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Gerontological social workers' perceived efficacy for influencing client outcomes
- Authors:
- BONIFAS Robin, GAMMONLEY Denise, SIMONS Kelsey
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 55(6), August 2012, pp.519-536.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Health and social service delivery are increasingly under political and financial stress due to economic recession, state budget crises, and an ageing population. Using a sample of 269 practitioners from the 2004 National Study of Licensed Social Workers, this study used a quality assurance structure-process-outcome model to investigate factors at the practitioner, workplace, and service delivery levels that influence the perceived efficacy of licensed gerontological social workers to affect client outcomes in the context of a highly challenging health care environment. A regression model accounted for 33.9% of the variance in perceived efficacy with 3 aspects of service delivery satisfaction having significant effects: ability to address complex/chronic care, to influence the design of services, and to help clients navigate the system. Implications for practice are discussed.
Social work and aging: the challenges for evidence-based practice
- Authors:
- MCCALLION Philip, FERRETTI Lisa A.
- Journal article citation:
- Generations, 34(1), Spring 2010, pp.66-71. Published online.
- Publisher:
- American Society on Aging
There has been growing interest among social workers in evidence that would support practices that address the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of aging, illness, and care giving. To move an evidence-based intervention from research to day-to-day social work practice is difficult. There have been achievements in using evidence-based, aging-focused social work practice. Three areas are highlighted: psychosocial; case/care management; and multi-modal interventions. Social work services addressing aging and care giving needs would benefit from greater access to evidence-based practices. While some of those evidence-based practices are already available, there are efforts to build such evidence, and there is a readiness to consider how practices shown to be effective in some situations may be applied to other problems and other populations. However, evidence-based practice in social work has tended to be narrowly focused on psychosocial issues when its interests are much broader and the changes needed in the lives of clients often involve environmental, public policy, and health system concerns. Engagement in the 'sciences' of local implementation and translation is needed to supplement more traditional research efforts.
Social work in the development of institutional care for older people in Slovenia
- Author:
- MALI Jana
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 13(4), December 2010, pp.545-559.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Drawing on the author's doctoral thesis, this paper discusses the role and significance of social work in the development of institutional care for older people in Slovenia. The study involved development of a measurement instrument to identify differences between socially and medically oriented institutions. The paper describes a shift in the development of Slovenian homes for older people from medical to social orientation, influenced by social work, and notes that in socially oriented homes a different model of social work is applied than in the medically oriented homes, with the difference lying in social work methods as well as in the roles of the social worker in different areas of work with the residents, relatives and staff. It discusses the factors influencing the orientation of homes, arguing that the successful and changed practice of social work in particular with people with dementia could positively influence other fields of work, change how all residents in homes are treated, and contribute to the social orientation of homes for older people.
The discretion and power of street-level bureaucrats: an example from Swedish municipal eldercare
- Authors:
- DUNER Anna, NORDSTROM Monica
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 9(4), December 2006, pp.425-444.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper focuses on discretion in the frontline practice of social work with elderly people in Sweden. The aim is to describe and analyse how care managers in municipal eldercare use discretion and power in needs assessment and decision-making. Emanating from Lipsky's concept of discretion, we identify the conditions of decision-making, which along with the concepts of structural power and intentional power constitute the theoretical framework of this analysis. Eight care managers from four Swedish municipalities were observed and interviewed. The researchers carried out 38 observations and nine in-depth interviews. The analysis led to the identification of four techniques in the decision-making process of care managers: reject, execute, transform needs and control. The consequences of these practices are discussed at the end of the paper.
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.
Effective social work with older people
- Authors:
- KERR Brian, et al
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Executive. Social Research
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 4p.
Older people do not require social work support simply because of their age. They are not an homogenous group with a single set of needs. This study has highlighted the potential limitations of categorising older people as a separate service user group, as if different from other adults. Many people come to social workers’ attention for the first time following the onset of illness or frailty in old age. Others may have experienced difficulties during adult life which are exacerbated, or combine with adverse circumstances, as they grow older. As part of the 21st Century Social Work Review, the Scottish Executive asked the Social Work Research Centre at the University of Stirling to review the evidence base for effective social work with older people. This short piece of work (conducted during July and August 2005) involved a review of various key texts and recent research.
Research priorities for Gerontological social work: researcher and practitioner perspectives
- Authors:
- MORROW-HOWELL Nancy, BURNETTE Denise, CHEN Li-Mei
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 29(4), December 2005, pp.231-242.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article describes a Delphi study to identify research priorities of gerontological social work practitioners and to compare these priorities with those of social work academic researchers. A national expert panel of 52 gerontological social work practitioners from the United States completed questionnaires to delimit a set of high-priority research topics. Findings were compared with a similar Delphi study conducted with academic social work researchers. The researcher panel and the practitioner panel endorsed a need for intervention research. Practitioners also identified several unique priorities, including income security and long-term care policies, decision making, and planning for later life. The authors suggest four substantive areas (housing and transitions in living arrangements, family caregiving, health and mental health, and workforce) and four cross cutting themes (intervention research, social policy, service delivery, and capacity building) as a potential organizing framework for a research agenda for gerontological social work.
National minimum information standards for older people
- Author:
- SCOTLAND. Scottish Executive. Health Department
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Executive
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 40p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Rurality, aging and social work: setting the context
- Authors:
- BUTLER Sandra, KAYE Lenard W.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 41(1/2), 2003, pp.3-35.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Argues that the unique needs of elders in rural communities and the role of the social work profession in meeting these needs requires more complete examination. Provides an historical context to the discussion of service intervention in rural communities and offers alternative definitions of rurality and past and current federal stances on the topic. Presents a demographic overview and profile of the major issues facing rural elders and their families and the special set of opportunities and highlights the challenges associated with rural gerontological social work practice, including working with older adults that are less educated, poorer, with fewer retirement benefits, living in inadequate housing, and suffering from more frequent chronic illness. At the same time, rural older adults are likely to value highly their independence while simultaneously having less access to a smaller number of community services. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Gerontological social work research: current status and future directions
- Authors:
- MORROW-HOWELL Nancy, BURNETTE Denise
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 36(3/4), 2001, pp.63-79.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article assesses the current state of gerontological social work research in the USA and suggests future directions for the field. Argues that social workers are not adequately represented among researchers supported by public and private funds.