea University, to understand the health and social care needs are of trans adults of 50+ years. The research gathered the views of trans individuals and carried out a survey of staff working in health and social care services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Biomedical nemesis? Critical deliberations with regard to health and social care integration for social work with older people
- Author:
- CAREY Malcolm
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 61(5), 2018, pp.651-664.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article questions ongoing moves towards integration into health care for social work with older people in the United Kingdom. While potentially constructing clearer pathways to support, integration risks reducing welfare provisions for a traditional low priority user group, while further extending the principles of privatisation. Integration models also understate the ideological impact of biomedical perspectives within health and social care domains, conflate roles and undermine the potential positive role of ‘holistic’ multi-agency care. Constructive social work for older people is likely to further dilute within aggressive integrated models of welfare, which will be detrimental for meeting many of the complex needs of ageing populations. (Publisher abstract)
Social work practice with older people
- Author:
- RESEARCH IN PRACTICE FOR ADULTS
- Publisher:
- Research in Practice for Adults
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Place of publication:
- Dartington
Online resource providing a range of practice tools to support social work with older people. The tools focus on the case study of a retired couple who are dealing with the consequences of ageing. The case study moves through seven time periods as their circumstances change and the responsibilities for caring develop. The resource includes an action planning tool and a critical reflection tool. An introductory webinar outlines how to use the resource. (Edited publisher abstract)
Transforming practice with older people through an ethic of care
- Authors:
- WARD Lizzie, BARNES Marian
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 46(4), 2016, pp.906-922.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores the relevance of deliberative practices framed by feminist care ethics to social work practice with older people. It draws on two connected projects which brought together older people: practitioners and academics. The first was a participatory research project in which the significance of care to well-being in old age emerged. The second was a knowledge exchange project which generated learning resources for social care practice based on the research findings of the first project. The authors analyse selected transcripts of recordings from meetings of both projects to consider the ways that discussions about lived experiences and everyday lives demonstrate care through this dialogue. Using this analysis, the authors propose that care ethics can be useful in transforming relationships between older people and those working with them through the creation of hybrid spaces in which ‘care-full deliberation’ can happen. It is argued that such reflective spaces can enable transformative dialogue about care and its importance to older people and offer a counterbalance to the procedurally driven environments in which much social work practice takes place and can support practice more attuned to the circumstances and concerns of older people. (Edited publisher abstract)