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Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Essential Element in Geriatric Social Work
In This Issue:
Upcoming Deadlines
Announcements
Research & News
Funding Opportunities
Resources
Policy
Gerontology is, by its nature, an interdisciplinary science. Social workers in gerontology often work together with many other types of professionals including nurses, physicians, policymakers, and administrators. This month, we focus on how social workers and other professionals work together to spread awareness of the growing need for expertise in gerontology. The Geriatric Social Work Initiative has collected stories of collaborative research for this edition of Ripples. We would like to extend our thanks to all who shared information. We did our best to include as many items as we could and have designed a new page on our website to host stories and resources that did not make it into this edition and those that may be sent in the future. We invite you to view the new content on our website, as well as submit your own. If you have something to share, please email it to gswi@geron.org.
Upcoming Deadlines
CSWE APM Early Bird Registration Deadline August 31, 2010
GSA Annual Meeting Early Bird Registration Deadline September 1, 2010
VA Hartford Faculty Scholars Letter of Intent Due October 1, 2010
Hartford Faculty Scholars Applications Due February 1, 2011
Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program Applications Due February 1, 2011
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Announcements
Letter of Intent Due to VA for Consideration in New Partnership Program with Hartford Faculty Scholars
All interested applicants must receive approval to apply from the Veteran's Administration (VA) Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA). A letter of intent must be sent to the OAA no later than October 1, 2010. More information about the approval process is available on the VA Scholars Program webpage.
Congratulations to Dr. Hee Lee, Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies!
The University of Minnesota Center on Aging has named its Fesler-Lampert Chair in Aging Studies for 2010-11. This year’s honorary is Dr. Hee Yun Lee, Ph.D., a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar (Cohort VIII) and Hartford Doctoral Fellow (Cohort IV), is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, where she conducts research on efforts to improve quality of life, increase health literacy, and reduce cancer care disparities among elderly Asian American immigrants and other elderly populations. The endowed chair funds researchers and scholars to pursue projects that will further knowledge and understanding about aging and its effects on people.
2010 Gero-Ed Track at CSWE APM
The Gero-Ed Track at the Council on Social Work Education's 2010 Annual Program Meeting in Portland, OR, October 14–17, will feature not-to-be missed special events, including a Hot Topic Panel on innovating and sustaining services for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) elders, a panel on engaging students in gero social work, a kick-off speech with renowned expert on LGBT eldercare, Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, and the always-popular Gero-Ed Film Festival. Encourage your colleagues who address LGBT issues in their research and teaching to attend.
NAPSA Conference "Healing the Culture of Abuse"
National Adult Protected Services Association will be holding its annual conference "Healing the Culture of Abuse" from November 8-10 in San Diego, California. For more information and to register for the conference, click here.
Profiles in Social Work: Technology Use with Older Adults
In the latest edition of Profiles in Social Work, Dr. Adrian Kok tells about his affinity for gerontological social work and the desire to affect community usage of technology to improve infrastructure and, ultimately, quality of life. Read more about Technology Use with Older Adults here.
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Research & News
Drs. Chadiha and Redman Direct Bridges to the Doctorate Program for Nurses and Social Workers
Drs. Letha Chadiha and Richard Redman, in the Schools of Social Work and Nursing respectively, are co-directors of the University of Michigan’s Bridges to the Doctorate Program, a research training partnership between the University of Michigan (UM) Schools of Social Work and Nursing at Eastern Michigan University and California State University-Los Angeles. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the overall goal of the 3-year UM Bridges to the PhD Program is to provide 12 full-time students from selected underrepresented populations in terminal masters' social work and nursing degree programs with academic preparation and skills that will facilitate eventual successful completion of PhD degrees emphasizing behavioral sciences and health disparities research. If you would like to learn more about this program, contact Ms. Jennifer Hopson, Program Coordinator, by email (janbarn@umich.edu).
Depression Screening in Medically Ill Homecare Elderly
In the past two decades, home health care services have become a valuable source of community-based care for more and more medically ill patients. Although depression plagues many older adults, it continues to go untreated largely due to a lack of detection in home-care situations. Dr. Zvi Gellis, a Hartford Faculty Scholar (Cohort III), wrote an article on his research, Depression Screening in Medically Ill Homecare Elderly, for the Lyceum Books Best Practices in Mental Health Journal, utilizing collaborative reseach and practice to diagnose and treat depressed older adults. Dr. Gellis concludes that ongoing training in depression screening methods for home care professionals and caretakers, patient follow-up interviews, and appropriate referral would greatly improve the quality of life of depressed elderly homecare patients.
Dynamic Interdisciplinary Team Presents Research on Older Adults Living with HIV/AIDS
A presentation at the American Public Health Association this November will feature research by a team of social work, nursing, psychology, and aging professionals focused on older adults living with HIV/AIDS. Stigma, depression, and medication self-efficacy are already known to influence medication adherence, but this team examined these interrelationships specifically in older adults living with HIV/AIDS. If you would like to learn more about this special paper presentation, please click here.
Home Care Aides' Voices from the Field: An Interdisciplinary Study on Home Care Worker Retention
Dr. Sandra Butler, Professor at the School of Social Work, and Dr. Nancy Fishwick, Director and Associate Professor at the School of Nursing, are working together on the University of Maine Home Care Worker Retention Study (HCWRS), a three-year interdisciplinary project funded by the National Institute on Aging. This Academic Research Enhancement Award R-15 funding mechanism is geared particularly for smaller institutions—often without medical schools—which have received relatively small amounts of National Institutes of Health funding in the past. Students of both disciplines have worked together on data collection and analysis with guidance from the Butler and Fishwick and methodological consultants, creating a very exciting learning environment, with each member contributing to discussions from his or her own area of expertise. Results from the first wave of the HCWRS can be found in the article “Home Care Aides’ Voices from the Field” published this summer in the Home Healthcare Nurse. For further information contact Sandy Butler at sbutler@maine.edu.
Senior Health University Pairs Retired Health Professionals with Students for Interdisciplinary Education
Dr. Michele Day (Hartford Doctoral Fellow and Hartford Pre-Dissertation Awardee) and colleague Dr. Susan Dollar of Missouri State University recently received a $200,000.00 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to conduct an interdisciplinary project in functional health literacy. Senior Health University (SHU) will partner retired health professionals from the community with health profession students to deliver health literacy education in rural senior centers. Social workers, nurses and dietitians will comprise the interdisciplinary team. An online course on core health care knowledge, cross listed for nursing and social work students, will also be generated from the project. Accompanying research utilizing the Short Test of Functional Health literacy and other measures has been approved. Students from gerontology and public health courses may also be involved. SHU will take the collaboration to an interdisciplinary level by identifying core knowledge and tasks and engaging all students in all activities. The project is also hoped to identify preceptors for nursing and social work students who would introduce them to gerontology and the engagement of retired community members.
Global Aging: Cultural Comparisons Online Course Combines Social Work and Nursing on Global Scale
University of Iowa Associate Professors, Lisa Skemp (College of Nursing) and Mercedes Bern-Klug (School of Social Work) are co-instructing an on-line class this fall, “Global Aging: Cultural Comparisons.” This class is a required course for students earning a Certificate in Aging Studies at the University of Iowa. Skemp and Bern-Klug are using the World Health Organization’s “Active Aging” model as the organizing framework for the class. Bern-Klug is the Director of the Aging Studies Program at the University of Iowa and Hartford Doctoral Fellow (Cohort I), as well as a Hartford Faculty Scholar (Cohort V) , and Skemp is the Director of the Global Health Initiatives, part of the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the University of Iowa. For more information about this course, check the University of Iowa's course listings or contact Mercedes Bern-Klug at mercedes-bern-klug@uiowa.edu.
Goodwill Initiatives on Aging Offers Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program to Serve Older Adults
The W.D. Goodwill Initiatives on Aging offers practicum opportunities for students from Social Work, Gerontology and Nursing in its’ service program called Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN). This program serves older adults in the community by assisting them to remain independent in their homes by offering a variety of services including friendly visits, transportation, chore service, medication management, and counseling. Nursing students complete a community nursing rotation in the NHN program and work with Social Work students during that rotation. For more information on this program, please visit the Neighbors Helping Neighbors website.
Social Work and Nursing Collaboration in Palliative Care
Dr. Holly Nelson-Becker (Hartford Faculty Scholar, Cohort III) has co-authored a chapter on this topic with an RN, Betty Ferrell from the City of Hope in California. In the chapter, "Social Work and Nursing Collaboration in Palliative Care", they suggest five areas that should be foci of attention for successful collaboration: achievement of role clarity; open communication; fluidity; collective ownership of goals, self and team reflection, and structural support. The article will be published in the Textbook of Palliative Care, forthcoming from Oxford Press.
A Reflection on Carelink: A Collaboration That's Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Amy Berman, the Director of Nursing Education Initiatives at the John A Hartford Foundation, recently authored a very compelling post on the Foundation's blog, health AGEnda, which illustrates the collaborative nature of social work and the opportunities social workers and nurses have to work together via the Carelink Program. Dan Gardner, a Hartford Faculty Scholar (Cohort VII) and Hartford Doctoral Fellow (Cohort II) and the Carelink's social work coordinator, wrote an equally compelling response, which is included in the comments on that page, speaking to the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the ongoing education of both nursing and social work scholars.
Paramedics Could Play Larger Part in Rural Medicine
In rural areas of Nebraska, as adults are aging into retirement, the need for more health care practitioners who can work with older adults is on the rise. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is expanding the job description of paramedics working within the Emergency Medical Services/Trauma Program. The hope is that, with this new program, non-emergency paramedic visits would reduce the number of non-emergency ambulance calls.
India and Nepal Collaborate to Benefit Ageing Population in South Asia
The Geriatric Center Nepal in Kathmandu and the Senior Citizens Council of Delhi in India are working together to benefit the ageing population. Through the work of the non-profits, the governments of both countries have agreed to collaborate on issues facing the older people in South Asia. For a report on the outcomes and accomplishments of the collaboration, please download the full report here.
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Funding Opportunities
New Funding Opportunities from NIH
The National Institute of Health has a number of grant opportunities, which include, but are not limited to the following:
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Subjective Well-being: Advances in Measurement and Applications to Aging
- Regional and International Differences in Health and Longevity at Older Ages
For a more complete listing on the NIH funding available for aging-related research, please click here.
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Resources
Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being
The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics has released the report Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being, a 155 page document that includes statistics on the number of older Americans, racial and ethnic minorities, marital status, education, living arrangements, veterans, economics, poverty, income, participation in the labor force, housing problems, health status, life expectancy, chronic health conditions, sensory impairments and oral health, depressive symptoms, obesity, use of time, health care services, and residential services, among others. To download this .pdf document, click here.
Integrating Gerontological Content into Advanced Practice Nursing Education
Springer Publishing has just released a new resource on the integration of gerontological content to nursing practice education. The book, written by Carolyn Auerhahn and Laurie Kennedy-Malone is 224 pages and presents nursing faculty with clear guidelines for infusing the Advanced Practice Nursing programs with aging-related content without major changes to the overall curriculum. Topics include health policy, myths of aging, assessment of functional status, normal versus pathological changes in aging, and more. The authors present strategies to integrate blended technology and multiple resources to ensure that students gain gerontological competency.
New Resources from the Hartford Foundation Geropsychiatric Nursing Collaborative Now Available on POGOe
The Geropsychiatric Nursing Collaborative, a Hartford grantee, has developed several new resources to draw attention to the special needs of older adults with mental health concerns and psychiatric/substance misuse disorders.
· Geropsychiatric Nursing Competency Enhancements. These enhancements are not intended to stand alone but rather to enhance existing or anticipated competencies by relevant professional nursing organizations.
· Key Concepts. These key concepts are foundational to the geropsychiatric nursing competency enhancements.
· Definition of Geropsychiatric Nursing. This definition serves to guide future discussions about preparing nurses to care for older adults who have mental health concerns.
These resources are available on the Portal of Geriatric Online Education (www.POGOe.org) under the product ID 20660. You must register to search for the product (registration is free).
National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research has released the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging. With funding from the National Institute on Aging, the ICPSR has the largest library of searchable electronic data in the United States addressing issues relating to aging.
Chronic Disease and Co-Morbidity Among Dual Eligibles (Medicaid and Medicare)
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a report entitled Chronic Disease and Co-Morbidity Among Dual Eligibles: Implications for Patterns of Medicaid and Medicare Service Use and Spending. The study links Medicaid data with Medicare data to address chronic physical and mental conditions and co-morbidities which create the need for long-term dual services. To read more about the data and download the report, click here.
Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for Senior Living Communities
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a new resource entitled Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for Senior Living Communities. The toolkit includes both goals and actions steps and tools for implementing those action steps. To download the .pdf version of this document, click here.
International Association of Forensic Nurses' Nursing Response to Elder Mistreatment Curriculum
This downloadable resource helps nurses acquire essential knowledge and skills to appropriately respond to elder mistreatment. It is designed to prepare nurses to integrate nursing and forensic sciences into the care of vulnerable older adults who have been mistreated or are at high risk for mistreatment by trusted others. The curriculum includes modules that cover topics such as: Scope and Nature of Elder Mistreatment, Laws and Policies Related to Elder Mistreatment, Screening and Assessment for Elder Mistreatment, Forensic Evidence in Elder Mistreatment Cases, and Documentation in Elder Mistreatment Cases.
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Policy
Senate Committee on Aging Releases Report on Social Security Modernization
The Senate Committee on Aging has released a report called Social Security Modernization: Options to Address Solvency and Benefit Adequacy. The committee offers many potential options for change, which include: increasing the contribution rate, modifying the social security tax cap, options to extend social security to all workers, raising the age for full retirement benefits. To learn more, download the report here: http://www.globalaging.org/pension/world/2010/socialsecurity.pdf.
Despite Aging Baby Boomers, NIH Devotes Only 11% of Funds to Elderly Studies
Although the National Institute on Health has a budget of $31 billion, only $3.46 million is devoted to studies concerning aging, and most of the funding does not come through the National Institute on Aging, but through other NIH institutes. In the last fiscal year, only 17.5% of aging institute grants were approved whereas 20% of all NIH grants were approved and the aging statistic is expected to drop to only 13 or 14% in 2010. For more information on this topic, read the original article from the New York Times.
Safe Disposal of Medications Legislation Moves in Congress
The House and Senate committees of jurisdiction for safe disposal of medication have taken the first steps to amend federal law to address the barriers to safe disposal of unused medications and controlled substances. On July 28th, the House bill passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee by voice vote, the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2010, see http://energycommerce.house.gov/documents/20100722/HR5809_AINS.pdf . This bi-partisan bill allows local communities to create safe drug disposal programs providing consumers with a safe way to dispose of unneeded pharmaceuticals, including controlled substances. H.R. 5809 can be taken up by the full House. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee also passed by voice vote an amended S. 3397, The Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act. This bi-partisan bill also has the support of 41 state attorney generals. See original text of the bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.+3397.
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