Library & Learning Commons: Resiliency: Aging and Supporting Older Adults: Additional Materials

Teaching Note—Supporting Homebound Older Adults and Caregivers Through Integrative Service Learning
The Supporting Older Adults & Caregivers: Integrative Service Learning (SOCIAL) partnership trains undergraduate social work students to provide practical home-based support for older adults with chronic illness and their family caregivers, serving as a pipeline for future leaders in older adult care. More than 2 million older adults are homebound, and 5 million need help leaving their homes due to physical limitations from chronic conditions or cognitive impairments. Family members often assume daily caregiving tasks to assist their loved ones, navigate health care systems, and provide much needed emotional support. The challenges of caregiving are further compounded by the problems associated with insufficient health care professionals who are trained to work with older adults. Integrative service learning models can provide home-based support to older adults while offering valuable, hands-on learning experiences for students. In this teaching note, we acknowledge a need for developing an educational pipeline that can provide training opportunities for students to work with older adults and their caregivers at home. We provide an example of an integrative service-learning model which offers valuable pedagogical experiences to baccalaureate students along with strategies for curriculum building, community engagement, research and evaluation, and program sustainability.

Chan, K. T., Marsack-Topoleswki, C., LaFave, S., Ratnayake, M., Graves, J., Fenski, D., & Jones, L. (2023). Teaching note - supporting homebound older adults and caregivers through integrative service learning. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(4), 1249-1257. https//:doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2045238.
75+ Resources for Gerontology Education
This collection of 75+ teaching resources represents a broad range of gerontology based materials (e.g., videos, teaching tips, webinars, research, syllabi, open education resources) to assist both new and seasoned gerontology educators.

Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education. (2020). 75+ resources for gerontology education. (https://www.geron.org/Portals/0/files/AGHE/AGHE_75_Resources.pdf?ver=4Ftd8ceTa-jb6HDHhIOxxw%3D%3D
Older Adults’ Usage of Social Media Platforms; Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, And TikTok
The article aims to identify the uses of social networking platforms by the older adults in Jordan, their exposure habits, the gratifications, the topics that most attract them, and the platforms they prefer. The descriptive survey method that had been adopted was using a questionnaire distributed to (400) older people in Jordan. The results concluded that (78%) of the older adults use social media platforms (first Facebook, then WhatsApp, TikTok, and Twitter) and (49.8%) of them trust them. It also indicated that (74.7%) of them believed that these platforms increased their acquaintances, while (53.2%) considered them to have improved their social relations, (51.6%) of them considered that social media platforms had a positive impact on their psychological condition. Religious topics were the most preferred for them, followed by social topics. Politics, then entertainment, and health topics came last. The author recommended teaching the older adults more skills of dealing with the Internet, encouraging them to use social networking platforms, and conducting more studies related to the uses of social networking platforms by the older adults in the Arab region.

Jarrar, L. (2023). Older adults' usage of social media platforms; Facebook, whatsapp, twitter, and tiktok. Information Sciences Letters, 12(9), 2189-9198. http://dx.doi.org/10.18576/isl/120924

Older adults are heading to college in pursuit of new opportunities
The age wave of Americans 50 and older has been sweeping across college campuses for both personal and professional reasons. After a lifetime of work, these older adults are now catching-up on missed educational opportunities. NewsHour Weekend special correspondent, Mike Cerre reports from Berkeley, California.

Using Technology to Help the Elderly and Their Caregivers | Garett Ho | TEDxMeritAcademy

The number of people aged 65 and older with dementia in the US is projected to be 12.7 million by 2050. There is a tremendous need to help this community remain safe and provide a sense of security for caregivers. By monitoring vitals and daily activities and creating connections within the community through a user-friendly app, people can live their lives more fully, safely, and securely. Garett created an app to assist both the elderly individual and their caregivers.

TEDx Talks. (2023, March 23). Using technology to help the elderly and their caregivers | Garett Ho | TEDxMeritAcademy [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/K20sE8Bnduw?si=gmIpSSn-XOAIbd7w

Helping Seniors Cross the Digital Divide | Isabella Martinez | TEDxTemecula

Sixty percent of all seniors are currently connected online yet they still struggle with their mobile devices. Isabella Martinez, founder of Net4Seniors, describes a 5-step method to help seniors cross the digital divide.

TEDx Talks. (2017, January 12). Helping seniors cross the digital divide | Isabella Martinez | TEDxTemecula [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/rSWbgNAgAE8?si=zNZxz6EBLmq_SRci

MMHWC Webinar–The Process of Working With Older Adults in Psychotherapy

Hear from experts on older adult mental health in this presentation hosted by NBCC and the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition in collaboration with the E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging. This presentation examines more closely the effective management of counseling older adults as it relates to having an awareness of our own ideas about aging, recognition of what elements of normal aging may impact the therapy process, and strategies to manage these elements.

National Board for Certified Counselors. (2024, March 22). Mmhwc webinar–The process of working with older adults in psychotherapy [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/wcEMOQZ5sNQ?si=Bz2s_BpfE3sfZ3ao

Care Mapping: A Valuable Tool for Working with Older Adults and Family Caregivers

This National Center for Equitable Care for Elders (NCECE) webinar will focus on practical approaches health care providers can take to support family caregivers of older adults, particularly identifying and organizing available medical and social contacts and services in their area. Care maps can help providers sustain successful collaborations with care partners as a means of identifying and addressing unmet care needs. After participating in this webinar, participants will be able to: · Recognize care mapping as a method for understanding family care structures Explain the value of connecting family caregivers of older adults to available community services Identify strategies for utilizing care mapping to improve care coordination for older adult patients Intended Audience: Health center providers and staff who care for older adults.

National Center for Equitable Care for Elders. (2022, September 14). Care mapping: A valuable tool for working with older adults and family caregivers [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Be9jnCHKTBg?si=cNeefJbcESJerKFd

The Hope to Pursue a Dream: pursuing higher education as an older adult | Luisa Mesones | TEDxCSULB

More older adults are going back to school to pursue higher education. They are acquiring multiple degrees and shattering the perception that a typical college student is between the ages of 18-25. Older adults bring a lot of valuable contributions to higher education—more than people may know. Luisa Mesones is a 62-year-old second year graduate student in Recreation and Leisure Studies at California State University, Long Beach. She retired after working for 30 years at the phone company with only a high school education. After retirement, Luisa started experiencing memory loss, slurred speech, and experiencing excruciating joint and muscle pains, which turned into a fibromyalgia diagnosis followed by a breast cancer diagnosis three months later. Relying on research to learn about holistic medicine, and recuperation led to her enrolling in Community College for one semester of French. Luisa fell in love with education and ended up graduating with 4 Associates of Arts. She transferred to UC Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in Ethnic Studies. Luisa’s passionate pursuit of higher education led to her current research interest in nontraditional students, specifically older adults who are pursuing higher education.

TEDx Talks. (2022, December 20). The hope to pursue a dream: Pursuing higher education as an older adult | Luisa Mesones | TEDxCSULB [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/XYKh_rI5Qa4?si=uPtc1qCJ3oACRHeu

Administration for Community Living
The Administration for Community Living was created around the fundamental principle that older adults and people of all ages with disabilities should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities.

https://acl.gov/
Centers for Disease Control
STEADI—Older Adult Fall Prevention, Patient & Caregiver Resources

https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/patient.html#print
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Money Smart for Older Adults
The Money Smart for Older Adults Program raises awareness among older adults and their caregivers on how to prevent fraud, scams, and other elder financial exploitation. The curriculum encourages advanced planning and informed financial decision-making.

https://www.fdic.gov/resources/consumers/money-smart/teach-money-smart/money-smart-for-older-adults.html
Gerontological Society of America - Age Inclusivity in Higher Education
Aging populations mean more older learners are looking to higher education to meet their professional needs as they experience longer work lives. Similarly, many older adults plan to stay engaged in some form of learning for personal development—with campuses being an appealing educational destination.

https://www.geron.org/Resources/AgeInclusivityinHigherEducation
National Center for Equitable Care for Elders
The goals of our Center are to:

Advance health care providers’ knowledge and disseminate promising practices for providing health care and supportive services to older adults;

Increase the amount and accessibility of health care services provided to older adults at health centers; and

Improve health centers’ responsiveness to enhance the quality of population-based and outcomes-oriented health care programs for older adults.
National Council on Aging
We believe every person deserves to age well. That’s why we’re on a path to improve the lives of 40 million older adults by 2030. Learn about the work we do, the people we serve, and why equitable aging matters now more than ever.

https://www.ncoa.org/caregivers/benefits/caregiver-support
Nutrition and Aging Resources Center
Nutrition education supports older adults in making healthy and informed choices about food, nutrition, and physical activity.

https://acl.gov/senior-nutrition/general-resources-and-strategies
Patient Education - American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
Patients are generally keen to understand and obtain more information about their medical conditions. AAGP promotes patient education and engagement through improvement in patients’ health literacy.

https://www.aagponline.org/families-caregivers/patient-education/
Resources and Support for Older Adults - National Council on Aging
We put together a comprehensive guide of resources for older adults living alone, empowering them to thrive independently and access essential services.

https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/medical-alert-systems/support-for-older-adults-living-alone/
Social Isolation and Loneliness Outreach Toolkit - National Institute on Aging
Social isolation and loneliness can be harmful to the physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional health of older adults. NIA developed an outreach toolkit to help reduce social isolation and loneliness.

https://www.nia.nih.gov/ctctoolkit
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association
SAMHSA has a number of products for serving older adults with mental and substance use disorders that can be useful to clinicians, other service providers, older adults, and caregivers.

https://www.samhsa.gov/resources-serving-older-adults