This cross-sectional study investigated audiological and psychosocial factors associated with hearing aid use preferences among 57 individuals with presbycusis who accepted (n = 37) or refused (n = 20) hearing aids. The refusal group was older and had greater hearing loss. Social loneliness was significantly higher among individuals refusing hearing aids, whereas depression and emotional loneliness did not differ between groups. Exploratory logistic regression showed that older age, male gender, and higher social loneliness were associated with hearing aid refusal. These findings suggest that psychosocial factors, particularly social loneliness, may contribute to hearing aid use preferences beyond audiological severity alone. .
Using data from the China Social Work Longitudinal Study (N = 2,254), this study examined associations between career choice motivation and job satisfaction among Chinese geriatric social workers. Internal motivation was positively associated with job satisfaction, whereas external motivation was negatively associated with it. Job autonomy and collective psychological ownership independently mediated these associations and also formed a serial mediation pathway. These findings extend understanding of geriatric social workers' job satisfaction in a non-Western context and suggest that care organizations can support workforce stability through value-oriented recruitment, professional autonomy, and the cultivation of collective psychological ownership. .
In 2019, there were approximately 11 million Americans simultaneously caring for their children and parents. The Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) can help connect caregivers with services such as respite care, caregiver training, and care plan development. A survey sent to AAA directors in 2020 and 2024 was used to identify trends in services and need gaps for AAAs. Notable finds include an increase in remote service provision and in the variety of qualifications of contracted providers. The data showing increased diversity in contracted services, changed methods of delivery, and anticipated demand can inform AAA policy and funding moving forward.
Filial piety shapes intergenerational care in China, yet its role in older patients' clinical behavior is unclear. Survey data from 478 older patients across three hospitals in two provinces were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Pragmatic obligations were associated with all endogenous constructs; compassionate reverence was associated with relationship comfort, trust, and medical responsible behavior, but not belonging atmosphere. Global trust in doctors mediated all four paths, whereas belonging atmosphere mediated only the pragmatic obligations path and relationship comfort operated solely through trust. The two filial piety dimensions engage structurally distinct pathways, suggesting differentiated family engagement strategies.
As digital health becomes embedded in later-life care, eHealth literacy is essential for safe health-information use among older adults. Existing measures conflate digital operation, general health literacy, and evaluative judgment. This study developed the Seeking-Evaluation-Application eHealth Literacy Scale (SEA-21) for urban older adults through deductive item development, Bloom-based difficulty classification, and a modified Delphi process with 19 experts. The 34-item pool was refined to 21 items across seeking, evaluation, and application. SEA-21 clarifies construct boundaries and reflects graded cognitive demands, with evaluative tasks requiring the greatest complexity, providing a preliminary framework for gerontological social work assessment and intervention.
Population aging and labor market transformations pose urgent challenges in Spain that require a critical review of retirement preparation from a social work perspective. This article analyses such preparation through a qualitative policy analysis and narrative literature review based on legislation and reforms of the pension system in Spain (2011-2026). Drawing on the cultural biology framework of Humberto Maturana and Ximena Dávila, it examines how prevailing approaches prioritize financial sustainability and the extension of working life, whilst relegating the relational, emotional and community dimensions of retirement. The findings suggest that current strategies reinforce a cultural narrative linking identity to productivity, which hinders the experience of retirement as a meaningful stage of the life cycle. The article contributes to the international literature by offering a Southern European case that illustrates the limitations of economically driven retirement models. The article proposes a shift toward a comprehensive model of preparation that incorporates relational well-being, identity reconstruction and community participation, positioning gerontological social work as a fundamental pillar for ensuring healthy transitions.Population aging and labor market transformations pose challenges for retirement preparation in Spain. This article examines retirement preparation through qualitative policy analysis and a narrative literature review of pension legislation and reforms (2011-2026). Drawing on the cultural biology framework of Humberto Maturana and Ximena Dávila, findings indicate that current approaches prioritize financial sustainability and extended working lives while overlooking relational, emotional, and community dimensions. The article argues for a comprehensive preparation model incorporating relational well-being, identity reconstruction, and community participation, positioning gerontological social work as essential to supporting meaningful and healthy retirement transitions.
This study examines the association between social participation and well-being among older rural women in China. Using CHARLS data from 2011-2020, with 8,763 participants, we constructed a comprehensive well-being index using principal component analysis and employed two-way fixed effects models. Social participation improved well-being by 0.083 units, enhancing self-reported health, mental health, life satisfaction, and ADL/IADL independence. Service and emotional support mediated these effects. Stronger associations were observed among lower-aged older adults (<80 years), those with agricultural income, and those without caregiving responsibilities for grandchildren. This study highlights social participation's role in promoting healthy aging.
This study examines spatial patterns of healthcare expenditure, discrimination, aging-related vulnerability, and socio-economic disadvantage among older adults in India, with focus on Northeast. Using 21 indicators from different datasets, Global Moran's I and LISA assessed spatial clustering. All-India results show significant positive spatial autocorrelation for healthcare expenditure and vulnerability indicators, while Northeast India shows no significant global autocorrelation, though LISA reveals recurring High-Low discrimination clusters. Northeast India exhibits lower healthcare expenditure, greater variability, and heightened poverty, aging, and discrimination related vulnerabilities. Findings highlight geographic and socio-economic disparities, informing targeted gerontological social work, pension linkage, anti-ageist advocacy, and equitable aging policy.
This scoping review synthesizes evidence on discretionary decision-making by street-level bureaucrats in residential care for older adults and its implications for care quality and residents' well-being. Following the PRISMA-ScR framework, 12 studies published between 2019 and 2024 were reviewed. Four themes emerged: resident autonomy, shared decision-making, ethical and relational practices, and organizational factors. Findings highlight variability in discretionary practices shaped by organizational cultures, resource constraints, and differing interpretations of autonomy. The review underscores the need for supportive policies, adequate staffing, professional training, and organizational environments that promote transparent, participatory, and person-centred decision-making.
This study developed Xiaoan, an AI voice chatbot for anxious elderly living alone, based on interview-identified needs. In a 3-month trial with 120 participants, Xiaoan significantly improved HAMA anxiety and UCLA loneliness scores, increased social and activity time, and reduced tense moments and negative vocabulary. Effects were stronger among more educated, socially active, or highly anxious participants. Positive indicators correlated positively with each other and negatively with negative ones. Findings suggest Xiaoan may effectively alleviate anxiety and loneliness in this population.
Social workers are integral to cognitive care for older adults, yet their roles across medical and long-term care settings remain underexamined. This scoping review followed the Arksey and O'Malley framework to synthesize literature on social workers' involvement in cognitive care. Fifteen studies met inclusion criteria. Social workers were involved in cognitive screening, discharge planning, advocacy, education, psychosocial support, caregiver support, and care coordination. Findings identified critical gaps in formal training, standardized assessment practices, and role clarity, underscoring the need for strengthened gerontological social work education, interprofessional collaboration, and cognitively informed care practices across settings.
Subsidized senior housing (SSH) is an affordable, policy-supported housing designed to support aging in place among low-income older adults, often through on-site services and service coordination. Despite these supports, social isolation and loneliness remain prevalent among SSH residents. Guided by a socio-ecological framework, this study synthesizes evidence from 14 eligible studies examining factors associated with social isolation and loneliness in SSH settings. At the individual level, health status, functional limitations, psychological competence, and socioeconomic resources were associated with social isolation and loneliness. At the interpersonal level, family support generally functioned as a protective factor, whereas peer relationships showed mixed effects, both fostering belonging and contributing to isolation. At the community and organizational levels, supportive built and social environments, including communal spaces and mutual trust, were linked to lower levels of social isolation and loneliness. At the societal level, broader contextual forces, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, reshaped social interactions through changes in technology use, social distancing, and building-level policies. Findings suggest that social isolation and loneliness in SSH arise from a dynamic interplay between individual characteristics and environmental contexts. Supporting social well-being in SSH may require multilevel efforts that strengthen individual capacity and foster supportive community and policy environments.
In this study, we examine the association between bedbound status, hospitalization, and elder abuse among older adults in India using the first wave data of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). The results suggest that older adults who were bedbound for one week (OR=2.18, 95% CI 1.81-2.62) or two weeks or more (OR=2.02, 95% CI 1.46-2.78) are more likely to experience abuse (p <0.001). Similarly, older adults hospitalised in the last year were 38 percent more likely to experience abuse (p <0.001). Creating awareness among household and community members about elder abuse and its consequences is essential for prevention.
This longitudinal cohort study used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) (2005-2018) to examine lifecourse socioeconomic status (SES), leisure activity, and cognitive impairment in 6,289 adults aged ≥65 without baseline impairment. Over 6.42 years, 1,818 (28.9%) developed impairment. Both childhood SES (HR=0.939) and adulthood SES (HR=0.925) significantly reduced risk. Leisure activity mediated 17.8% of childhood SES effect and 34.9% of adulthood SES effect, suggesting higher lifecourse SES protects against cognitive impairment partly through leisure activity.
This article introduces the Integral Social Evaluation and Systemic Application Model (ISESAM), a theoretical framework designed to address limitations of fragmented approaches to social diagnosis in gerontological social work. Drawing on a critical review of contemporary perspectives, including capabilities, human rights, recognition theory, and systemic approaches, the model integrates seven interrelated dimensions encompassing material, relational, symbolic, emotional, legal, and political aspects. ISESAM provides a comprehensive and ethically grounded framework for understanding older adults' social realities and informing social diagnosis. The article discusses its theoretical foundations, contributions, limitations, and future directions for empirical validation.
In the USA, the government certifies nursing homes to receive government funding and uses a 5-star rating system to share information about the quality of care in these nursing homes with the public on the CMS website. However, a star rating is not posted for the poorest performing nursing homes, the "Special Focus Facilities." We interviewed older adults to get their perspectives on the information posted online about SFFs. Respondents reported the term "Special Focus Facility" is misleading and confusing and the posted information incomplete and inadequate. Their suggestions for communication improvement about SFFs are included.
Compared to physical frailty, social frailty (SF), the erosion of social resources, activities, and self-management has been relatively less studied, and its link with happiness in rural microgeographical settings is unclear. We surveyed 312 adults aged ≥ 65 years in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, and analyzed 19 indicators spanning participation, interaction, neighborhood environment, and living arrangements. Principal component analysis indicated three facets (active social participation, neighborhood connectedness, and social interaction frequency) that explained 42% of the variance. Propensity scores for SF were estimated from sociodemographic and health covariates, and stabilized inverse probability weight-adjusted linear models were used to predict self-reported happiness. Neighborhood connectedness and local support were consistently associated with higher levels of self-reported happiness. This association was weaker in sparsely-populated mountain zones. Under a stricter definition of frailty, social interaction frequency also predicted higher self-reported happiness. The main findings were consistent across the weighting schemes and model specifications. Neighborhood connectedness and reliable local support have emerged as central to the happiness of older rural adults, although their benefits may be attenuated by low population densities. Locally-tailored interventions that foster trust and meaningful engagement can promote healthy aging. Further studies are required to confirm the causality and cultural generalizability of these findings.
Guided by the Andersen Model, this study used 2023 CLASS data to examine older adults' perceived demand for Family Doctor Contract Services (FDCS), actual utilization, and health associations. Logistic and ordinal logistic regressions showed that predisposing, enabling, need, and community service factors shaped perceived demand. Among those with demand, users differed significantly from non-users, revealing a demand-uptake gap. FDCS utilization was associated with better self-reported health, less physical pain, and higher life satisfaction, with urban-rural variations. Findings highlight the need to improve health awareness, reduce access barriers, and support demand-to-use conversion through context-sensitive service delivery.
Climate change has increasingly emerged as a significant factor affecting the health and well-being of people worldwide. It has resulted in more unpredictable weather events, often marked by extreme heat during summers and severe cold during winters, eventually leading to increased health risks and a decline in the overall well-being of people. While its impact is widespread across all age groups, older adults are especially vulnerable because of age-related limitations, and existing vulnerabilities. In Kashmir, a division in the UT of India, these challenges are further aggravated by poor housing conditions, inadequate heating facilities, and limited access to basic infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the present study examines how climate change shapes the lived experiences, health, and well-being of older adults in Kashmir. The study adopts a qualitative research design, drawing on 22 in-depth oral narratives collected over time from older adults residing in the district of Srinagar of the UT of J&K who have experienced the impacts of climatic variability on their daily lives. The findings reveal that climate change has significantly deteriorated the quality of life of older adults by exacerbating health conditions such as respiratory illnesses, arthritis, and cardiovascular problems, while also restricting mobility and access to basic services. Additionally, the study highlights how these conditions increase caregiving burdens within families, often leading to emotional stress and neglect of older individuals.
