Examine recently developed concepts and strategies to help social workers and caregivers improve the quality of care for senior citizens! Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care focuses on two major aspects of elderly care: assessment and caregiving. This book examines assessment techniques and models used by social workers and other health care professionals to determine the type and extent of care necessary to meet the needs of the elderly. In addition, it voices recent concerns about the use of standardized models for all older adults. This book also addresses the burdens and benefits of being a caregiver to older relatives or friends and mentions several programs made available for caregivers through social services. Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care reviews assessment techniques and practice models that address issues such as abuse and HIV/AIDS care. This book also provides information about currently overlooked issues that will increasingly affect assessment and intervention, including diversity in cultural or religious beliefs and sexual orientation. This book is also unique in its focus on those unsung, unpaid heroes—relatives and friends—who assist elderly companions with their financial, social, and physical daily needs. With Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care you’ll find vital information on: two elderly victims’ services, one involving social services and the other involving criminal action the challenges of assessing older adults with HIV/AIDS the pros and cons of long-distance caregiving a life course assessment intervention model used at military colleges to help officers prepare proactively for parent care the Caregivers and Professionals Partnership (CAPP), which employs innovative outreach strategies to family caregivers of adults the Northport VA Friendly Companion Program, which enhances opportunities for interpersonal interaction African-American caregivers and their experiences with African-American elders Social workers and caregivers will find the information in this book vital in their work. Generously enhanced with tables, charts, case studies, references, and personal vignettes, Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care will help you improve quality of life for the older adults of today—and tomorrow.

Annotation Focuses on two major aspects of elderly care: assessment and caregiving. This book examines assessment techniques and models used by social workers and other health care professionals to determine th type and extent of care necessary to meet the needs of the elderly.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Learn how to make a more positive impact with your social work with the aged Religion is an important coping mechanism for many aging adults. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging: A Social Work Perspective presents the latest research that shows how religion and spirituality can improve quality of life for elders. Respected social work researchers and scholars provide insight and practical methods for fostering positive aging while also considering how spirituality and religion can affect practitioners themselves. The full range of advantages and ethical implications are discussed in clear detail from a social work viewpoint. Case studies plainly illustrate the positive impact that the inclusion of spirituality and religion in an aging person’s life may have on their physical and mental welfare. Organized social work in the early twentieth century actively tried to distance itself from its roots as a form of religious charity in favor of becoming a scientific and professional endeavor. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging once again bridges the gap between social work and spiritual matters by presenting penetrating articles that discusses the issues of the aging soul while examining ways to improve care. Creative strategies are offered to contribute to the spiritual side of aging while considering every implication and ethical question. The compilation is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures and tables to clearly illustrate data and ideas. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging discusses: the latest social work trends and attitudes toward spirituality prayer, meditation, and acts of altruism as interventions an empirical study of how social workers use religion and spirituality as an intervention ethical considerations and best practices religion and spirituality during long-term care the “Postcards to God” project dreams and their relationship to the search for meaning in later life a spiritual approach to positive aging through autobiography dementia and spirituality creating new rituals for sacred aging spiritual master Henri Nouwen’s principles of aging—and his approaches to caring for older people an interview study on elders’ spirituality and the changes manifested in their views of religion Religion, Spirituality, and Aging is a remarkable reminder that elders are our future selves. This erudite, well-reasoned examination of aging and spirituality from a social work perspective is crucial reading for social workers, human service professionals who work with the aged, and gerontology scholars.

This book distills the wealth of knowledge contained in the classic text, Geriatric Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach, 4/e into a practical guide for primary care, family medicine, and internal medicine residents. Written by top experts in the field, the book offers a detailed, compact overview of geriatric care. It addresses geriatric pharmacology, Medicare and Medicaid, and numerous other subjects unique to older adults. The case-based instructional approach helps readers navigate the complexity of prevention, presentation, and treatment for conditions such as depression, dementia, and hypertension. Graphs and tables aid the reader in determining the proper courses of treatment.

Published in cooperation with the Center for Practice Innovations, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University Increased life expectancy, the deinstitutionalization of persons with mental illness, the rise of home health care, and advances in medical technology have resulted in greater numbers of dependent people requiring care by family members. The frail elderly, the chronically mentally ill, and the physically disabled are examples of such groups who now receive their daily care in the community. How do families accept the burden of this care? What are the physical and emotional demands of such caregiving? Are the families prepared to assume this role? Family Caregiving Across the Lifespan considers the broad spectrum of chronic illnesses that necessitate family caregiving throughout the lifespan and expands the caregiving paradigm by including in its focus both members of the caregiving dyad and significant non-family caregivers. It also explores the social context in which care is provided--an entire section of the volume is devoted to discussions of the interface between informal and formal caregivers and society at large. Among the other subjects this volume addresses are the negative consequences of family caregiving, the value of providing support to caregivers, and caregivers of persons living with AIDS. Family Caregiving Across the Lifespan is important reading for those in social work, nursing, family medicine, and clinical psychology. "Family Caregiving Across the Lifespan represents a significant milestone in the continuing maturation of this vital area of long-term care. The title is an understatement of the authors′ accomplishments. . . .Rather than offering narrow boxes or labels, the book invites the reader to join in a broadened perspective on caregiving so that it can more fully reflect the richness of the lives of all involved. . . .For those who encounter Family Caregiving Across the Lifespan as part of their continuing study of caregiving, the book provides the integrating milestone of caregiving literature." --Journal of Case Management "This volume is a useful compendium of articles on family caregiving. The fourteen chapters in this volume address many important topics in family caregiving. One of the book′s major contributions is its clarification that family caregiving to frail or chronically ill people has no age limitation, although there are unique issues at different points in the development of individuals and families. The book has exceptional merit. It expands our understanding of family caregiving, provides important ideas for future research, offers research findings that enhance our understanding of family care, and presents a very useful review of the literature. This book would be a beneficial addition to the library of all researchers in the area of caregiving. They will discover worthwhile conceptualizations and gain new insights that can inform their research. Practitioners should also benefit from this collection. The chapters addressing interaction between forma land informal caregivers should give practitioners a deeper understanding of how to be more effective in dealing with informal caregivers and care recipients." -Ageing & Society "One paper [in this volume] deserves particular notice because it attempts to do what many of the authors feel is most critical in caregiving research but also most difficult, namely, to analyze the effectiveness of caregiving, the effect of provision of care on elder health outcomes. This is an important and original conceptualization of the problem..." -Steven M. Albert, Contemporary Gerontology "This book is both unique and valuable because it embraces Brody′s observation that family caregiving is not limited to a specific segment of the life span. Moreover, the book is not limited to filial caregiving, but entertains an impressive variety of contexts of family caregiving. . . . This book will be a valuable text in graduate-level courses." --Journal of Marriage and the Family