Films

§         Aging With Grace

§         Documentary: Number our Days

§         Older Voices:  Interviewing Older Adults

§         Protecting Human Subjects. Evolving concern – War crimes trials of 1946 and Nuremberg Code

Readings

§       Bloom, M., Fischer, J., & Orme, J. (1999). Evaluating practice: Guidelines for the accountable professional, Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

§       Cassel, C. (1992). Ethics and the future of aging research: Promises and problems.  Generations, 16, 61-66.

§       Craig, G. & Kermis, M. (1995). Children today. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. pp. 22-34.

§       Erwin, E., Gendin, S., & Kleiman, L. (eds.). (1994). Ethical issues in scientific research:  An anthology. New York: Garland.

§       Foster, L. W. (1997). “Bioethical Issues” in Encyclopedia of social work, Silver Springs, MD: NASW Press.

§       Gaugler et al. (2002). Family care for older adults with disabilities: Toward more targeted and interpretable research, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 13(4).

§       Glasser, M., Prohaska, T. & Gravdal, J. (2001). Elderly patients and their accompanying caregivers on medical visits. Research on Aging 23(3), 326-348.

§       Hooyman, N. & Kiyak, A. (1993). Social Gerontology, How is aging studied? pp. 41-45.

§       Improving communication between researchers and policy makers in long-term care: Or, researchers are from Mars; policy makers are from Venus.  The Gerontologist, 41(3): 312-321.

§       Linsk, N., Howe, M. & Pinkston, E. (1975). Behavioral group work in a home for the aged. Social Work, pp. 454-463.

§       Marson. (2002). Competency assessment and research in an aging society.

§       Minkler, M. & Roe, L.K.M. (1983). Hearing the voices, telling the stories: The grandparent caregiver story. Grandparents as Caregivers: Raising Children of the Crack Cocaine Epidemic. (pp 43-52), Newberry Park: Sage.

§       Morano, C. & Bravo, M. (2002). A psychoeducational model for Hispanic Alzheimer’s disease caregivers. The Gerontologist, 42(1), 122-126.

§       Peak, T. & Sinclair, S. (2002). Using customer satisfaction surveys to improve quality of care in nursing homes.

§       Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L.  (2000). Social work, social welfare, and American society, 4th ed., Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Chapter 15.

§       Rank, M. & Hirschl, T. (1999). The likelihood of poverty across the American adult lifespan.

§       Roberts, S. & Zhou, N. (1997). The 50 and older characters in the advertisements of modern maturity: Growing older, getting better? Journal Of Applied Gerontology, 16(2), 208-220.

§       Rodwell, M.K. Social Work Constructivist Research. Chapters 2,11.

§       Rojiani, R. H. (1994). Disparities in the social construction of long-term care. In C. K. Riessman (Ed.). Qualitative studies in social work research, pp.139-152. CA: Sage Publication.

§       Rubin, A. & Babbie, E. (2001). Research methods for social work (4th Ed.). Belmont CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co. Single-Case Evaluation (326-356).  Chapters 4, 12, 13, 14; Appendix E.  Commission on Aging Survey (632).

§       Schaie, K. Ageism in psychological research, American Psychologist, 43(3).

§       Waldrop, D. P. & Weber, J. A. (2001). From grandparent to caregiver: The stress and satisfaction of raising grandchildren, Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 82(5).

§       Wenger, C.G. (1999). Advantages gained by combining qualitative and quantitative date in a longitudinal study. Journal of Aging Studies, 13(4).

Incomplete Reference Citations

§         Caputo (National Longitudinal Survey)

§         Excerpts from the Snowden et al. Nun Study

§         Goldberg-Glen, et al.; Toseland et al.; Wilder Sr. Needs and resources study for interviews   related to parenting grandparents, caregivers of persons with dementia, and community-based older adults

§         Kuhn and Mendes Evaluation of an educational intervention with relatives of persons in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease

§         Lum and Chang (1998)

§         Ohio Nursing Home & Residential Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights (Revised December 1990)

§         Rife and Blecher, evaluation and replication of Job Club intervention to assist older workers

§         Young and Poulin article (caregiving), Rife and Belcher Article (unemployed elders), Dziegielewski article (work with families of nursing home residents)

Reading Topic Areas

§         Assessing older persons

§         Effect of Medicaid coverage of use of health services by low-income people

§         Ethical dilemmas in research with elders

§         Evaluation of assisted living and other situation involving older adults

§         Peer-reviewed journals that describe statistical tests used in validating instruments used in assessment

§         Problems with research with older people

Modules

§         Guide to facilitate in-class discussion of research with older adults

§         Teaching Resource Kit v. 2.0, Section 8.9, Option A, CSWE/SAGE-SW

Websites

§         Administration on Aging, http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov

§         Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being, www.agingstats.gov/chartbook2000

§         National Institute on Aging, http://www.nia.nih.gov

§         Social Work Aging Resource Center, www.sjsu.edu/swarc, links to geriatric depression scale and information on research

§         University of North Carolina GeroRich Project Teaching Resources, http://ssw.unc.edu/jif/projects/hartford/tresour.htm

§         Websites such as: AARP Research Center, Alliance for Aging Research, American Federation for Aging Research, Infoaging.org, National Aging Research Institute, NIMH Aging Research Consortium, SeniorCitizen.com

Measures/Scales

§         Psychometric measures in geropsychiatry:  Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE)

Discussion

§         Assigned article/discussion on effect of grandparents raising their grandchildren

§         Bias toward older adults in sampling

§         Critical review of article assessing persons w/ senile dementia of  Alzheimer type

§         Current news relevant to research, e..g., falls among older adults, advances in research on Alzheimer’s

§         Discuss the relevance of an article on program evaluation methods to agencies serving an older adult population

§         Examine research questions to find evidence for lifestyle changes that would improve quality or quantity of life

§         how diversity impacts research methods

§         Informed consent and its application to research with older adults

§         Surveys sensitive to older adult research participants

Lectures

§         Appraise appropriate/inappropriate use of statistical methods: expose ways data  used to create inequitable social policies &  perpetuate myths about poor and oppressed populations, racial/ethnic minorities, gays/lesbians,persons with disabilities, older persons, rural

§         Community needs assessment of elder issues. Inclusion of aging examples in lecture on research methodology

§         Comparing and contrasting a quantitative  vs. qualitative approach to policy issues surrounding prescription drug costs to older adults

§         Essential communication strategies and ethical issues associated with interviewing older adults

§         Ethics, and the imact of ageism on research

§         Examples of ethical issues

§         Overview of implementation of measures and their  limitations, evidence-based practice

§         Single-subject design with older adults

§         Use of research articles with older adult participants in class examples

§         Use of single subject design for gerontological social worker

Case studies

§         Case studies by the Virginia Center on Aging

§         Case study on nursing home research

§         Use of case study to investigate contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context

Guest Speakers

§         Staff person who conducts program outcome research in an aging-related agency

Exercises

§         Analysis of data collected from the instructor’s research on Nursing Home social workers and other employee’s perceptions of residents with dementia

§         Analysis of value/beliefs,

§         Create goal attainment scale for care of frail elders

§         Critique an article on research with older adults

§         Explore various statistic relating concepts learned in class to “real world” situations

§         Facts on Aging

§         In-class experiential exercises

§         Photo analysis t of elders in a nursing care facility

§         Web questionnaire to provide student's estimated life expectancy

Assignments:

Written

§         Implications of article and research on social work practice with elders

§         Reflective 1-2 page paper on demographic data form AoA website

§         Reflective paper or field notes on activities

§         Use of gerontological statistical data sets for SPSS lab practices

Projects/Presentations

§         Agency-based research project

§         Class project: Quality of life community survey

§         Coordination of timing for Human Subject Protections test to facilitate completion of SWK 501 community project with older adults

§         Develop and present to class a  research report involving pet therapy with older adults

§         Major project involving qualitative research with older adults (using the oral history outline)

§         Propose an ethical and culturally competent research project, relevant to social work practice with individuals, families, older persons, groups, and organizations in rural and small town environments

§         Single systems research using a study on caregiver skills with an Alzheimer’s patient

§         Students design their entire research project around older adult subjects, which provides the basis for introducing and emphasizing gero-related content on a weekly basis through discussions and research articles found by  students

§         Students work with two files that contain  age as a variable of interest, GSS (General Social Survey) and Kinship Care data base created in the School of SW at MSU (Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren)

§         Team research project with aging as a topic or  inter-generational considerations

§         Utilize a Senior Center to develop and implement research projects useful to clients and administrators of agency

Community Projects

§         Field trips

§         Service learning