<p> This qualitative study aimed to examine the perspectives of aging held by a former male Latino gang member. A case study approach was employed. Existing research on gangs has focused on violence, the nature of gangs, and membership encompassing gangs, which provides context for gaining a better understanding of gangs on many different levels. Although, one area of gang research where little attention has been paid is the aging perspective of gang members.</p><p> The aging process was idiosyncratic for a former gang member, but threads of commonality can still be drawn to general aging concepts. Themes of skipped life stages and early maturation became poignant to his aging process, which has definitively changed as he has chronologically aged. As he has "maturated out" of a gang, major themes in his gang years have changed; family no longer means other gang members, but now means wife, children, and mother.</p>

<p>The purpose of this project was to find a potential funding agency and create a grant for an in-home visitation program for homebound, older adult veterans. The goal of the program is to promote enriching relationships, increase levels of compassion by both parties, and decrease levels of depression/loneliness and/or social isolation among the older adult veteran population within Los Angeles County, California. The program will offer visitations by community college students and weekly activities addressing depressive symptoms while incorporating access to case management support for additional needs, such as medical and psychiatric referrals. The host agency for the program will be Home-Based Primary Care in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The Archstone Foundation was selected as the funding source for this grant. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant were not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.

<p>Death is inevitable for all; however, the nature of that death varies significantly across subsets of the American population with the opportunity to die well often reserved for the privileged and abled. In the last ten years, there has been increasingly more attention paid to issues surrounding serious illness and end-of-life care for adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs). However, care for this population remains fraught with complex challenges and wanting for best practices and standards. Further, research seeking to identify the complexity of issues faced in the provision of end-of-life care for this population, particularly in the United States, is scarce and often biased toward the perspective of caregivers. This multiple-case study sought to explore and describe the illness trajectory and differential end-of-life experiences of adults with IDs within the last year of life in diverse community residences operated by one provider agency in New Jersey. Retrospective data from three sources (records, staff, surrogates) was collected sequentially and triangulated via within and cross-case analyses. This study offers a meaningful contribution to the extant literature by elucidating the last year of life for adults with IDs in community residences. It offers insights into how people with co-occurring IDs and serious illness diagnoses experience their final year, month, week, and moments of life. This study integrated staff and surrogate perspectives with archival data to illustrate the differential experiences that facilitate and impede the ability of people with IDs to die well.

<p> This review of the literature explored the particular risk factors for adult African American women ages 65 and older with depression who are involved in the health care system, particularly those who choose not to seek professional mental health services. In addition, this review explored the interventions and social support services available to them, and the effectiveness of existing programs and social support services in the United States that work towards properly diagnosing depression and treatment. This literature review analyzed the content of 34 empirically researched articles from the last 15 years. Results from this literature review found that older African American women with depression have multiple co-existing medical and psychological problems such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. Additionally, studies show that while social support services and programs are available to older adults with depression, a comprehensive strategy needs to be developed between the primary care physicians, mental health agencies, and church clergy system to develop uniform methods for understanding, detecting, and seeking treatment and coordination of services that foster effective interventions and improved quality of life on a national level.</p>

<p> African American older adults have historically been identified as vital members of the African American family and community (Hill, 1972; Cox, 2002; Waites, 2008). Unfortunately, research has shown an increasing number of older African Americans are being admitted into nursing facilities (Paul, 2004; Feng et al., 2011). Between the years of 1998-2008, it was projected African Americans living in nursing homes increased by 10.8% (Feng et al., 2011). This study explores the intergenerational relationships of older African American adults with their grandchildren, family, and community through the lens of Intergenerational Family Systems Theory. By viewing this qualitative study through the lens of Intergenerational Family Systems Theory, changes in the older adults&rsquo; kinscripts were analyzed to obtain a greater understanding of affects associated with nursing home relocation and the older adults&rsquo; relationship with their grandchildren, family, and communities since being admitted. By utilizing a grounded theory approach, this study has found key areas to influence future social work practice and research.</p>

<p>Healthcare provider practices around older adult sexuality are increasingly the focus of scholarship. Researchers use available scales to study health worker knowledge and behavior in their research. This dissertation argues the need for a new scale, because the available measures are dated and do not account for changes in attitudes and medical advances over three decades. After a review of the increasing role of physicians, social workers, and other health workers providing care for sexual issues throughout history, I describe available scales for measuring knowledge and behaviors about older adult sexuality and review research that employs them. The purpose of the dissertation was to develop a contemporary measure regarding older adult sexuality practices among health workers. I utilized a two-phase plan following Bowen and Guo&rsquo;s 12-step mixed-method approach for scale development (2012). Phase I included a literature review and qualitative interviews with experts on older adult sexuality regarding the construct. Then I created a universe of items, reviewed them with the experts, and revised items. In Phase II, I tested the items with 155 healthcare providers and conducted analysis for reliability and validity. Based on the analysis, I culled items to create a shortened scale. I proposed a scale consisting of 52 items with three subscales: a 25-item Knowledge subscale, a 13-item Attitude subscale, and a 14-item Behavior subscale. The Knowledge subscale showed poor internal reliability (<i>KR-20</i> = .625). The Attitudes (&alpha; = .825), and Behavior (&alpha; = .837) subscales showed good internal reliability. I also evaluated content validity and criterion-related validity for the subscales. Flaws in the methods and analysis make the 52-item proposed scale conceptually unsound. Limitations in generating the pool of items, evaluating the items, and testing reliability and validity did not produce a viable scale. I analyze problems with the methodological approach and propose a redesign that corrects for flaws in the approach employed here. I will use an inductive, social justice model that expands scale development to include interviews with practitioners and older adults. I conclude with a number of research, practice, and policy implications that will result from a redesigned scale. </p>

<p> As the number of older adults with dementia in nursing facilities grows, so does the need for holistic dementia training for nursing home staff. This curriculum was designed as a training tool for all nursing facility staff in order to provide practical education on how to develop individualized, psychosocial interventions for residents that have dementia. The curriculum is presented in two parts. Part I is a simulation activity and discussion to create empathy among staff members by demonstrating the perspective of an older adult with dementia. Part II is a guided practice activity on how to identify important interests and characteristics of an individual resident and apply this knowledge to create effective interventions. The training is a total of approximately 4 hours and focuses on teaching staff skills that will allow them to continue to target dementia symptoms with psychosocial interventions. The curriculum also includes a trainer&rsquo;s guide, handouts, and a survey tool for evaluation.</p>

<p> A Secondary Analysis was conducting with data from the SAMSHA's 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The model of behavioral health for vulnerable populations was utilized to select key variables in order to examine the alcohol use, health, mental health and alcohol use treatment of older adult Latinos. Data from 395 Latinos over the age of 50 who reported drinking alcohol in their lifetime were used. The results showed that Latino men over the ages of 50 tend to use alcohol above the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) low risk guidelines. Additionally, older adults who were in poverty, reported depression and anxiety over the past year, and reported alcohol dependence were more likely to seek mental health treatment instead of specialty alcohol treatment. The findings underscore the importance of social workers in mental health settings to not only assess older adults for depression and anxiety but also for alcohol use disorders. </p>

<p> There are basic federal and state rights that are legally provided to residents within skilled nursing facilities. While these rights aim to protect vulnerable nursing home residents from mistreatment, these civil rights granted to residents by law are continuously violated. The purpose of this project was to promote the rights of nursing home residents, specifically their rights to autonomy, dignity, and respect. A grant proposal for a training program was developed on behalf of Wise &amp; Healthy Aging, targeted towards direct care staff within skilled nursing facilities located within Los Angeles County. Components of the training program include teaching the staff about resident rights, the benefits of upholding resident rights, and how to handle or prevent common situations that they are likely to encounter related to these rights. The training program has the potential to increase the quality of life for residents, while decreasing the violations of resident rights within skilled nursing facilities.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between general health condition, living arrangements, socioeconomic status, and depression among elderly adults. The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2011-2012 dataset was utilized in order to conduct the secondary analysis of variables for this study. This study found that there is a significant relationship between general health condition, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, and depression among the sample of elderly adult participants. The results from this study found that elderly participants who reported a poor general health condition (self-rated health) had higher levels of depression, and elderly adults who reported an excellent general health condition had lower levels of depression. A low socioeconomic status was correlated to higher levels of depression among elderly adults. This study also found that elderly minorities have higher levels of depression when compared to their counterparts. Female elderly adults were found to have higher levels of depression than males in this study. The results of this study serve to raise awareness and contribute knowledge of significant contributing factors correlated to depression among the elderly population.</p>