The BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program aims to infuse intergenerational content into the curriculum and recruit students to the field of social work by implementing face-to-face learning opportunities with older adults. This article discusses and compares the experiences of 4 diverse BEL projects that implemented gero-experiential learning…

In this study, the author uses the changing practice of geriatric care within transnational Taiwanese families as a case to examine the processes through which a family ideology "travels," varies, and operates across worlds. Specifically, the author argues that family members across generations reconstruct "rules of…

The thrust of human development over the life course is individuation. Birth groups grow more heterogeneous with age. Aside from there being a number of commonalities among members of cohorts, the stamp of life lived tends to increase individual differences, whether these be in organ functioning or other physical measures or social, psychological…

Purpose: Breathing and swallowing problems affect elderly people and may be related to age-associated tongue dysfunction. Hypoglossal motoneurons that innervate the tongue receive a robust, excitatory serotonergic (5HT) input and may be affected by aging. We used a rat model of aging and progressive resistance tongue exercise to determine whether…

This study addresses the transfer of training to quality care practices among leisure services professionals who serve older adults by applying the Social Structure and Personality approach, a social psychology framework that accounts for layers of influence in that process. Multiple demographic and policy changes contribute to a need for a…

This study consists of an oral history project that partnered MSW students with community dwelling older adults from diverse backgrounds. It used a comparison group with a pretest and posttest design and a sample of 74 MSW students to evaluate changes in their confidence levels, future plans of working with older adults, and geriatric…

Purpose of the Study: This paper is a revision of the Kent Award Lecture given at the Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in November, 2010. Design and Methods: This paper looks at the evolution in geriatric social work assessment and outcomes research and concludes with observations of the…

Latent difference score models (e.g., McArdle & Hamagami, 2001) are extended to include effects from prior changes to subsequent changes. This extension of latent difference scores allows for testing hypotheses where recent changes, as opposed to recent levels, are a primary predictor of subsequent changes. These models are applied to…

Professional practice with older adults is performed in a variety of settings and across a broad range of areas. Planning for care throughout the end of life represents an increasingly important aspect of work with older adults as a result of the nation's aging demographic and concomitant health care needs. Community-based geriatric case managers…

Age-related challenges to health and well-being among older adults give rise to a distinctive array of risk factors for suicide, calling for a unique approach to suicide interventions. Americans over the age of 65 are disproportionally overrepresented in the number of completed suicides. This paper examines the epidemiology of geriatric suicide,…

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), known as presbycusis, is characterized by progressive deterioration of auditory sensitivity, loss of the auditory sensory cells, and central processing functions associated with the aging process. ARHL is the third most prevalent chronic condition in older Americans, after hypertension and arthritis, and is a…

A person-centered care (PCC) training program was developed and disseminated to 84 institutes for retired religious persons across the United States. The program was delivered via a train-the-trainer model wherein institute trainers attended a 2-day training conference, then taught the material to direct care workers (DCWs) at their respective…

The education mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to train health professionals to benefit VA and the United States. One approach for achieving that mission, along with VA's research and clinical missions, was the establishment of Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) in 1975. These were developed at VA…

The authors describe the prevalence, formation, maintenance, and evaluation of student aging interest groups. They conducted a cross-sectional electronic survey of the 46 academic medical centers funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. To evaluate their group of approximately 50 students, the authors conducted an electronic pretest and…

The international community is facing the pressure of aging societies. In the United States of America, we will shortly be facing the aging of baby boomers, a dramatically large population expected to peak as senior citizens in 2030 at 70 million. Global societies are facing a crisis: lack of adequately trained and emotionally oriented personnel…