This newest edition of a core graduate level textbook has added six new chapters to further enrich the "gerontological imagination," and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging. Academically rigorous yet clear and accessible, the text provides the most current findings from leading gerontological researchers and practitioners. New and updated chapters examine biology, exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, economics, human development, psychology, political science, sociology, social work, and law, to provide broadly drawn perspectives on the study of aging.

Special emphasis is placed on current challenges regarding policy and service delivery in the face of fiscal uncertainty. Additionally, this new edition covers international outlooks on aging given the increasing influence of globalization on individual lives. By interweaving knowledge from a broad range of disciplines, Wilmoth and Ferraro have created a comprehensive picture of gerontology today that will enhance course instruction and provide a new window into the future of the discipline. New chapters address:

Geriatric medicine and nursing Communication disorders and aging International and cross-cultural perspectives on aging Public policy and the needs of diverse aging populations Geriatric social work Legal perspectives on aging Key Features:

Interweaves current gerontological research and ideas from multiple disciplines Addresses biology, psychology, human development, sociology, and economics as they relate to gerontology Presents additional disciplinary perspectives including exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, political science, social work, and law. Includes Ferraro's classic chapter on "The Gerontological Imagination"

Focusing on mental health rather than mental illness, this book adopts a lifecourse approach to understanding mental health and wellbeing in later life. Well-respected author and scholar Alisoun Milne explores the influences of lifecourse experiences, structural inequalities, socio-political context, history, gender and age related factors and engages with new ways of thinking about preventing mental ill health and promoting mental health in later life. Drawing together material from a number of different fields, the book analyses the meaning and determinants of mental health among older populations and offers a critical review of the lifecourse, ageing and mental health discourse for students, professionals, policy makers and researchers.

Can traditional arts improve an older adult's quality of life? Are arts interventions more effective when they align with an elder's cultural identity? In The Expressive Lives of Elders, Jon Kay and contributors from a diverse range of public institutions argue that such mediations work best when they are culturally, socially, and personally relevant to the participants. From quilting and canning to weaving and woodworking, this book explores the role of traditional arts and folklore in the lives of older adults in the United States, highlighting the critical importance of ethnographic studies of creative aging for both understanding the expressive lives of elders and for designing effective arts therapies and programs. Each case study in this volume demonstrates how folklore and traditional practices help elders maintain their health and wellness, providing a road map for initiatives to improve the lives and well-being of America's aging population.

Get a wealth of information about the theory and practice of social work with older adults, their families, and their caregivers! Although there is a considerable amount of writing on both group work and social work with the elderly, there is surprisingly little about applying this practice method to this specific age group. Group Work and Aging: Issues in Practice, Research, and Education fills this gap by presenting penetrating articles about a mutual aid approach to working with diverse groups of older adults with varied needs. Respected experts and gifted researchers provide case studies, practice examples, and explanation of theory to illustrate this practice method with aging adults, their families, and their caregivers. Group Work and Aging: Issues in Practice, Research, and Education discusses in-depth information on group work with gay and lesbian elders, caregivers, elders with Alzheimer's disease, service providers, special populations such as Vietnamese and Latino/a elders, and provides information on the use of expressive therapies like art, drama, and dance. Each well-referenced chapter presents high quality, up-to-date social group work practice strategies to prepare practitioners for the needs of the growing population of elderly in the near future. Group Work and Aging: Issues in Practice, Research, and Education discusses: the adaptation of group work practice approaches when working with older group members the use of a Record of Service as an analytical tool in group work with aging lesbians a chronicle of a student's field placement at a drop-in center for homeless senior citizens the sociocultural reality of the Asian immigrant elderly residential substance abuse treatment for older adults mutual aid groups for older persons with mental illness the relationship between caregiver support groups and the marker framework of family caregiving telephone caregiver support groups group work interventions with elderly parents of adults with severe mental illness a program for the development and implementation of an intergenerational singing group support groups as an effective therapy at end-of-life the use of a mutual aid group with home attendants and much more! Group Work and Aging: Issues in Practice, Research, and Education reveals the latest examples of good group work practice with aging adults and their support systems, perfect for practitioners, educators, and anyone interested in and/or work with older adults.

As the drive towards creating age-friendly cities grows, this important book provides a comprehensive survey of theories and policies aimed at improving the quality of life of older people living in urban areas. In this book, part of the Ageing in a Global Context series, leading international researchers critically assess the problems and the potential of designing age-friendly environments. The book considers the different ways in which cities are responding to population ageing, the different strategies for developing age-friendly communities, and the extent to which older people themselves can be involved in the co-production of age-friendly policies and practices. The book includes a manifesto for the age-friendly movement, focused around tackling social inequality and promoting community empowerment.

As the drive towards creating age-friendly cities grows, this important book provides a comprehensive survey of theories and policies aimed at improving the quality of life of older people living in urban areas. In this book, part of the Ageing in a Global Context series, leading international researchers critically assess the problems and the potential of designing age-friendly environments. The book considers the different ways in which cities are responding to population ageing, the different strategies for developing age-friendly communities, and the extent to which older people themselves can be involved in the co-production of age-friendly policies and practices. The book includes a manifesto for the age-friendly movement, focused around tackling social inequality and promoting community empowerment.

Engagement in meaningful activity is an important aspect of human existence, regardless of one's cognitive abilities. Even in the later stages of dementia, people can still be engaged in activities at a level that allows them to be successful. In fact in these later stages, where cognitive abilities may be waning, the need for activity becomes greater, as cognitive stimulation helps preserve what skills remain. For care staff looking after older people, many of whom may have some degree of dementia, coming up with ideas for activities of a suitable level to keep their residents engaged and stimulated can be challenging. The Activity Year Book solves this problem, offering week by week themed activities. From Valentine's Day quizzes to Bonfire Night word searches, it has activities relating to every important date in the calendar, and also encourages reminiscence and discussion around these events. This book will be invaluable to care staff looking for a simple way of improving the lives of their residents, week by week, all year round.

This first hand report on the work of nurses and other caregivers in a nursing home is set powerfully in the context of wider political, economic, and cultural forces that shape and constrain the quality of care for America's elderly. Diamond demonstrates in a compelling way the price that business-as-usual policies extract from the elderly as well as those whose work it is to care for them.
In a society in which some two million people live in 16,000 nursing homes, with their numbers escalating daily, this thought-provoking work demands immediate and widespread attention.
"[An] unnerving portrait of what it's like to work and live in a nursing home. . . . By giving voice to so many unheard residents and workers Diamond has performed an important service for us all."--Diane Cole, "New York Newsday"
"With "Making Gray Gold," Timothy Diamond describes the commodification of long-term care in the most vivid representation in a decade of round-the-clock institutional life. . . . A personal addition to the troublingly impersonal national debate over healthcare reform."--Madonna Harrington Meyer, "Contemporary Sociology"

Spousal bereavement seems to be one of the most devastating things a person can suffer through during the course of his or her life and it can result in adverse bio-psycho-social consequences for the left behind spouse. This book offers updated views from incorporating meaning making theory and social constructionist theory to examine the mediating roles of meaning making and help readers to understand grief and bereavement experiences of the widowed elderly population in China. The volume starts with elaborating on the meaning making model, followed by an overview of grief theories and traditional culture, including empirical feedback of the results of applying the model to Chinese elderly widows and widowers. Pan's book concludes with a discussion on the implications and limitations of this research as well as future directions. The volume provides valuable theoretical reflection and empirical evidence on grief and bereavement experiences of the elderly population in China. By combining meaning making theory with a social constructionist perspective, this research develops a novel approach to apply Western models and theories to the Chinese context and effectively study China's elderly population and their grief and bereavement experiences. This volume brings the readers the benefits of understanding Chinese cultural doctrines regarding death and life, getting a comprehensive view on meaning making theory, as well as learning the specific coping skills of Chinese elderly in widowhood. This volume merits the attention of those in the fields of mental health, social work, and gerontology to help further their understanding of meaning making systems in a non-western setting.

The first of its kind, this volume is a critical companion for service providers who work with African American, American Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican elders and their families in nursing homes and other settings addressing placement issues. These groups are likely to use nursing homes in larger numbers as cultural shifts, such as higher divorce rates and increased outside-of-home employment for females, transform traditional family dynamics. Contributors are experienced social workers, and most belong to the specific ethnic or racial group that is the focus of their chapter and have also provided nursing home services to this group. They provide a wealth of demographic, historical, cultural, and practice information crucial to understanding and providing services to older adults and their families.

Many nursing home residents experience physical and/or cognitive debilitation and increased dependence as older adults, and cultural and situational differences create variations in how these changes are experienced and addressed. In this volume, contributors touch upon all of these areas as well as ways in which prejudice and discrimination have shaped intergenerational and other relationships for members of specific ethnic and racial groups. Little has been written about the characteristics, needs, and experiences of racially and ethnically diverse nursing home residents and their families and requirements for culturally competent social work practice. Written by social workers for social workers and other service providers, this book fills a gap in a rapidly growing area of gerontological service and provides a truly comprehensiveexamination of cultural and practice phenomena.

The book examines the health rights of older persons who are more likely potentially to face various disadvantages in terms of healthcare access and affordability, thereby impacting on health outcomes. The point of departure in the analyses is that the health security of older persons is guaranteed only if a country approaches the health of its citizens out of moral obligation, viewing health and well-being as a right rather than an entitlement. Data from five countries in the ASEAN region are analysed with the intent of highlighting the health inequalities and barriers at the societal and individual levels, on the one hand, as well as the gaps at the health and healthcare policy and programmatic levels within each country, on the other. It is also intended that the analyses of the data from the selected countries which represent different stages of development, and thus income levels, provide a useful comparative framework for policymakers in the ASEAN region.

Neoliberal political discourses have normalised the belief in northern European countries that individuals are responsible for their health and wellbeing, regardless of social class, gender or ethnic background. Drawing on examples from Germany, Sweden and the UK, Simmonds critically examines how the neoliberalisation and marketisation of health and social care have created an adverse environment for older people, who lack social and cultural capital to access the care they need. This crucial analysis scrutinises provision for ageing populations on an individual, national and global level. Challenging current political and social policy approaches, this rigorous text discusses innovative solutions to contemporary challenges in a complex care system.

Resilience is an area of growing interest within critical gerontology and policy agendas. In this book, researchers from multiple disciplines critically reflect on ways in which cultural engagement can develop social connectivity and improve resilience for older people, and how the built environment, community living, cultural participation, lifelong learning, and artist-led interventions can all help people to thrive in older age.

Your needs as a caregiver are just as important as those your family member with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. This book will provide just the insight and guidance you need. Caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or dementia is hard. It's hard whether you're caring for your spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, other family member, or friend. Even if you had an extra ten hours each day to do it, it's hard to manage all the problems that come with dementia. And caring for a loved one with dementia can sometimes feel like a long, lonely journey. Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia can help, addressing concerns such as: * Is the problem Alzheimer's, dementia, or something else? * How do you approach problems in dementia? * How do you manage problems with memory, language, and vision? * How do you cope with emotional and behavioral problems? * What are the best ways to manage troubles with sleep and incontinence? * Which medications can help? * Which medications can actually make things worse? * How do you build your care team? * Why is it important to care for yourself? * How do you sustain your relationship with your loved one? * How do you plan for the progression of dementia? * How do you plan for the end and beyond? Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia is comprehensive yet written in an easy-to-read style, featuring clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Productive Aging: An Occupational Perspective is a concise and practical text that takes a fresh look at our rapidly expanding and diverse older population. Recognizing the unique identity of each older person, this text provides client-centered guidelines for maximizing function, independence, and wellness. Productive Aging also outlines self-management strategies for promoting participation and engagement in productive occupations for the older persons own continuing development, health, and well-being. Productive Aging not only summarizes current evidence, but it looks into the lives of forty productive agers who shared their personal perspective with the authors as part of an original qualitative study. These participant stories, often told in the participants own words, describe how current theories of aging are applied in the lives of older adults who are currently living the experience. Older adults ages 60 to 98 describe the effective strategies they used to manage their own aging process, to structure healthy lifestyles and social connections, and to intentionally direct their own productive occupations in satisfying and meaningful ways. The results of this qualitative research study have led to a grounded theory of Conditional Independence, which guides occupational therapy approaches to productive aging in practice. Authors Marilyn B. Cole and Dr. Karen C. Macdonald explore the six productive occupations that researchers have identified as typical of older adults today: self-management, home management, volunteering, paid work, care giving, and lifelong learning. In addition to summarizing current research and theories within each occupation, concrete strategies and techniques relative to these roles are detailed, with multiple examples, case studies, and learning activities. Throughout Productive Aging, interviews with experienced practitioners, administrators, and educators reveal some of the implications of various trends and techniques. For occupational therapists, descriptions of settings and types of intervention are consistent with the latest version of AOTA's Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, Third Edition. In addition to promoting productive occupations within traditional institutional and medical-based practice, occupational therapy roles include that of consultant, educator, and advocate when treating individuals, groups, and populations in home care, organizational, and community settings. Special attention is given to developing the ability to become an effective self-manager, facilitating social participation, and maximizing clients applied functional abilities. Productive Aging: An Occupational Perspective is the perfect addition to the bookshelf of occupational therapy students, faculty, and clinicians, as well as any health care practitioner who would like to update his or her knowledge of the aging individual within his or her current practice settings.

Come through the doors of the care homes with the care home manager, the home to our elderly, vulnerable adults, their final home. Experience the day-to-day life as a Registered manager and share some of her tales she tells. Susie tells her tales of horror and heartbreak but also those that will make you laugh and smile and happenings you will find unbelievable... Life in a care home, written by a care home manager. This little book will touch hearts and give an understanding of what it means to work in our care homes, the people we meet and those we care for, and those we work with. A Most Precious Gift is a token of thanks to all our staff that work in care homes and for those that showed their commitment and empathy working through the Covid Pandemic.

Providing guidance and advice on the challenging art of listening, this book responds directly to the expressed learning needs of hospice and palliative care volunteers regarding their communication skills in end-of-life care. Listening can be mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausting, often highlighted in books about hospice and palliative care but never taking the spotlight. This accessible companion provides hospice and palliative care workers with a variety of helpful insights and suggestions drawn from a solid base of current theoretical concepts and clinical research. With personal reflections on being listened to, the guide includes strategies for becoming a more effective listener, as well as exploring the challenges of listening, the need for self-care and spiritual and ethical considerations. By expanding their own capacity for empathy, compassion and understanding the wider narrative of illness, hospice and palliative care volunteers will become even better listeners in their essential roles.

Geropsychology-the field of psychology concerned with the psychological, behavioral, biological, and social aspects of aging-has developed repidly in the past two decades, in response to the ever increasing aging population worldwide. This clinical casebook describes current best practice in managing complex cases involving common mental health issues in later life. It includes chapters by leading authorities in the field-experienced practitioners, researchers, and educators-who address contemporary issues in clinical work with older adults. It will be useful for clinicians wishing to update their practice, educators looking for case material to enrich their didactic courses, and students and practitioners new to working with older adults seeking guidance in approaching casework with this population. The book spans the international arena of practice, illustrating both universal themes in clinical work as well as regional practice issues that can inform health professionals more broadly. Each chapter is designed to inform the reader about the rich context in which clinical work occurs, including how the setting, the therapist's approach, and the nature of the problem interact to influence outcomes. Throughout, the cases have been carefully chosen to reflect archetypal scenarios and provide practical, empirically informed guidance for assessment, formulation, and formulation, and interventions. The cases deal with complex issues of diagnosis and formulation, assessment and intervention techniques, ethical and legal issues, and interdisciplinary perspectives that will appeal to a wide range of mental health professionals. The text provides points for reflection from the cases, as well as key references in the area, with an emphasis on current issues and theoretical perspectives. Providing a range of expertise in a single source, the Casebook of Clinical Geropsychology is an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with the mental health needs of older people.

The "oldest old," individuals aged 85 and above, are the most rapidly growing segment of American society. And although more than a third of cancer occurs in people over 75 years of age, their tumors are less fully diagnosed and often less fully treated than those in younger patients. Ageism may account for this discrepancy--why intervene if an older man or woman with cancer doesn't have long to live anyway? Yet older people often tolerate chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation as well as younger patients, while continuing to maintain their quality of life for years to come.The lack of clinical trials among this age group results in a deficit of knowledge regarding how to treat cancer in older adults. Little has been written to guide clinicians, social scientists, families, and individuals. In "Cancer in the Lives of Older Americans: Blessings and Battles," Sarah H. Kagan writes from the perspective of more than twenty years of practice, inquiry, and education as a nurse. She uses anecdotes and case studies to illustrate important points about cancer among older adults.The book follows the story of Mrs. Eck, a woman in her 80s diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Mrs. Eck's situation sets the stage for a discussion of cancer, which too often focuses on cells and drugs, diagnoses and prognoses without looking more closely at the people who are experiencing the disease. Chapters offer varied assessments of what it means to be old and have cancer in our society, as Kagan explores other real experiences of cancer for older adults alongside information that will prove essential to patients, their families, scholars, and clinicians.

Overwhelmed by handling your aging loved one's affairs? Is your parents' estate in good order? Do you know what their wishes are and how you can honor them? Are you struggling with where your parent can be best cared for following a hospital stay? Are you feeling guilty or manipulated by your family? Using real life examples, Aging in Place is instrumental in promoting healthy family discourse on these important topics. Mary Mashburn discusses the roadblocks and pitfalls you and your family might encounter, explains many useful planning techniques, and provides information on local and national resources. Whether in the midst of a crisis or just beginning to discuss options with loved ones, you gain valuable insight and information that guides you and your family toward making the best choices that fit your unique situation. Rather than offering a magic wand to make the difficulties of aging disappear, Aging in Place offers useful information to make decisions that provide peace and strength as those who are aging and their loved ones face these challenges together.

Explains why there is a crisis in caring for elderly people and how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated it Because government policies are based on an ethic of family responsibility, repeated calls to support family members caring for the burgeoning elderly population have gone unanswered. Without publicly funded long-term care services, many family caregivers cannot find relief from obligations that threaten to overwhelm them. The crisis also stems from the plight of direct care workers (nursing home assistants and home health aides), most of whom are women from racially marginalized groups who receive little respect, remuneration, or job security. Drawing on an online support group for people caring for spouses and partners with dementia, Elder Care in Crisis examines the availability and quality of respite care (which provides temporary relief from the burdens of care), the long, tortuous process through which family members decide whether to move spouses and partners to institutions, and the likelihood that caregivers will engage in political action to demand greater public support. When the pandemic began, caregivers watched in horror as nursing homes turned into deathtraps and then locked their doors to visitors. Terrified by the possibility of loved ones in nursing homes contracting the disease or suffering from loneliness, some caregivers brought them home. Others endured the pain of leaving relatives with severe cognitive impairments at the hospital door and the difficulties of sheltering in place with people with dementia who could not understand safety regulations or describe their symptoms. Direct care workers were compelled to accept unsafe conditions or leave the labor force. At the same time, however, the disaster provided an impetus for change and helped activists and scholars develop a vision of a future in which care is central to social life. Elder Care in Crisis exposes the harrowing state of growing old in America, offering concrete solutions and illustrating why they are necessary.

In our society, the overwhelming majority of people die in later life. They typically die slowly of chronic diseases, with multiple co-existing problems over long periods of time. They spend the majority of their final years at home, but many will die in hospitals or care homes. This book explores the possibilities for improving the care of older people dying in residential care and nursing homes. It argues that there are aspects of palliative care that, given the right circumstances, are transferable to dying people in settings that are not domestic or hospice based.

End of Life in Care Homes describes what happens in nursing and residential care homes when a resident is dying, how carers cope, and the practical, health and emotional challenges that carers face on top of their day-to-day work. Based on detailed research from both the UK and US, the book shows how the situation can be improved.

Non-motor Parkinson's Disease is a burgeoning area of the movement disorders field, as patients increasingly live longer and encounter more late-stage symptoms. The spectrum of non-motor manifestations spans much of the body, with non-motor features occurring in all stages of the disease. Identification of symptoms is key for preserving quality of life and successful treatment. This is a practical manual on all aspects of pre-motor and non-motor manifestations of Parkinson's. The genetic causes of non-motor symptoms are detailed and methods of patient evaluation summarized. Topics such as autonomic and sexual dysfunction, mood disorders, and drug-induced symptoms of non-motor Parkinson's are covered in depth. This is an essential resource for movement disorder specialists, neurologists and other clinicians involved in caring for those with Parkinson's disease.

Social work and social care services should treat older people as citizens with the same humanity and rights as every other citizen. That means services of all kinds engaging older people in a fulfilling, creative life in the mainstream of each community. Informed by a wide international literature, Malcolm Payne, a leading social work author, develops a critical and creative social work practice focused on social inclusion to achieve a high quality of life for all older people and explores how advance care planning allows older people to influence the space they live in and the quality of care that they need, and support at the end of life. He shows how integrated services can provide a secure place for older people, with opportunities for personal development and creativity in their lives and that groupwork should be a crucial part of any service to facilitate mutual support and advocacy for older people and their carers. This clearly written and well-structured textbook uses case examples and reflective points to illustrate concepts and will be essential reading for all social work students.