Social Work in Health Care with Older Adults: Future Challenges

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Berkman ◽  
Daniel S. Gardner ◽  
Bradley D. Zodikoff ◽  
Linda K. Harootyan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Future Challenges

Dramatic changes in demography, epidemiology, and the financing and delivery of health care have significantly affected the lives of older adults and their families. The authors review current and future trends in aging and health care in the United States and their implications for social work practice in enhancing the health and well-being of older adults and their caregivers. Health care social work in the 21st century requires the development and application of evidence-based knowledge that reflects the interrelatedness of aging, physical and mental health, and intergenerational family processes. The authors demonstrate the value of social work research to issues that are in the forefront of gerontological health care practice, policy, and education.

Latinos and Latinas: Mexicans

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Curiel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Mexican Origin ◽  
Immigration Reform ◽  
Hispanic Origin

According to the 2010 Census, 308.7 million people resided in the United States on April 1, 2010, of which 50.5 million (or 16%) were of Hispanic or Latino origin. The Mexican-origin population increased by 54% since the previous Census, and it had the largest numeric increase (11.2 million), growing from 20.6 million in 2000 to 31.8 million in 2010 (Ennis, Rio-Vargas, & Albert, 2011). The current U.S. Census demographic information was used to project the social needs of Mexican-origin Hispanics. An estimated 11.2 million unauthorized Hispanic-origin migrants reside in the United States. Select provisions of the failed 2007 Immigration Reform Act are discussed in context of the Reagan Administration’s 1986 Immigration Reform Act. Key words are defined to facilitate understanding of issues presented that affect the well-being of the Mexican-origin population. Best social work practices for working with Mexican-origin Hispanics are proposed in the context of issues identified in the narrative. Future trends are speculative predictions with suggestions based on the author's social work practice experience, research, and knowledge of the literature.

Social Work with Older Adults and Their Families: Changing Practice Paradigms

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta R. Greene ◽  
Harriet L. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Aging Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Multiple Systems ◽  
Changing Practice ◽  
Work Intervention ◽  
Difficult Situations

Given the far-reaching social, economic, and demographic changes in the aging population, the authors argue for a methodological and practice-oriented transformation in future geriatric social work. The authors suggest that if they are to maintain their independence and well-being, a resilience-enhancing social work intervention will be especially effective in fostering the specific survival skills that older adults often already utilize to help them cope with difficult situations. A risk-resilience model sensitive to ethnic difference and practiced at multiple systems levels (e.g., the community) is offered as an advancement of the traditional models of social work practice. In conclusion, the authors emphasize the value of a strengths perspective to address the pressing issues that affect the aging population.

Is social work a green profession? An examination of environmental beliefs

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry V Shaw
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional

• Summary: Social work has developed to meet the needs of an industrializing society. As environmental concerns have increased, national, and international social work organizations have called on social workers to incorporate issues of the environment into their professional practice. Although there is a small body of literature related to social work and the environment, the profession has not fully embraced the need to incorporate these issues into social work education or practice. This cross-sectional survey in the United States of a random sample of National Association of Social Workers (NASW) members ( n = 373) was designed to gauge the environmental knowledge and attitudes of social work professionals. • Findings: Though social work shares many of the same underlying tenets of groups interested in environmental justice, results suggest that social workers as a profession are no more, nor less, environmentally friendly than the general population. • Applications: By failing to incorporate ecological issues facing the United States and abroad, our current social policies are at best not sustainable, and at worst dangerous for our continued social well-being. Social workers can play a leading role through an understanding of the interrelationship that exists between people and the environment, the integration of environmental issues into their social work practice, and advocating for vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals Traditional medicine in social work practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Holoff
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Western Medicine ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
World Health

This partial grounded theory study explores the topic of Traditional medicine in social work practice in Toronto, Canada. Given the dearth of knowledge in this area, I wanted to explore the contrapuntal nature of two social workers’ practice who refer to Traditional Medicine, and to conceptualize further on this approach. Social work literature and practice has paid little attention to this topic despite the field’s purported commitment to equity and social justice. This is largely a reflection of how greatly we take for granted the bias towards Western medicine in our public health care system and in the social work referral system that is aligned with it. The World Health Organization defines Traditional medicine as: “Health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques, and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose, and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being” (Fokunang et al., 2011). Such approaches, which are based on Indigenous and non-Western ways of knowing are not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), and thus remain largely inaccessible to the most financially marginalized. This is a problem for those who cannot afford to pay out of pocket for their health care. It is a grave disservice to those whose culture does not align with Western medicine; those whose health conditions have not been helped by Western medicine; and those who require a combination of Western and Traditional approaches to bring them to full health. This research explores the knowledge, experience, and processes of two social workers in Toronto who refer clients to Traditional medicine in spite of the structural bias towards Western medicine and its approaches. Key Words: Traditional medicine, social work practice, contrapuntal approach, decolonization, the Medicine Wheel, Toronto

Cross-Cultural Considerations for Social Work Practice:

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Paula T. Tanemura Morelli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Mental Illnesses

In the United States, our increasing populations of ethnic and racial minorities suffering with severe mental illnesses require culturally sensitive and culturally appropriate mental health services. The multiple facets of work involving culturally diverse individuals with severe mental illness challenge social work faculty to prepare students with salient, useful knowledge and skills. This teaching module, which utilizes the International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia: Five-year follow-up findings (Leff et al., 1992) is applicable to practice, human behavior in the social environment, and policy courses. The module examines the findings of a large scale, longitudinal study of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in nine countries. The learning process encourages students to think critically about the cross-cultural applicability of western diagnosis, treatment, and service provision models, to learn more about cultural constructions of illness and well-being, and to explore the nature of systemic and other barriers that prevent individuals with severe mental illness from obtaining services.

Promoting Actively Aging: Advancing a Framework for Social Work Practice with Older Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbra Teater ◽  
Jill Chonody
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theories Of Aging ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Gerontological Social Workers

The United States is experiencing a growing aging population, and the profession will need to increase the number of gerontological social workers. However, the social work profession has been relatively quiet in the debate on theories of aging as well as the development of approaches to social work practice with older adults. This article aims to further advance social work practice by critiquing existing aging theories or frameworks against social work values and ethical principles and by presenting the development of actively aging as a framework to guide practice with older adults. Actively aging considers the interplay between individuals' experiences; their meanings of aging; and their social, environmental, political, and cultural structures. The five principles of actively aging are presented, as well as considerations for future research and theory development on aging.

Using mobile apps in social work behavioral health care service: The case for China

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110319
Author(s):  
Julian Chun-Chung Chow ◽  
Laura Elizabeth Pathak ◽  
Shang Tzu (Trish) Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Behavioral Health Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice

Mobile apps have increasingly become an innovative tool that can provide information and resources to those who have service needs but often lack access to and knowledge about how to improve their well-being in today’s society. In China, although the number of Internet users has increased substantively, there has been little discussion on how mobile apps can help social workers in their delivery of behavioral health services. This article features three highly used apps that facilitate behavioral health care service delivery in the United States and provides recommendations for developing apps for social work practice in China.

scholarly journals Traditional medicine in social work practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Holoff
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Western Medicine ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
World Health

This partial grounded theory study explores the topic of Traditional medicine in social work practice in Toronto, Canada. Given the dearth of knowledge in this area, I wanted to explore the contrapuntal nature of two social workers’ practice who refer to Traditional Medicine, and to conceptualize further on this approach. Social work literature and practice has paid little attention to this topic despite the field’s purported commitment to equity and social justice. This is largely a reflection of how greatly we take for granted the bias towards Western medicine in our public health care system and in the social work referral system that is aligned with it. The World Health Organization defines Traditional medicine as: “Health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques, and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose, and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being” (Fokunang et al., 2011). Such approaches, which are based on Indigenous and non-Western ways of knowing are not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), and thus remain largely inaccessible to the most financially marginalized. This is a problem for those who cannot afford to pay out of pocket for their health care. It is a grave disservice to those whose culture does not align with Western medicine; those whose health conditions have not been helped by Western medicine; and those who require a combination of Western and Traditional approaches to bring them to full health. This research explores the knowledge, experience, and processes of two social workers in Toronto who refer clients to Traditional medicine in spite of the structural bias towards Western medicine and its approaches. Key Words: Traditional medicine, social work practice, contrapuntal approach, decolonization, the Medicine Wheel, Toronto

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