Medicare home health care provides critical skilled nursing and therapy services to patients in their homes, generally after a period in an inpatient facility or nursing home. Disparities in access to, or outcomes of, home health care can result in patient deterioration and increased cost to the Medicare program if patient care needs intensify.…

This article describes the R15, Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) mechanism available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for institutions that do not typically receive substantial NIH funding. Equipped with training received at the St. Scholastica National Institute on Social Work and Aging, I was able to secure AREA funding…

The Institute on Aging and Social Work (IASW) provides social work faculty with advanced training in aging research with the goal of mentoring individuals to develop National Institutes of Health (NIH) research proposals. The program offers an excellent opportunity for top-level training with nationally recognized experts in research methodology…

Considerable research highlights the value of mentorship to the professional development of early career faculty in academia, yet less research focuses on factors motivating individuals to provide formal guidance to junior colleagues. Given that new social work faculty, in particular, may not receive sufficient mentoring, understanding what…

This article examines the contribution of older adults as co-researchers to the evaluation of a gerontological social work course. The evaluation was conducted at an Israeli college as part of a collaborative project with a United Kingdom university. Here, we follow the older adults who are service users through their transition to the role of…

Decisions about treatment and options for care at the end stage of an advanced chronic illness are important determinants of the quality of a person's death and of how family members adapt in bereavement. This article describes the steps taken to secure federal funding to study how people make the decision to enroll in hospice. The National…

This study evaluated whether two evidence-based methods used collaboratively, intergenerational colearning and use of films/documentaries in an educational context, enhanced knowledge levels and attitudes toward older adults in nursing, social work, and other allied profession students. Students participated in a gerontology film festival where…

Workers serving Ohio's aging population will require increased levels of gerontological education. Using data from 55 Ohio counties, this project investigated the educational needs and reasons for seeking education from professionals in aging. Respondents reported interest in attaining aging related education. Preferred delivery methods…

This study examined whether attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration (Physician-Nurse, Physician-Social Worker, Nurse-Social Worker) held by medical, social work, and nursing students changed after completing an interprofessional curriculum consisting of (a) Interprofessional Education Development Session and (b) the Senior Aging and…

Since 2004, we have offered a postgraduate training program in aging research for social work faculty from across the country. The overarching goal of the program is to expand the pool of social work faculty engaged in aging research. This, in turn, will reinvigorate participants' teaching; prepare them to update aging-related content in the…

Using graduate social work students' data ("n" = 481) in the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) in the United States, the study examined psychometric properties of the Knowledge of Aging for Social Work Quiz (KASW), a revision of the Facts on Aging Quiz, to evaluate biopsychosocial knowledge relevant to social…

Although several interprofessional education projects have addressed training allied health students for effective teamwork in geriatrics, few curriculum evaluation studies have examined differences in learning outcomes between interprofessional and traditional uniprofessional approaches, especially for social work students. This paper compares…

As the prevalence of suicide among the elderly has developed in recent years into one of the more serious social problems in South Korea, preventing these elderly suicides has emerged as a national priority. Korean social workers play a major role in the recent elderly suicide prevention efforts that were implemented starting in 2007. The purpose…

Social work students have reported in previous studies that they receive insufficient coursework and training to work effectively with older adults. A critical factor in these deficiencies may be the level of knowledge of social work faculty. This study sought to assess social work faculty's knowledge of aging using the Knowledge of Aging for…

We present findings from interviews with 17 first-year MSWs assigned to gerontological placements undertaken before beginning--and again as they neared completion--of practicum. All respondents, even those most positive and negative at beginning of placement, report a reduction in stereotypes, improved appreciation of older adults' capacities and…