Elder Mediation in Theory and Practice: Study Results From a National Caregiver Mediation Demonstration Project

Mediation is a process through which a third party facilitates discussion among disputing parties to help them identify interests and ideally reach an amicable solution. Elder mediation is a growing subspecialty to address conflicts involving older adults, primarily involving caregiving or finances. Mediation is theorized to empower participants but critics argue that it can exacerbate power imbalances among parties and coerce consensus. These contested claims are examined through study of a national caregiver mediation demonstration project. Study implications underscore the importance of gerontological social work expertise to ensure the empowerment of vulnerable older adults in mediation sessions.     

Improving Emergency Care for the Elderly

Much has been written on the developing role for social workers in hospital emergency rooms but little has focused specifically on social work interventions with elderly emergency room patients in an urban teaching hospital. A group of fifty patients over sixty-five years of age, referred to social service for assessment and assistance with home care issues, is described. The emergency room social worker's role with these elderly patients is highlighted and three case examples are discussed. It is argued that social work interventions improve the quality of both emergency and ongoing care for this growing and often at risk population.     

Informal Support Networks Meet Health needs of Rural Elderly

While major studies of informal support systems have been conducted in urban areas, it is important to gain comparable knowledge for the rural and small town communities in which so many older people live. This exploratory study had as its overall purpose to examine the association between community based informal support networks and the ability of older adults to carry out daily activities in a rural area-the measure of the functional health status of the person. Within a rural perspective the outcome of the study included: replication of urban data in terms of network identification; the generation for further study of two hypotheses related to the association of network functionality and functional health and one hypothesis related to the association of network proximity and functionality; and recommendations of unstudied areas of concern for a better understanding of network functionality.     

Ecological factors associated with elder abuse in Taiwan: a systematic review

Elder abuse is a serious issue in Taiwan because of rapid growth among the aging population and the deterioration of traditional values. Understanding of elder abuse in Taiwan has been fragmented, as a bulk of studies have primarily focused on socio-demographic characteristics and past childhood abuse. Only a handful of studies have focused on the environmental contexts. To address this research gap, we systematically review the prevalence, socio-demographic characteristics, and risk factors associated with elder abuse in Taiwan by applying Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework. Twenty-nine research articles are reviewed to address this research gap. Practice and policy implications are also discussed.     

Hybridization in China's elder care service provision

Although the party‐state has embarked on a mission to increase elder care services, evaluating this development according to different sectors demonstrates certain challenges. Official statistics do not include sector‐specific information, and while provider websites suggest that elder care services are largely in public hands, Chinese experts argue that they are mostly “civilian‐run.” How can we explain these discrepancies in data on Chinese elder care? Drawing on the concept of hybridization and triangulating quantitative and qualitative data, I argue that the party‐state's efforts to “socialize” elder care provision has resulted in hybridization within the industry which blurs the line between care providers and obfuscates the stark role of the state in elder care service provision. During the implementation of state‐initiated hybridization, providers misclassify their ownership type to benefit from financial incentives or circumvent political control, resulting in even greater hybridization and fragmentation on the ground.     

透视农村大龄未婚青年择偶难问题

农村大龄未婚青年择偶难问题越来越受到社会各界的广泛关注。本文分析了该问题的负面影响,阐明了这一问题的成因：农村人口性别比的结构性失衡、经济条件的制约和农村青年择偶交往机会有限等,并提出了相应的对策和建议。     

农村互助养老的历史演进、实践模式与发展走向

农村互助养老作为一种极具本土化色彩和社区重建思想的新型就地养老方式,对于推进农村社区建设和文化建设具有重要意义。从纵向时间维度对唐朝的农社、宋代的义庄、清朝的太监庙和姑婆屋、“大跃进”时期的福利生产养老组织等互助养老雏形进行了梳理,并从横向空间维度对当代涌现的政府主导、民间支持和精英带动3种互助养老类型及适应性问题进行了分析。在此基础上,从立足互助传统、整合社区资源、拓展互助范围、创新互助形式4个层面,提出了促进互助养老从“民间互助”向“规范互助”、从“一元互助”向“多元互助”、从“老老互助”向“代际互助”、从“志愿互助”向“储蓄互助”转变的发展思路。     

Conflict and Aggression as Stressors in the Work Environment of Nursing Assistants:

Elder abuse and mistreatment occuring in institutional settings is a phenomenon that is as yet poorly understood. In considering the context in which elder abuse and mistreatment may arise, understanding the caregivers' work environment is an important variable. As front line staff, nursing assistants are subject to multiple stressors that underscore the highly interpersonal nature of caregiving. This paper describes the results of a Canadian study that examined conflict, aggression, and burn-out in one group of nursing assistants. Nursing assistant burn-out scores were similar to scores reported for other health-care workers. Subjects reported that conflict with residents most commonly related to the resident wanting to go outside the facility or personal hygiene. An analysis of incident reports indicated that less than 0.3% of the physical and verbal aggression nursing assistants endure from residents is formally acknowledged. On average, a nursing assistant in this health care facility may expect to be physically assaulted by residents 9.3 times per month and verbally assaulted 11.3 times per month. Findings indicate a slight correlation between burn-out and conflict and also between burn-out and reported aggression from residents. A statistically significant relationship was noted between conflicts with residents and resident aggression from residents.     

中古“哥”父兄兼指的理据

现代汉语的“哥”指兄长，中古“哥”却兼有“父”、“兄”二义。两晋以降，随着汉民族与北方民族语言接触增多，本义为“歌唱”的“哥”被借用指称“兄”义。由于北方民俗生活的影响．“哥”同对兼有“父”义。后来，受社会制度和语言客观规律的双重制约，“哥”在后世主要作兄称。