For a complete list of past issues of Ripples, please click here.

Ripples

The e-Newsletter of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI)
Volume 6, Issue 2
February 2 , 2007

Welcome to Ripples, an e-newsletter designed to keep interested deans and directors, faculty members, students, practitioners and others informed about the work of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI).  We welcome your feedback and encourage you to contribute any story ideas, stories, resources, news and other content to subsequent issues of the newsletter. To make a contribution, please contact Ashley Groth at agroth@geron.org.  If you have been forwarded this newsletter by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please reply to this e-mail and type the work “subscribe” in the subject line. Please be sure to visit our website at www.gswi.org.

In this Issue:
1. Announcements
2. Research
3. Funding
4. Resources

Announcements & Important Deadlines

Hartford Predissertation Award Applications Due May 1, 2007
Awardees will receive travel expenses and registration to attend national professional meetings, membership to various professional organizations and networking opportunities with other Hartford Doctoral Fellows and Scholars. The program is intended to expose more students to gerontological social work research, expand the number of social work doctoral dissertations that identify and examine a set of research questions seeking to improve the health and well-being of older persons and their families, and enhance the likelihood of writing a successful grant application to the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program. Jim Lubben at Boston College (lubben@bc.edu) and Carmen Morano at Hunter College (cmorano@hunter.cuny.edu) are Program Directors.

The Gerontological Society of America Abstract Submission Deadline: March 15 (online submission will be open at the end of February 2007)

MAC Project: New Funding Opportunities for MSW Programs in Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Health
The John A. Hartford Foundation recently awarded a $1,500,000 four-year grant, beginning January 1, 2007, to the CSWE Gero-Ed Center to fund the Increasing Gerontological Competencies in MSW Advanced Curriculum Areas Project (MAC Project). In collaboration with Gero-Ed Center leadership and staff, this project is led by Project Principal Investigator Dr. Sadhna Diwan from San Jose State University.

The MAC Project promotes the gerontological preparation of MSW students who are specializing in mental health, substance abuse and health, since practitioners in those settings often work with older adults. The project will produce and disseminate reviews of existing evidence-based literature relevant to aging in each of these specialized content areas, the curricular implications of this research, and the curricular resources currently available for teaching this advanced content. It will also provide grants for up to 20 MSW programs to develop innovative teaching methods for infusing advanced gerontological content in their classroom and field courses on mental health, substance abuse, and health. 

The RFP will be released by mid-February on the Center’s Web site - www.Gero-EdCenter.org.  The project is also seeking existing evidenced-based literature and curricular resources relevant to the aging population in the three practice areas. Please contact Dr. Diwan at sdiwan@sjsu.edu if you have teaching materials to share for inclusion in the reviews which will be widely disseminated to all social work programs. 

CSWE APM Proposal Submission Now Open
CSWE is now accepting proposals for the 2007 Annual Program Meeting, which will be held in San Francisco, CA from October 27-30.  Those interested in submitting a proposal are not required to be a CSWE member; however, all accepted presenters must be current members or qualify for a membership waiver.  The deadline for proposal submission is April 27, 2007.  For more information, Click Here.

Research & News

New reports on U.S. healthcare include hospice quality measures
The Department of Health and Human Services released two reports, The 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report and The National Healthcare Disparities Report, that include measures which help evaluate the quality of hospice care. The measures for determining quality of care were created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). Two measures extracted from a 2005 survey of hospice care quality which were used in the reports were 1) hospice patients who did not receive the correct amount of medicine for pain and 2) hospice patients who received care inconsistent with previously stated end-of-life wishes.

Print copies of the reports can be acquired by calling the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at 1-800-358-9295 or by emailing ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.

To access reports online, Click Here.

Report released on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
In 2006, AARP and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) partnered on a survey to evaluate how often Americans aged 50 and older discuss CAM with their physicians.  CAM includes meditation, homeopathy, acupuncture and herbal supplements, to name a few. The survey revealed that while many people in this age bracket use CAM, a majority do not discuss it with their physician.  Reasons include the following: Physicians never ask about CAM, patients did not know they should discuss this with their doctors, there was no time during the office visit and because many patients felt that their physicians would not be receptive to discussing such medicinal alternatives. For more information on the report, Click Here.

Funding Opportunities

NIH Behavioral and Social Research on Disasters and Health Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to lessen and prevent harmful consequences and health disparities resulting from natural or man-made disasters.  The interest lies in the behavioral and social sciences consequences of such disasters. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) wants to focus primarily on the elderly residents of institutions and frail elderly in the community.  The size and duration of each award will vary depending on the quantity and quality of applications received.  For more information, Click Here. 

Resources

Journal of Gerontological Social Work now available in print and online
The Haworth Press has a new offer for smaller social work libraries which may not yet have subscribed to the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. A new subscriber will be offered a “Premium Subscription”.  For 10% above the current library subscription rate, the library gains electronic access to the entire electronic archive, going back to Volume I, #1 (now 48 complete volumes). The library gets to keep the electronic access for as long as it keeps the subscription; if the library cancels, it maintains access only to the volumes for which it paid. 

For a sample copy, email samplecopy@HaworthPress.com.  To purchase the Journal, Click Here and search for the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Join ASA's Seminar on Aging in Beijing.
ASA's sixth journey to China is set for May 24-June 8, 2007. Participants will learn about issues of aging and eldercare in China and will gain an understanding of traditional Chinese reverence for elders. Nearly a dozen ASA members and friends have already signed on for this opportunity to discover health practices, social reform, welfare issues and community responses to aging in China. Participants also will have time to enjoy the richness of Beijing and its environs. Special visits to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Imperial Summer Palace, the Great Wall at Mutianyu and numerous other landmarks await you. For more information, Click Here.

NIH Senior Health adds information on depression
Approximately five million Americans aged 65 and older suffer from some form of depression, and nearly 2 million Americans in this age bracket suffer form severe depression.  According to Thomas R. Insel, M.D., director of the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), depression is not a normal part of aging, though it is quite common.  For more information on recognizing symptoms of depression, diagnosis of depression and treatment options, Click Here. 

Infusing gero content into the classroom: Newsletter now available
AARP Office of Academic Affairs provides a newsletter on infusing gero content into the classroom. The newsletter contains statistical information, resources that include helpful websites, information on teaching aging policy and international curriculum development.  To subscribe, email editor Harry Moody at hrmoody@aarp.org.

Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics: Data Sources on Older Americans 2006
This report includes data and statistical information from a variety of federal agencies.  The data was gathered with government-sponsored surveys and statistical information about the older adult population.  To access full document, Click Here.

A Strategy for Assessing Science: Behavioral and Social Research on Aging
Authors: Committee on Assessing Behavioral and Social Science Research on Aging, Irwin Feller and Paul C. Stern, editors, National Research Council.
To purchase, Click Here.

Summer Institute on Aging Research
The Summer Institute on Aging Research will take place at the Aspen Wye River in Queenstown, MD from July 14-20, 2007.  Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and be working in the field of aging or seriously considering work in the field.  Application deadline is March 2, 2007.  For additional information, Click Here.

Encyclopedia of Social Work with Groups Call for Abstract Proposals
Deadline: February 28, 2007
Alex Gitterman, University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and Robert Salmon, Hunter College School of Social Work will serve as the editors of The Encyclopedia of Social Work with Groups, published by Haworth Press. You are invited to submit an abstract proposal for an entry in the Encyclopedia.  Proposals from both practitioners and academics are needed. The abstract should identify your proposed focus in no more than one page. Selected entries will consist of the shorter entry of up to 1000 words, or the longer entry up to 2500 words.  Please specify your projected word count. On a separate page, please provide the following information: Name, organizational affiliation, address and phone number, home address and phone number, e-mail address. For a list of proposed substantive areas for which to submit an abstract and to submit the abstract and identifying information, contact the two editors at the following e-mail addresses: Alex.Gitterman@uconn.edu and rsalmon@rcn.com .

Geriatric Mental Health: Issues and Challenges Symposium
The Geriatric Mental Health Symposium will take place on Friday, March 30, 2007 from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm at the Buchanan Alumni House at the University of Maine.  The Symposium is organized by the University of Maine School of Social Work, Center on Aging and the Geriatric Practicum Partnership Program.  It is co-sponsored by the Maine Gerontological Society.  The most current practice information on mental health issues in geriatric practice will be provided.  For more information, Click Here.

Environmental Fact Sheets for Older Adults and their Caregivers Now Available
Factsheets, created by the EPA, address environmental health topics and provide suggestions for how to age in a healthy environment.  To access factsheets, Click Here.

Diversity and Aging Conference 2007
AARP is hosting its 2007 Diversity and Aging Conference June 19-21, 2007 at the Hotel Bonaventure in Los Angeles, California.  Registration begins in February.  Julian Bond and Gwen Ifill are confirmed plenary session speakers, and Anna Deavere Smith will be the closing session speaker and performer.  Please Click Here for additional information.

-----------------

To subscribe to Ripples, click here. Type in your full email address and let us know you'd like to subscribe.