Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social gerontology'

The use of social media by older adults is on the rise. Social media allows older adults to keep meaningful connections with friends, family, and life. Social media allows older adults to stay connected through prevailing frailty, geographical displacement, and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of use or non-use of social media on social-connectivity/loneliness and depression, and the effect of demographic variables including sex, age, income, and educational level on the use of social media. There were a total of 67 participants in the study. The data revealed that income was a significant factor in the use of social media. Moreover, lower income participants used social media significantly less than the upper and middle income level participants. This study was created to specifically look at participant's use/non-use of social media and therein introduced specific factors that could have possibly varied when compared.

This project describes the development of a software application geared towards connecting LGBTQ older adults with each other with an aim to reduce social isolation. Older adults tend to lose their connections with others throughout the aging process. LGBTQ older adults experience more challenges in creating and maintaining social relationships compared to their heterosexual peers. When social connections are lost, social isolation threatens the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of older adults. The software application was designed and revised using feedback from two expert panel focus groups of LGBTQ older adults, 50 years and older, residing in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties.

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a twenty-five-year longitudinal study that studies populations over the age of fifty. There is a lack of studies that examine depression and social isolation as comorbid conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine secondary data from the 2014 wave of the HRS regarding associations between depression, social isolation and demographic characteristics, including age (50–104 years), gender, and marital status. Self-reported data from 18,289 participants (10,703 females and 7,586 males) suggested a positive association between depression and social isolation ( r = .365, p < .001) in that as levels of depression increase so do feelings of social isolation. Significantly more females than males reported having depression. Those who were married reported less depression and social isolation. Younger ages experienced depression and older ages social isolation. Further research should explore solutions to decreasing depression and social isolation among older adults in the United States.

The social work practice problem of this doctoral action research project was the unmet mental health needs of veterans 65 and older in Puerto Rico. This action research project explored the experiences and challenges of social workers when they offer mental health services to veterans 65 and older. This study was framed using social support theory, integrating the 3 core elements of tangible support, emotional support, and informational support. The data collection technique included a semistructured interview protocol used in a focus group setting. Purposive sampling was used to identify 9 participants who were licensed social workers in Puerto Rico. Through content analysis, the findings were coded and organized into the following themes: educational background; ethics and wellbeing aspects; evaluation, interventions, and treatments; professional social and cultural competencies; social support experiences; multidisciplinary service coordination processes; and the elderly veterans’ unmet needs. The results of this study could be used by social workers and administrators to contribute to positive social change through the improvement of social work practices and the development of innovative knowledge when intervening with veterans 65 and older and their families in Puerto Rico.

The purpose of this project was to create a curriculum for adults over age 50 who are searching for employment. Older adults are more likely to be unemployed longer after a job loss, need to return to work after retirement, need health insurance or need to supplement their retirement income. They may desire social interaction, and/or need a sense of meaning in their lives that being employed can provide. Older adults are more likely to experience lower self-esteem and isolation than younger adults. This curriculum includes a focus on identifying and strengthening internal and external strategies and support systems for adults over 50 who are looking for employment.

This curriculum incorporates modules on the job search process, coping with stress, identifying transferable skills, resume creation, building computer skills including online professional networks, interviewing, and networking. It is hoped this curriculum will provide older adults with the skills and strategies to build greater confidence and secure employment that meets their unique needs to enhance their quality of life.

With the rapidly increasing older adult population in our nation and around the world, the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other related dementias also increases. Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias are devastating illnesses. The most important risk factor for dementia is advanced age. Adult day care programs are valuable services that assist people diagnosed with AD and their families. The purpose of this project was to obtain funding to support the expansion of an existing adult day care service so that older adults with limited resources can access services.

This content analysis of existing literature explored older adults' perceptions and use of technology in healthcare. Thirty studies within the last 10 years were analyzed for content. Results of the content analysis revealed that many older adults used the Internet as a health resource and/or to search for health-related information. Some predictors of computer and/or Internet use for health-related information were younger age, more years of education, and more diagnosed diseases and conditions. Barriers of computer and/or Internet use included lack of interest, functional limits, cost, complexity, and security and privacy concerns. Privacy was also an identified as a potential barrier of smart home technology use. Perceived need for technology was important in older adults' willingness to use smart home technology. Implications for social work practice were discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, from the perspectives of clinicians, the therapeutic techniques they have found to be effective in helping older adults recover from elder abuse. The researcher developed the interview guide. A total of 12 clinicians, who had experience working with survivors of elder abuse in a therapeutic setting, were interviewed.

The results indicated that clinicians saw similar symptoms, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and fear. Methods for addressing those symptoms included cognitive-based therapy, active listening, life reviews, and making referrals. Therapeutic involvement with the family was low, but when used included education and active listening. Lastly, there was a high demand from clinicians for prevention efforts and education regarding elder abuse.

More research is needed on effective interventions for helping older adults recover from elder abuse.

This dissertation investigates the relationship between marital history and individuals’ retirement resources, namely Social Security, employer-sponsored pensions, and non-housing wealth. Prior research provides a foundation for understanding marriage’s positive relationship to retirement security, and suggests that marriage is financially beneficial and can even lessen some external factors that would otherwise damage a family’s financial situation. Yet changing demographics, with fewer people in first marriages and rising numbers of individuals experiencing divorce and choosing to remain unmarried, suggest our understanding of this relationship for today’s retirees may be limited. The purpose of this research is to identify which aspects of complex marital histories are associated with individuals’ retirement security, paying particular attention to gender differences. Using data from nine waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2008), four facets of marital history are examined: marriage type, frequency, timing, and duration. Currently married and currently unmarried respondents are separated during the analyses in order to adequately capture the association between previous marital events and retirement resources. The results indicate that marital history is associated with Social Security, employer-sponsored pensions, and non-housing wealth differently, and that these relationships vary by gender and current marital status. The findings provide support for the argument that marital history, and in particular marital duration, has a strong relationship to retirement resources. Contrary to expectations, currently married women with longer marriages have less Social Security and pension income than married women who experienced shorter marriages. Marital history has no relationship to the retirement security of married men. For the unmarried groups, never married men have the lowest odds of receiving an employer-sponsored pension and have less non-housing wealth than both divorce and widowed men. Unmarried women’s retirement security is associated with the type of disruption experienced; women with multiple past marriages have more resources if they are currently widowed but less if they are currently divorced. Further study is needed to understand how and why complex marital history factors have a relationship to retirement finances, and to expand our knowledge about certain understudied populations such as remarried women and never married men.

The purpose of this grant proposal was to develop and seek funding from the Archstone Foundation to implement program “Tech Connect,” which bridges gaps between generations of college students and older adults in Long Beach, California. The grant writer identified a need for older adults to be more connected socially and technologically as well as a need for more geriatric social workers. The Tech Connect program will take place at Menorah Housing Foundation's Long Beach Senior Housing building and will work with students from California State University Long Beach’s School of Social Work. The Tech Connect program outlines how students will teach older adults to use iPads while students learn about the lives of older adults and experience meaningful connections through games. The goals of the program include older adult participants reporting less loneliness and social isolation, continuing to use iPads, and student participants reporting a higher interest in working with older adult populations.

The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to implement a music therapy program for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. There are over five million people in the United States who live with Alzheimer’s disease and that number is expected to increase significantly. The costs of medication and the negative impacts of dementia require non-pharmacological treatments.

This program would be held at Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles in Los Angeles. The May and Stanley Smith Trust was chosen as the funding source. If funded, this program would not only improve the quality of life of individuals suffering living with dementia but also their caregivers. Through various forms of music therapy (individual and group, including activity therapy where participants play instruments) and a support group for caregivers, this program is expected to lead to positive impacts on a large scale.

The purpose of this project was to locate a potential funding source and write a grant to develop a fall prevention intervention that includes an evidence-based strategy, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance (TJQMBB), in a low-income, senior independent living apartment building, Providence Gardens, with its non-profit partner, Las Palmas Housing Foundation. An extensive literature review determined that fall prevention can enhance quality of life and aging in place. The program will offer TJQMBB classes which increase strength and balance, as well as home safety evaluations, by a Tai Chi certified instructor and a Service Coordinator. The specific objectives include increased strength and balance and decreased fear of falling.

The Archstone Foundation was chosen as an appropriate funder due to its focus on supportive housing. The actual submission of the grant was not a requirement of the thesis project.

Quality of life in mentally ill older adults is an important area to target in psychiatric rehabilitation. Additionally, the ability for these individuals to live a more independent lifestyle and/or to feel fulfilled is a major contributor to their happiness. Therefore, mental health practitioners must have an understanding of how to help older adults diagnosed with a serious mental illness reach their optimal potential as enrollment continues to increase in mental health day programs. The intent of this study was to better understand mental health day program caregiver’s experience in working with this population and to provide a description of what a mental health day program was like for the mentally ill residents under their care. The first task was facilitated by semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Secondly, a set of more survey-based questions were added to the interview design in an attempt to set the contextual stage of the described experience. It was believed that combined data would provide a more in depth perspective and set the stage to better explore the caregiver experience. Moreover, this approach is consistent with the generic qualitative method, which allows survey data to be integrated with interview data; in this case to help produce the work context of the caregiver. The combined data would then include attitudes, values, opinions and perspective on what works, what does not work and what could work better in relation to their work with this population. Using a data-driven, inductive coding model advocated by Boyatzis (1998) for conducting thematic analysis, three stages were developed: Stage 1. Sampling and design; Stage 2. Developing themes and codes; and Stage 3. Validating the use of the code. The results of this analysis yielded a total of 33 codes and 299 coded segments (participant comments coded). As a result, three themes were derived from the 12 patterns: 1) Caregivers’ Attitude towards Mental Health Day Programming, 2) Value that Caregivers Found within Mental Health Day Programs and 3) Caregivers’ Thoughts, Opinions and Feelings of Necessary Programmatic Model and Services. The original intent of his study was to determine 1.) how residential caregivers perceive specific characteristics or services as being an essential part of a mental health day program based upon their experience in working with older adult residents who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness, 2.) whether identified services describe a particular mental health day program model or approach (Clubhouse, Psychosocial Rehabilitation or Rehabilitation Skills Training, or Peer/Consumer-Run) that would be the best program fit for older adults diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and 3.) the personal care home caregivers’ perception of how these services are expected to: provide stimulation and a desire for older adults to learn or grow; create an opportunity for older adults to be a part of the program; and promote older adults in taking part or engaging program activities are addressed. However, it was soon apparent that this type of evaluative research was well beyond the scope of the dissertation. Consequently, a less evaluative and more general descriptive qualitative approach was undertaken wherein the focus was changed with the attempt to 1.) better understand mental health day program caregiver’s experience in working with this population, 2.) provide a description of what mental health day programming was like for the mentally ill residents under their care, and 3.) set the contextual stage of the described experience. To the extent that this objective was met was left to the eye of the beholder, but it was hoped that the results would set the stage and lay the groundwork for the next step of the more evaluative approach abandoned for the generic qualitative descriptive study that follows. Thus the original intent was included here given the adage that the best evaluation is always description (Patton, 2008).

Guided Autobiography is a process of writing, sharing and preserving one’s life stories and life experiences. It leads one down a path through vast stores of memories, leading to an increased awareness and appreciation of having lived through so much.

The purpose of this study was to adapt Birren’s Guided Autobiography (GAB) program for U. S. veterans 65 years of age and older. The themes developed for this study were based on Birren’s nine themes for conducting autobiography groups. It was tailored to include themes relevant to older adult war veterans. Local veterans were interviewed and asked about past war experiences. The responses were recorded and analyzed using qualitative research methods. GAB serves to assist Gerontologists, Social Workers and other Health Practitioners in that it helps to provide insight into veterans’ experiences.