Aging in Wellness and Adversity

Description

“Aging in Wellness and Adversity” was written to describe the macrocosm that a day care center or hospital represents, but also as an educational tool which, hopefully, can assist in preparing young people for a future in the helping professions. If it is accepted as such (as well as being an enjoyable read), I’ll feel I’ve contributed something useful based on my considerable experience and be fulfilled. … Leah Abramowitz With more than 40 years of experience as a social worker specializing in geriatric care, Leah Abramowitz has created this book of short stories to describe common situations with which family members, nurses, doctors, and social workers face when caring for aging individuals. The issues with which professionals must deal are presented here in story form, but include the practical means to deal with them. Topics that are dealt with include non-compliant patients, family strife regarding continuing care of a parent at home, the patient’s welfare at the expense of their caretaker, community responsibility for childless elderly, over-devoted offspring, and cultural differences regarding expectations on aging. Families will also gain valuable insights from the author’s perspective on how to accept and adjust to the new realities of their aging loved ones. The various chapters can be used for social work students or those in other professions to understand family dynamics and the trauma of illness in old age. Using examples from these stories, teachers can point out how an initial diagnosis of the problem is critical, the importance of conducting careful interviews is required, and how much they can learn by observation of outer appearances, body language, and emotional response. Above all, examples of developing creative intervention plans are illustrated. Sometimes luck or circumstances take matters out of our hands, but many useful professionally-based skills and suggestions are included in these seemingly simple tales.

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Author: Leah Abramowitz
• ISBN-13: 978-1946124470