1st Edition

Later-Life Social Support and Service Provision in Diverse and Vulnerable Populations Understanding Networks of Care

Edited By Janet M. Wilmoth, Merril D. Silverstein Copyright 2017
    234 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    234 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Later-Life Social Support and Service Provision in Diverse and Vulnerable Populations offers current, multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and service provision to older Americans. The chapters trace how our understanding of social support among older adults has developed over the past 40 years and explore current gerontological research in the area. They consider how informal care arrangements articulate with formal long-term care policies and programs to provide support to the diverse population of older Americans. They also emphasize heterogeneity in the composition of support networks, particularly in relation to gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and immigrant status. Collectively, the chapters provide insight into the complexity of older adult’s social support networks that can be used to improve the services provided to caregivers and care recipients as well as the policies that promote high-quality support to people of all ages who are in need of assistance.

    Contents

    Series Foreword

    Madonna Harrington Meyer

    List of Contributors

    Chapter 1. Social Support and Service Provision to Older Adults: An Introduction and Overview

    Janet Wilmoth and Merril Silverstein

    Chapter 2. Social Relations and Social Support: Understanding Group and Individual Differences

    Toni C. Antonucci and Jasmine A. Manalel

    Chapter 3. The Aging and Latinization of the United States: Opportunities and Investments

    Fernando M. Torres-Gil and Courtney M. Demko

    Chapter 4. The Role of the Latino Family in Late-Life Caregiving

    Jacqueline Angel, Sunshine Rote, and Kyriakos Markides

    Chapter 5. Social Networks and Supports among Older Gay and Bisexual Men: The Impact of HIV

    Mark Brennan-Ing, Liz Seidel, Britta Larson, and Stephen E. Karpiak

    Chapter 6. Preparations for Later Life Care among LGBT Older Adults

    Brian de Vries

    Chapter 7. LGBT Older Adults Emerging from the Shadows: Health Disparities, Risk & Resilience

    Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen and Charlie P. Hoy-Ellis

    Chapter 8. Caregiving in Later Life: Challenges and Policies

    Carole Cox

    Chapter 9. Long-Distance Caregiving: Unique Challenges and Service Needs

    Amy Horowitz and Kathrin Boerner

    Chapter 10. Improving Access to Geriatrics Care for Rural Veterans: A Successful Partnership Between Urban Medical Centers and Rural Clinics

    Judith L. Howe, Jennifer L Griffith, William Hung, and B. Josea Kramer

    Chapter 11. The Synergistic Interplay of Philosophy, Place, Program, and Policy: Learning the Art of the Possible from Small-House Nursing Homes

    Rosalie A. Kane and Lois J. Cutler

    Biography

    Janet M. Wilmoth, PhD, is professor of sociology at Syracuse University. She has authored over 50 publications that examine older adult migration, living arrangements, and health status, and explore how military service shapes various life-course outcomes.

    Merril Silverstein, PhD, is the Cantor Professor of Aging Studies at Syracuse University. He has authored over 150 publications focused on aging in the context of family life, with an emphasis on life course and international perspectives.

    "This book creates a fine tension worthy of scholars who are both meticulous in their documentation and willing to push the boundaries of mainstream comfortability. Wilmoth and Silverstein’s review of the conceptualization and empirical advances in social support of older adults is an excellent primer for those new to the field and those of us who think we know more than we do. And it is reassuring that in these dark days of further retrenchment of the welfare state there are voices for those who are marginalized and vulnerable."

    Norah C Keating, PhD, FCAHS, director, The Global Social Initiative on Ageing (GSIA), International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics; professor of rural ageing, Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, UK; co-director, Research on Aging, Policies and Practice (RAPP), University of Alberta, Canada