How can social workers best meet the needs of the ever-aging population? What are the major reasons social workers may be hesitant to work with older adults?
What will be an ideal response?
Social workers with gerontology specialties can assess economic well-being, discern political and religious orientations and promote engagement, link older adults to work, link them to leisure opportunities, connect them to nutrition programs, provide health care and home health social work services, develop programs and policies, and serve as consultants. To provide better care for older adults and better support for worn-out caregivers, social workers need to embrace new interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary integrative models of care that traverse physical and mental health, long-term care, community-based settings, and social services. And given the expected increases in the numbers and challenges of older Americans, social workers must endeavor to educate and recruit more qualified BSW- and MSW-prepared gerontological social workers. More gerontology scholars are also welcome. The biggest barrier to attracting social work students to gerontology may be pervasive ageist attitudes. Many Americans still fear the processes of aging and dying. Younger and healthier people unfortunately tend to avoid thinking about the issues of mortality and loss of independence, and so they avoid older adults as well. A comprehensive literature review has noted multiple reasons why social work students hesitate to work with older adults, including limited experience with and exposure to healthy older adults, anxiety related to personal aging, perception that older adults cannot change, belief that the job does not pay well, a perceived lack of challenge or reward, a desire for greater status within the profession, and the perception that older adults are depressed, lonely, and have poor hygiene. Keep in mind, however, that the number of workers in gerontology and geriatrics is declining precisely when their services are needed the most. America has certified about half the number of geriatricians it needs, and few medical students are choosing geriatrics. By 2020, the geriatric nursing workforce is expected to drop by 20%, and geriatric psychiatrists have been decreasing in numbers since 2001. Elder care is projected to be the fastest-growing employment sector within the health-care industry. The demand for gerontological and geriatric social workers is growing as well. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies gerontological social workers as health-care social workers and notes how nursing homes and home health-care agencies are prime employers of social workers specializing in gerontology. Without a strong, well-trained cadre of gerontological social workers, greater demands will be placed on families and caregivers, and of course on older adults themselves.
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