1st Edition
Gerontological Social Work and COVID-19 Calls for Change in Education, Practice, and Policy from International Voices
The novel coronavirus and the resultant COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected older adults in terms of the number of lives lost, concerns about safety of institutional and home and community-based care, the impact of isolation and seclusion, and the ability to participate and engage in meaningful and contributory activities. The pandemic has uncovered layers of ageism that are embedded in societies globally and challenges us all to address the pervasive individual, institutional, and structural biases that permit age-based discrimination. Within the interdisciplinary field of gerontology, social workers lead organizations, provide direct services and supports, facilitate community engagement and participation, and deliver therapeutic interventions among other roles and activities that facilitate positive outcomes for older adults and their families.
In Gerontological Social Work and COVID-19: Calls for Change in Education, Practice, and Policy from International Voices, scholars, practice professionals, and other stakeholders reflect on the initial months of the pandemic. They articulate immediate needs the pandemic has created and uncovered, and further identify directions the field must go in to meet the moment and prepare for the future ahead.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
Introduction
Michelle Putnam and Huei-Wern Shen
Commentaries on Gerontological Social Work’s Response to COVID-19
1. The Consequences of Ageist Language are upon us
Clara Berridge and Nancy Hooyman
2. Applying Gerontological Social Work Perspectives to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Emma Swinford, Natalie Galucia, and Nancy Morrow-Howell
3. COVID-19 Pandemic: Workforce Implications for Gerontological Social Work
Marla Berg-Weger and Tracy Schroepfer
4. Older Workers in the Time of COVID-19: The Senior Community Service Employment Program and Implications for Social Work
Cal J. Halvorsen and Olga Yulikova
5. Caregiving in Times of Uncertainty: Helping Adult Children of Aging Parents Find Support during the COVID-19 Outbreak
Elizabeth Lightfoot and Rajean P. Moone
Gerontological Social Work Role in Addressing COVID-19
6. Gerontological Social Work’s Pivotal Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Response from AGESW Leadership
Tam E. Perry, Nancy Kusmaul, and Cal J. Halvorsen
7. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Vulnerable Older Adults in the United States
Yeonjung Jane Lee
8. Social Work Values in Action during COVID-19
Vivian J. Miller and HeeSoon Lee
9. COVID-19 and Older Adults: The Time for Gerontology-Curriculum across Social Work Programs is Now!
Susanny J. Beltran and Vivian J. Miller
10. They are Essential Workers Now, and Should Continue to Be: Social Workers and Home Health Care Workers during COVID-19 and Beyond
Lourdes R. Guerrero, Ariel C. Avgar, Erica Phillips, and Madeline R. Sterling
11. A Reflection of and Charge to Gerontological Social Work: Past Pandemics and the Current COVID-19 Crisis
Tyrone C. Hamler, Sara J. English, Susanny J. Beltran, and Vivian J. Miller
COVID-19 and Social Work with Diverse Groups
12. The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Minority Groups: A Social Justice Concern
HeeSoon Lee and Vivian J. Miller
13. Social Workers Must Address Intersecting Vulnerabilities among Noninstitutionalized, Black, Latinx, and Older Adults of Color during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Megan T. Ebor, Tamra B. Loeb, and Laura Trejo
14. Expanding Bilingual Social Workers for the East Asian Older Adults beyond the "COVID-19 Racism"
Sangeun Lee
15. Older Latinx Immigrants and Covid-19: A Call to Action
Rocío Calvo
16. Social Work Response Needed to the Challenge of COVID-19 for Aging People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilties
Philip McCallion
17. Unraveling the Invisible but Harmful Impact of COVID-19 on Deaf Older Adults and Older Adults with Hearing Loss
Junghyun Park
18. The Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults Living with HIV: HIV Care and Psychosocial Effects
Monique J. Brown and Sharon B. Weissman
19. Serving LGBTQ+/SGL Elders during the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Striving for Justice, Recognizing Resilience
Sarah Jen, Dan Stewart, and Imani Woody
20. Older Adults and Covid 19: Social Justice, Disparities, and Social Work Practice
Carole Cox
COVID-19 and Health and Social Care
21. Self-Direction of Home and Community-Based Services in the Time of COVID-19
Kevin J. Mahoney
22. COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunity to Advanced Home Care for Older Adults
Vahidreza Borhaninejad and Vahid Rashedi
23. The Need for Community Practice to Support Aging in Place during COVID-19
Althea Pestine-Stevens and Emily A. Greenfield
24. Covid-19 and Community Care in South Korea
Soyoon Weon
25. Social Work with Older Persons Living with Dementia in Nigeria: COVID-19
Oluwagbemiga Oyinlola and Oluromade Olusa
26. Thoughts on Living in a Nursing Facility during the Pandemic
Penny Shaw
27. The Care Home Pandemic – What Lessons Can We Learn for the Future?
Ameer A. Khan, Vineshwar P. Singh, and Darab Khan
28. Nursing Home in the COVID-19 Outbreak: Challenge, and Resiliency
Huanhuan Huang, Yan Xie, Zhiyu Chen, Mingzhao Xiao, Songmei Cao, Jie Mi, Xiuli Yu, and Qinghua Zhao
29. Nursing Home Social Work During COVID-19
Nancy Kusmaul, Mercedes Bern-Klug, Jennifer Heston-Mullins, Amy R. Roberts, and Colleen Galambos
30. Working with Older Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness during COVID-19: Decreasing Burden, Creating Plans for Future Care, and Utilizing Strengths
Travis Labrum, Christina Newhill, and Tyler Smathers
31. Service Needs of Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness
Nathaniel A. Dell, Natsuki Sasaki, Madeline Stewart, Allison M. Murphy, and Marina Klier
32. The Implications of COVID-19 for the Mental Health Care of Older Adults: Insights from Emergency Department Social Workers
Xiaoling Xiang, Yawen Ning, and Jay Kayser
33. Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults: A Cultural Geriatric Mental Health- Care Perspectived
Sonia Mukhtar
Social Isolation and the Digital Experience in COVID-19
34. Practical Implications of Physical Distancing, Social Isolation, and Reduced Physicality for Older Adults in Response to COVID-19
Anthony D. Campbell
35. COVID-19 and the Digital Divide: Will Social Workers Help Bridge the Gap?
Allison Gibson, Shoshana H. Bardach, and Natalie D. Pope
36. The Digital Exclusion of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Alexander Seifert
37. Choosing Physical Distancing over Social Distancing in the Era of Technology: Minimizing Risk for Older People
Saptarshi Chatterjee
38. Virtual Social Work Care with Older Black Adults: A Culturally Relevant Technology-Based Intervention to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness in a Time of Pandemic
Sulaimon Giwa, Delores V. Mullings, and Karun K. Karki
39. Social Responses for Older People in COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from Vietnam
Le Thanh Tung
40. Fighting COVID-19: Fear and Internal Conflict among Older Adults in Ghana
Razak M Gyasi
41. Re-integrating Older Adults Who Have Recovered from the Novel Coronavirus into Society in the Context of Stigmatization: Lessons for Health and Social Actors in Ghana
Williams Agyemang-Duah, Anthony Kwame Morgan, Joseph Oduro Appiah, Prince Peprah, and Audrey Amponsah Fordjour
Interventions to Support Older Adults during COVID-19
42. Staying Isolated in Order to Stay Safe: Exploring Experiences of the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Julie B. Miller, Taylor R. Patskanick, Lisa A. D’Ambrosio, and Joseph F. Coughlin
43. Adapting ‘Sunshine,’ A Socially Assistive Chat Robot for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study
Othelia EunKyoung Lee and Boyd Davis
44. Reaching older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic through social networks and Social Security Schemes in Ghana: Lessons for considerations
Francis Arthur-Holmes and Williams Agyemang-Duah
45. Animal (Non-human) Companionship for Adults Aging in Place during COVID-19: A Critical Support, a Source of Concern and Potential for Social Work Responses
Mary E. Rauktis and Janet Hoy-Gerlach
46. Detroit’s Efforts to Meet the Needs of Seniors: Macro Responses to a Crisis
Dennis Archambault, Claudia Sanford, and Tam Perry
47. Foregrounding Context in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Older Adults in Puerto Rico
Denise Burnette, Tommy D. Buckley, Humberto E. Fabelo, and Mauricio P. Yabar
48. An Innovative Telephone Outreach Program to Seniors in Detroit, a City Facing Dire Consequences of COVID-19
Vanessa Rorai and Tam E. Perry
49. Healthcare Concerns of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Low- and Middle- Income Countries: Lessons for Health Policy and Social Work
Francis Arthur-Holmes, Michael Kwesi Asare Akaadom, Williams Agyemang-Duah, Kwaku Abrefa Busia, and Prince Peprah
50. Geriatric Health in Bangladesh during COVID-19: Challenges and Recommendations
Md Mahbub Hossain, Hoimonty Mazumder, Samia Tasnim, Tasmiah Nuzhath, and Abida Sultana
51. Lessons for Averting the Delayed and Reduced Patronage of non-COVID-19 Medical Services by Older People in Ghana
Anthony Kwame Morgan and Beatrice Aberinpoka Awafo
Biography
Michelle Putnam, PhD, is Professor and Director of the PhD Program at the School of Social Work, College of Social Sciences, Policy, and Practice, Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
Huei-Wern Shen, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, College of Health and Public Service, University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. She is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
