Increasing aging content in social work curriculum: perceptions of key constituents

This mixed methodology study examines the perceptions of key constituents regarding methods for effectively integrating aging content into the foundation curriculum of the BSW and MSW program at the University of Georgia School of Social Work. Students were asked to complete a survey to determine their perception of geriatric content that existed within the foundation coursework. Following an analysis of the survey results, eight semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted with a purposeful sample of students, faculty, field instructors, social work alumni, older adults from the community, and representatives from aging agencies. The intention of these focus groups was to find out what aging content should be infused within the curriculum. The focus group meetings were held in various locations throughout Northeast Georgia and in one remote location in South Georgia. Participants were interviewed about the necessary skills and knowledge for social workers practicing with an aging population in the areas of: essential intervention skills, program policies and regulations, critical information needed to develop client service plans, strategies for addressing service delivery fragmentation, and community collaboration to support intergenerational family needs. The results of this study will be discussed to provide suggestions on how existing foundation courses can integrate aging content.     

The Attitudes of Social Work Students Toward End-of-Life Care Planning

This study examined the attitudes of social work students toward end-of-life care planning, as well as their degree of willingness to engage in this area of social work practice. Factors associated with their attitudes were measured through structured surveys completed by 102 social work students (N = 102) at a school of social work in the southeast. Results indicated that these social work students tended to have positive attitudes toward end-of-life care planning in general. Moreover, these attitudes were positively associated with preference for pain relief treatment, higher levels of comfort when discussing death, more emphasis on self-determination, and apprehension of conflicts of self-determination. The results of this study underscored the increased societal need for recognition of personal preferences in end-of-life care, higher levels of comfort when discussing death, and an increased commitment of social workers' to maintaining the ethical principle of the client's right to self-determination in end-of-life planning. While this is not surprising, it points to a continuing need to re-assess where the field stands in its preparation of social work professionals who will work closely with people who are dying and their families.     

Measurement biases in user involvement research

Considerable research has been conducted to demonstrate user involvement's effect on information system success. User involvement and system success typically have been measured by asking users for their perceptions of these variables. This paper reports on a field study conducted to investigate the possibility that this approach to measuring study variables tends to overstate the benefits of user involvement. The link of user involvement to user satisfaction is found to be significantly weaker when user involvement is assessed by systems analysts than when it is self reported. Further, this difference is found to be greater for systems with few users than for systems with many users. The findings suggest that common method variance and self-serving bias may have overstated the apparent benefits of user involvement in past research on information systems. Suggestions for future research are presented.     

Caregiver burden, dementia, and elder abuse in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to identify characteristics that would increase the likelihood that a Korean older adult with dementia being cared for by a family caregiver is at risk of being abused. This analysis was based on a sample of 481 primary family caregivers from the data of Comprehensive Study for the Elderly Welfare Policy in Seoul (2003). Multiple regression analysis was used to examine predictors among the demographic characteristics of caregivers and care recipients, the severity of cognitive impairment, functional ability, caregiver burden, and social support for the degree of elder abuse. The degree of elder abuse was significantly associated with caregiver burden, mental impairment, dependency of daily living of care recipient, and use of formal services.     

Grandparent caregivers

Although grandparent caregiving is not a new phenomenon in the United States, there has been a dramatic increase in grandparent-headed households in the last two decades. Many of these care providers are older and feel somewhat unprepared to raise a new generation of children. As a result, grandparent caregivers are at risk for multiple physical, mental, and emotional problems due to the stresses and strains of care provision. This article summarizes characteristics of grandparent caregivers in our society, the challenges that they face, and how organizations are attempting to assist these older adults with their care provision responsibilities. Recommendations for future research and intervention design will also be discussed.     

How Women in Late Midlife Become Caregivers for Their Aging Parents

Approximately 52 million Americans provide informal (unpaid) care to a family member or friend who is disabled or ill. The most common informal caregiving relationship is that of an adult child providing assistance to an aging parent. This article describes a qualitative study examining how adult daughters between the ages of 50 and 65 become caregivers to their parent or parent-in-law. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 15 female caregivers. Analysis revealed that assistance provided to parents was initiated by one or more triggering event, after which participants became caregivers in either an emergent or deliberate manner.     

Challenges for grandparent housing programs

The purpose of this article is to explore the current and developing grandparent caregiver housing programs throughout the United States. Telephone interviews were conducted with eight current and proposed sites for grandparent and/or relative caregivers throughout the United States. Housing design, funding sources, referral sources, service provided, and rules and regulations of the housing programs were discussed. Funding, education, and advocacy appeared crucial to helping these families provide safe homes for the children in their care. Recommendations are made for social workers and grandparent caregivers to lobby legislators for increases in funding for programs nationwide to ensure all grandparent families have safe, affordable and accessible housing.