"Maintaining connections but wanting more": the continuity of familial relationships among assisted-living residents

Social support is a key component of well-being for older adults, particularly for those who have moved from independent living to assisted living involving a transformation of roles, relationships, and responsibilities. Twenty-nine assisted-living facility residents were interviewed to understand the perceived continuity of relationships with family and friends. An inductive approach to thematic analysis revealed 1 main theme and 3 subthemes. The main theme that emerged was: maintaining connections but wanting more. Residents appreciated maintaining connections with family and friends, but often expressed feelings of discontentment with the continuity of former relationships. The subthemes included: appreciating family and friends, waiting for more, and losing control. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Developing visibility for aging in social work: the first NGSWC

In March 2001, the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) Strengthening Aging and Gerontology Education for Social Work (SAGE-SW) project published an action agenda for social work and aging (CSWE/SAGE-SW, 2001). CSWE SAGE-SW, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation from 1998 to 2004, had several charges in the first phase of funding, including the gathering of data through a thorough review of literature, focus groups, surveys and a variety of activities to garner expert input. This agenda, often referred to as the Blueprint, identified a number of serious issues regarding the lack of attention, preparation, leadership and interest in aging within the social work profession. It also provided some recommended actions to address these issues and help set the stage for the creation of the National Gerontological Social Work Conference. What were the issues at hand and why might a National Gerontological Social Work Conference (NGSWC) address some of these issues?     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

瑞典社会民主主义与第三条道路--艰难的选择

第三条道路的许多观念构成了瑞典社会民主党纲领的基本内容和社会民主党政府实施的具体政策 ,诸如积极有效的劳动市场政策 (从福利到工作 )、教育政策、终生学习和拥有就业能力的政策。与此同时 ,许多社会民主党人认为 ,第三条道路是可怕的和值得怀疑的。为了理解瑞典在第三条道路讨论中的勉强态度 ,我们了解一些 2 0世纪 90年代瑞典的背景情况是很重要的。最近 ,一个政府委员会完成了对 90年代瑞典福利政策的平衡测算 ,报告的序言部分表明 ,在90年代 ,人口因素和瑞典经济和劳动力市场最不景气的阶段交织在一起。委员会强调 ,瑞典人口的构成…     

Research with Deaf People: Issues and Conflicts

The field of sign language research is fraught with problems-prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, unmet expectations, identity crises and pervasive mythologies, to name but a few. Some of these problems arise from cultural differences between the (usually hearing) researchers and the people they study. Others stem from a lack of appropriate training and sensitivity on the part of the researcher. Those who investigate aspects of deafness itself (medical, educational or psychological) also face these problems since they, too, need to be in contact with members of the deaf community. Researchers in fields other than deafness may find that they share many of the same problems. As a result of extended study of sign language and the deaf community and the experience of working with deaf associates for 15-20 years, both in the United Kingdom and in the USA, we have begun to understand the tensions felt by both deaf and hearing people when they come together in the research enterprise. This paper is an attempt to open a debate on the issues which have been ignored in the search for results and publications. Failure to deal with these points will undermine the validity of supposedly objective results. The issues concern the power relations between the communities and the roles of the research staff in relation to each other and to their respective communities.     

Mortality in the two Germanies in 1986 and trends 1976–1986

By using the new analysis programme LIFETIME the mortality data of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR are compared by age, sex and cause of death. The data submitted to the WHO were used for this purpose. Within the period from 1976 to 1986 life expectancy has risen in the Federal Republic of Germany, whereas in the GDR it increased to a minor extent only, so that the gap between the two parts of Germany has clearly enlarged. This enlarged gap in life expectancy largely depends on a higher mortality in the GDR due to diseases of the circular system and the respiratory organs, external influences and ‘other’ causes of death. The last-mentioned two groups also ‘contain’ the normally separatedly reported causes of death ‘cirrhosis of the liver’, ‘suicide’, ‘accidents’, and some diseases of the digestive system. These causes of death probably have gained a certain weight — like in other Eastern European countries — so that their evidence has been undesirable due to political reasons. In 1976 the GDR still reported these causes of death separately.     

Who will care for the grandparents? Exploring relationships between grandparents and grandchildren

Adult children are often identified as primary caregivers for their older adult parents; however, in a growing number of cases, the adult child does not become the caregiver. Evidence of this includes the growing social phenomenon of grandparents raising their grandchildren. In this qualitative research project, the long-term caregiving relationship between grandparents and grandchildren living in grandparent-headed households was explored through interviews with three grandparent-grandchild dyads. The ongoing relationship in the dyads did not seem to mimic a parent-child relationship or a grandparent-grandchild relationship, but instead a third kind of relationship that requires further exploration.     

Older adults with Alzheimer's disease in a faith community

In the first phase of this study, focus groups were conducted with 12 clergy to explore how to meet the needs of Alzheimer's disease patients and their families. The clergy reported that although they do reach out to these families, they have not received formal training, so they often do not know what families need. Members of their congregations who are trained in working with Alzheimer's patients need to partner with the clergy in reaching out to these families. Although this article mainly focuses on the clergy's perspective, in the second phase of the study, caregivers and early-stage Alzheimer's patients were asked to describe their experiences of spiritual connections related to Alzheimer's disease.