Gerontological Social Work and COVID-19

Michelle Putnam, PhD, is Professor and Director of the PhD Program at the School of Social Work, College of Social Sciences, Policy, and Practice, Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Huei-Wern Shen, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, College of Health and Public Service, University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. She is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Introduction

Michelle Putnam and Huei-Wern Shen

Commentaries on Gerontological Social Work’s Response to COVID-19

1. The Consequences of Ageist Language are upon us

Clara Berridge and Nancy Hooyman

2. Applying Gerontological Social Work Perspectives to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Emma Swinford, Natalie Galucia, and Nancy Morrow-Howell

3. COVID-19 Pandemic: Workforce Implications for Gerontological Social Work

Marla Berg-Weger and Tracy Schroepfer

4. Older Workers in the Time of COVID-19: The Senior Community Service Employment Program and Implications for Social Work

Cal J. Halvorsen and Olga Yulikova

5. Caregiving in Times of Uncertainty: Helping Adult Children of Aging Parents Find Support during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Elizabeth Lightfoot and Rajean P. Moone

Gerontological Social Work Role in Addressing COVID-19

6. Gerontological Social Work’s Pivotal Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Response from AGESW Leadership

Tam E. Perry, Nancy Kusmaul, and Cal J. Halvorsen

7. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Vulnerable Older Adults in the United States

Yeonjung Jane Lee

8. Social Work Values in Action during COVID-19

Vivian J. Miller and HeeSoon Lee

9. COVID-19 and Older Adults: The Time for Gerontology-Curriculum across Social Work Programs is Now!

Susanny J. Beltran and Vivian J. Miller

10. They are Essential Workers Now, and Should Continue to Be: Social Workers and Home Health Care Workers during COVID-19 and Beyond

Lourdes R. Guerrero, Ariel C. Avgar, Erica Phillips, and Madeline R. Sterling

11. A Reflection of and Charge to Gerontological Social Work: Past Pandemics and the Current COVID-19 Crisis

Tyrone C. Hamler, Sara J. English, Susanny J. Beltran, and Vivian J. Miller

COVID-19 and Social Work with Diverse Groups

12. The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Minority Groups: A Social Justice Concern

HeeSoon Lee and Vivian J. Miller

13. Social Workers Must Address Intersecting Vulnerabilities among Noninstitutionalized, Black, Latinx, and Older Adults of Color during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Megan T. Ebor, Tamra B. Loeb, and Laura Trejo

14. Expanding Bilingual Social Workers for the East Asian Older Adults beyond the "COVID-19 Racism"

Sangeun Lee

15. Older Latinx Immigrants and Covid-19: A Call to Action

Rocío Calvo

16. Social Work Response Needed to the Challenge of COVID-19 for Aging People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilties

Philip McCallion

17. Unraveling the Invisible but Harmful Impact of COVID-19 on Deaf Older Adults and Older Adults with Hearing Loss

Junghyun Park

18. The Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults Living with HIV: HIV Care and Psychosocial Effects

Monique J. Brown and Sharon B. Weissman

19. Serving LGBTQ+/SGL Elders during the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Striving for Justice, Recognizing Resilience

Sarah Jen, Dan Stewart, and Imani Woody

20. Older Adults and Covid 19: Social Justice, Disparities, and Social Work Practice

Carole Cox

COVID-19 and Health and Social Care

21. Self-Direction of Home and Community-Based Services in the Time of COVID-19

Kevin J. Mahoney

22. COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunity to Advanced Home Care for Older Adults

Vahidreza Borhaninejad and Vahid Rashedi

23. The Need for Community Practice to Support Aging in Place during COVID-19

Althea Pestine-Stevens and Emily A. Greenfield

24. Covid-19 and Community Care in South Korea

Soyoon Weon

25. Social Work with Older Persons Living with Dementia in Nigeria: COVID-19

Oluwagbemiga Oyinlola and Oluromade Olusa

26. Thoughts on Living in a Nursing Facility during the Pandemic

Penny Shaw

27. The Care Home Pandemic – What Lessons Can We Learn for the Future?

Ameer A. Khan, Vineshwar P. Singh, and Darab Khan

28. Nursing Home in the COVID-19 Outbreak: Challenge, and Resiliency

Huanhuan Huang, Yan Xie, Zhiyu Chen, Mingzhao Xiao, Songmei Cao, Jie Mi, Xiuli Yu, and Qinghua Zhao

29. Nursing Home Social Work During COVID-19

Nancy Kusmaul, Mercedes Bern-Klug, Jennifer Heston-Mullins, Amy R. Roberts, and Colleen Galambos

30. Working with Older Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness during COVID-19: Decreasing Burden, Creating Plans for Future Care, and Utilizing Strengths

Travis Labrum, Christina Newhill, and Tyler Smathers

31. Service Needs of Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Nathaniel A. Dell, Natsuki Sasaki, Madeline Stewart, Allison M. Murphy, and Marina Klier

32. The Implications of COVID-19 for the Mental Health Care of Older Adults: Insights from Emergency Department Social Workers

Xiaoling Xiang, Yawen Ning, and Jay Kayser

33. Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults: A Cultural Geriatric Mental Health- Care Perspectived

Sonia Mukhtar

Social Isolation and the Digital Experience in COVID-19

34. Practical Implications of Physical Distancing, Social Isolation, and Reduced Physicality for Older Adults in Response to COVID-19

Anthony D. Campbell

35. COVID-19 and the Digital Divide: Will Social Workers Help Bridge the Gap?

Allison Gibson, Shoshana H. Bardach, and Natalie D. Pope

36. The Digital Exclusion of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alexander Seifert

37. Choosing Physical Distancing over Social Distancing in the Era of Technology: Minimizing Risk for Older People

Saptarshi Chatterjee

38. Virtual Social Work Care with Older Black Adults: A Culturally Relevant Technology-Based Intervention to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness in a Time of Pandemic

Sulaimon Giwa, Delores V. Mullings, and Karun K. Karki

39. Social Responses for Older People in COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from Vietnam

Le Thanh Tung

40. Fighting COVID-19: Fear and Internal Conflict among Older Adults in Ghana

Razak M Gyasi

41. Re-integrating Older Adults Who Have Recovered from the Novel Coronavirus into Society in the Context of Stigmatization: Lessons for Health and Social Actors in Ghana

Williams Agyemang-Duah, Anthony Kwame Morgan, Joseph Oduro Appiah, Prince Peprah, and Audrey Amponsah Fordjour

Interventions to Support Older Adults during COVID-19

42. Staying Isolated in Order to Stay Safe: Exploring Experiences of the MIT AgeLab 85+ Lifestyle Leaders during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Julie B. Miller, Taylor R. Patskanick, Lisa A. D’Ambrosio, and Joseph F. Coughlin

43. Adapting ‘Sunshine,’ A Socially Assistive Chat Robot for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study

Othelia EunKyoung Lee and Boyd Davis

44. Reaching older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic through social networks and Social Security Schemes in Ghana: Lessons for considerations

Francis Arthur-Holmes and Williams Agyemang-Duah

45. Animal (Non-human) Companionship for Adults Aging in Place during COVID-19: A Critical Support, a Source of Concern and Potential for Social Work Responses

Mary E. Rauktis and Janet Hoy-Gerlach

46. Detroit’s Efforts to Meet the Needs of Seniors: Macro Responses to a Crisis

Dennis Archambault, Claudia Sanford, and Tam Perry

47. Foregrounding Context in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Older Adults in Puerto Rico

Denise Burnette, Tommy D. Buckley, Humberto E. Fabelo, and Mauricio P. Yabar

48. An Innovative Telephone Outreach Program to Seniors in Detroit, a City Facing Dire Consequences of COVID-19

Vanessa Rorai and Tam E. Perry

49. Healthcare Concerns of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Low- and Middle- Income Countries: Lessons for Health Policy and Social Work

Francis Arthur-Holmes, Michael Kwesi Asare Akaadom, Williams Agyemang-Duah, Kwaku Abrefa Busia, and Prince Peprah

50. Geriatric Health in Bangladesh during COVID-19: Challenges and Recommendations

Md Mahbub Hossain, Hoimonty Mazumder, Samia Tasnim, Tasmiah Nuzhath, and Abida Sultana

51. Lessons for Averting the Delayed and Reduced Patronage of non-COVID-19 Medical Services by Older People in Ghana

Anthony Kwame Morgan and Beatrice Aberinpoka Awafo