Resource Center

Building on a student-led digital storytelling project, this article published in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education suggests that expanding definitions of two core constructs of social work education and practice, experiential learning and cultural competence, can improve outcomes for diverse older clients by increasing competence in multicultural gerontology practice. Beyond describing a one-semester digital storytelling project that occurred in an undergraduate gerontology practice course, the article shares findings from the project's evaluation.

This case study describes Michigan State University's AgeAlive program and its path from inception to a recognized program with a clear vision and strategic plan. Concrete goals include a complete inventory of aging-related activity on campus, a virtual hub for networking and information exchange, educational opportunities for students and elders, and building new retirement pathways. Michigan State's experience may benefit others interested in developing similar programs by offering strategies for moving forward amidst challenges inherent in large-scale, research-intensive institutions.

Rhode Island College has spearheaded state-wide age-friendly initiatives while simultaneously fostering three principles of Age-Friendly Universities on its campus. This article published in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education describes the initiatives implemented at Rhode Island College and the challenges encountered. Solutions to the challenges are suggested. The full article can be accessed with an OpenAthens account through your institution or with a Taylor & Francis Online account. 

This article published in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education presents findings from an exploratory study based primarily on interviews about intercultural gerontology curriculum with university-based stakeholders from Canada, the US, and Europe. Scaffolding learning, active learning strategies, experiential learning opportunities, teacher modeling, and internet-based learning are discussed as key to intercultural learning. An appendix includes a list of resources that may be useful to developing an intercultural gerontology curriculum.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) published "Older Adults: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes--2020" which includes the ADA's current clinical practice recommendations and is intended to provide the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care.

The STOPP/START Toolkit Supporting Medication Review, arranged by physiological systems, assists in the review of older adults' prescriptions (STOPP) and includes guidelines to alert the practitioner to the right treatment (START). It also has references to drug class duplication, drug-drug, and drug-disease interactions. The START tool highlights under-prescription or omission of clinically indicated, evidence-based medications. The Supplementary Material file has the full set of STOPP/START guidelines.

This article from the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging provides concensus guidelines from the International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia (ICFSR) on practical frailty screening and management strategies for use in primary care settings. It also discusses the characteristics of these instruments and their applicability to primary care.

Source: The Journal of Nutrition, Health, & Aging, 2020.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33155616/

Objective. Preparing and responding to the needs of children during public health emergencies continues to be challenging. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of a tabletop exercise in initiating pediatric preparedness strategies and assessing the impact of the exercise on participants’ understanding of and confidence in their roles during pediatric public health emergencies.

Background. We assessed whether and how health care organizations serving homeless pediatric patients meet recommendations issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Methods. We conducted a web-based survey of Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Program grantees serving children. Results. Of 169 grantees, 77 (46%) responded. All organizations reported connecting patients to specialty services.

Background and Objectives: Multilevel factors drive health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. We developed a 3-hour symposium focusing on care for SGM youth to address this. The symposium was a free, extracurricular event open to the public, with an emphasis on health professional students and providers from all disciplines and involved interprofessional didactic and interactive components.