Main description:

Gerontological Social Work in Action introduces "anti-oppression gerontology" (AOG), a critical approach to social work with older adults, their families, and communities. AOG principles are applied to direct and indirect practice and a range of topics of relevance to social work practice in the context of a rapidly aging and increasingly diverse world.

Weaving together stories from diverse older adults, theories, research, and practical tools, this unique textbook prompts social workers to think differently and push back against oppressive forces. It pays attention to issues, realities, and contexts that are largely absent in social work education and gerontological practice, including important developments in our understanding of age/ism; theories of aging and social work; sites and sectors of health and social care; managing risk and frailty; moral, ethical and legal questions about aging including medical assistance in dying; caregiving; dementia and citizenship; trauma; and much more.

This textbook should be considered essential reading for social work students new to or seeking to specialize in aging, as well as those interested in the application of anti-oppressive principles to working with older adults and researching later life.

Contents:

List of figures and tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part 1: Shifting our lens on gerontological social work; 1. Age/ism: age as a category of difference; 2. Theorizing later life and social work praxis; 3. Sites and sectors of health and social care; Part 2: Doing AOP social work with older adults; 4. Deconstructing risk and frailty; 5. Moral, legal, and ethical issues; 6. Who cares about caregiving?; 7. Dementia, personhood, and citizenship as practice; 8. Mapping trauma across the life course; 9. Mental health, mental wellness, and substance mis/use; 10. Addressing mistreatment and violence; Part 3: Re-visioning gerontological social work; 11. Building inclusive communities; 12. Policy and planning for an aging society; 13. Everyday lives and realities; Concluding thoughts; Index