First published in 1990, Working in Residential Homes for Elderly People outlines the purposes and objectives of residential homes and what it is like to live and work in them. The author looks at the factors that make for a good quality of life, considering how these can be promoted and how staff can work with people, both individually and in groups, to help them get the best out of life. He reviews prevalent thinking about what happens to people as they grow older, and, at a practical level, he looks carefully at the day-to-day management of homes, suggesting how they should be organized in order to get the best out of the staff, buildings and resources. Unique in its coverage of the process of ageing, good practice, and good management, the book takes into account the differing needs of both residents and staff. With its emphasis on the various aspects of the flexible, individual support necessary in providing ‘a good home’, it will be invaluable to social work and social care students, residential workers, and their managers.

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

Among the issues confronting America is long-term care for frail, older persons and others with chronic conditions and functional limitations that limit their ability to care for themselves. Improving the Quality of Long-Term Care takes a comprehensive look at the quality of care and quality of life in long-term care, including nursing homes, home health agencies, residential care facilities, family members and a variety of others. This book describes the current state of long-term care, identifying problem areas and offering recommendations for federal and state policymakers. Who uses long-term care? How have the characteristics of this population changed over time? What paths do people follow in long term care? The committee provides the latest information on these and other key questions. This book explores strengths and limitations of available data and research literature especially for settings other than nursing homes, on methods to measure, oversee, and improve the quality of long-term care. The committee makes recommendations on setting and enforcing standards of care, strengthening the caregiving workforce, reimbursement issues, and expanding the knowledge base to guide organizational and individual caregivers in improving the quality of care.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Since the late 1970s when Congressman Claude Pepper held widely publicized hearings on the mistreatment of the elderly, policy makers and practitioners have sought ways to protect older Americans from physical, psychological, and financial abuse. Yet, during the last 20 years fewer than 50 articles have addressed the shameful problem that abusersâ€"and sometimes the abused themselvesâ€"want to conceal. Elder Mistreatment in an Aging America takes a giant step toward broadening our understanding of the mistreatment of the elderly and recommends specific research and funding strategies that can be used to deepen it. The book includes a discussion of the conceptual, methodological, and logistical issues needed to create a solid research base as well as the ethical concerns that must be considered when working with older subjects. It also looks at problems in determination of a report's reliability and the role of physicians, EMTs, and others who are among the first to recognize situations of mistreatment. Elder Mistreatment in an Aging America will be of interest to anyone concerned about the elderly and ways to intervene when abuse is suspected, including family members, caregivers, and advocates for the elderly. It will also be of interest to researchers, research sponsors, and policy makers who need to know how to advance our knowledge of this problem.

First published in 1977, Residential Work with the Elderly brings together theoretical and practical approaches of relevance to providing care for older people in residential homes and long-stay geriatric hospitals. He describes the kinds of use to which institutional care is commonly put, the effects of institutional living o individual residents and the ageing process. He also examines ways of using such care to the benefit of both individuals and the resident group, so that new, improved ways may be found of helping older people in care. Intended principally for residential workers in homes for the elderly, the book is also designed for nurses and other workers involved in long-term hospital care for older people. It will also be of value to those involved in day-care and special housing provision for the elderly.

Social Work with Elderly People was intended for teachers on courses leading to a qualification either in social work or in social service, students on basic and post-qualifying courses and practitioners and supervisors of field and residential staff. Other professions with a concern for the care of elderly people, doctors, health visitors, occupational therapists and nurses, will also find this book of relevance to their work.

This book is all about improving the health care of elderly people, which is facing unprecedented challenges in the 1990s. Energies need to be concentrated in three main areas: • the development of high quality care in community settings • the future role of specialized hospital services • the way that long-term care is delivered. All of these are interconnected and success with any of them depends on successful relationships. For example, success in community care requires working interfaces with primary care, the private sector and hospital care. These interfaces are not static but comprise dynamic interactions between people - people in different teams, with different back grounds, training, perspectives and interests. What people do is influenced strongly by the organizations they work for. These inescapable facts lead us to the structure of this book. By concentrating on sectors, people and organizations, we hope to deal with all the important relationships in a coherent way. Yet this book is not intended to be from a service providers' perspective. We have arranged the book in this way so that providers are best equipped to meet the needs of their customers - whether they are patients, resi dents or clients. We know that elderly people may experience dislocation in their care because of frictions and gaps be tween different sectors, disciplines, teams and organizations. To achieve seamless care, there is a need for greater under standing and harmony of purpose and action across the care spectrum.

Care staff and voluntary workers in day centres and residential homes for elderly people have often expressed a need for a comprehensive, readable book to guide them through their first days and help them cope with any problems that may arise. This practical and imaginative handbook draws on the long experience of an occupational therapist working with elderly people in day centres. It provides a fund of advice on caring for people who may be frail, have communication difficulties or mobility problems. It describes how to design and organise a centre, how to use mobility aids and handle wheelchairs, how to move old people and adjust their hearing aids. The author even explains how to repair a wheelchair in an emergency. The second part of the book describes a huge range of stimulating activities, from craftwork and games to cookery, music and gardening, outings and exchanging reminiscences. Old people left with nothing to do rapidly lose their mental agility and interest in life. With a little encouragement, despite any disabilities, they can continue to acquire new interests and play a useful role in the community, and the materials and resources needed will often be donated or acquired very cheaply. The fully updated second edition is copiously illustrated with practical line drawings, and there is an extensive appendix providing useful addresses, helpful books and a listing of some of the conditions that may affect elderly people.