Insights and Innovation: How a Local Public-Private Partnership is Building Home Care.

Recent national reports asserted an urgent imperative for transforming working conditions for the direct care workforce in the US. These clarion reports identified key influencers in reform as federal and state governments, workers' unions and coalitions, individual and organizational employers. Equally essential and well-positioned local actors have been overlooked in the conversation-namely, municipalities, area agencies on aging, higher education, philanthropic entities, and community. Although deemed "essential," direct care workers have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines an early public-private partnership initiative designed to recruit and train PCAs in Virginia.

Community-Dwelling Older Adults' Adherence to Environmental Fall Prevention Recommendations.

This study examined the impact of personalized versus generalized education about environmental fall prevention recommendations on older adults' adherence with recommendations. Secondary aims focused on the impact of recent falls and perceived susceptibility of future falls on adherence with recommendations. Twenty-four community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 89 years were randomized into two groups to receive either personalized or generalized education intervention on environmental fall prevention recommendations. A significant difference was found in the mean total percentage of adherence with recommendations of those receiving personalized education (69%) compared with those receiving generalized education (37%). No statistically significant relationship was found between sustaining recent falls, nor perceived susceptibility to future falls, and their extent of adherence with environmental fall prevention recommendations. Providing personalized education for environmental fall prevention recommendations may improve older adults' adherence with the recommendations given.

State Dementia Plans and the Alzheimer's Disease Movement: Framing Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Motivation.

An interpretive analysis of 38 state dementia plans compares similarities and differences in diagnostic framing (problem identification/trends/issues), prognosis framing (addressing the problem), and motivational framing (calls for action) across plans. In framing diagnosis, only 6 plans used dementia alone in their titles. In framing prognosis and the subsequent call to action, state plans were consistent in their dire prognostications about the progressive and fatal consequences of the disease with a primary focus on the cost. Motivational language mirrored that of the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) Movement, from raising awareness to using inflammatory words to incite action. The language used set up the frame for clinical interventions that may not distinguish between types of dementia and could undercut the provision of person-centered care, shifts the victimization focus from persons with AD to caregivers and ultimately the state, and may subintentionally reflect cultural biases.

Lessons Learned From a Program Evaluation of a Statewide Continuing Education Program for Staff Members Working in Assisted Living and Adult Day Care Centers in Virginia.

The number of older adults residing in assisted living facilities (ALF) and utilizing adult day care services is expanding with the increasing population of older adults. Currently, there are no standardized requirements for continuing education for assisted living and adult day care service staff at a national level. Given that 62% of states within the United States require continuing education for ALF staff and/or administrators, a more formalized system is needed that provides evidence-based gerontological training to enhance the quality of care and services provided to older adults. This article describes the challenges and lessons learned from conducting a program evaluation of a Statewide Training and Continuing Education Program for Assisted Living Facility and Adult Day Care Service staff in Virginia. Survey evaluation data from a 6-year period was examined and a formative program evaluation was conducted. The findings from the survey evaluation and formative evaluation are discussed as are the lessons learned.

Who Is Likely to Commit to a Career With Older Adults?

Gerontology, as an academic discipline, provides professionals with the conceptual knowledge and the skills necessary to address the complexities of working with a diverse aging population. We know little about what attracts professionals to the aging field and what maintains commitment to these careers. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of career motivation, job satisfaction, anxiety about aging, and professional identity in relation to career commitment among those working with older adults. Participants (N = 756) were recruited through organizations and institutions serving older adults and responded to an online survey. Participants' motivation for working with older adults, level of job satisfaction, and exposure to formal gerontological education significantly predicted career commitment. In addition, aging anxiety mediated the relationship between job satisfaction and career commitment. This study sheds lights on perspectives of professionals working with older adults and highlights areas for future gerontological research and training.

The Language of Ageism: Why We Need to Use Words Carefully.

PURPOSE: Language carries and conveys meaning which feeds assumptions and judgments that can lead to the development of stereotypes and discrimination. As a result, this study closely examined the specific language that is used to communicate attitudes and perceptions of aging and older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study of a twitter assignment for 236 students participating in a senior mentoring program. Three hundred fifty-four tweets were qualitatively analyzed to explore language-based age discrimination using a thematic analytic approach. RESULTS: Twelve percent of the tweets (n = 43) were found to contain discriminatory language. Thematic analysis of the biased tweets identified 8 broad themes describing language-based age discrimination: assumptions and judgments, older people as different, uncharacteristic characteristics, old as negative, young as positive, infantilization, internalized ageism, and internalized microaggression. IMPLICATIONS: The language of ageism is rooted in both explicit actions and implicit attitudes which make it highly complex and difficult to identify. Continued examination of linguistic encoding is needed in order to recognize and rectify language-based age discrimination.

Catch a Glimpse of Me: The development of staff videos to promote person-centered care.

Catch a Glimpse of Me is an ongoing project that uses video to help staff deliver more person-centered care for people with dementia living in long-term care. Focus groups consisting of residents, family and staff members were conducted to develop a template for the development of the videos. The five themes they identified as being important to include are: family; interests and hobbies; memories and moments; life space and getting personal. The article describes the process of developing the videos and discusses the ongoing potential of the Catch a Glimpse of Me project.

Promoting the development of professional identity of gerontologists: an academic/experiential learning model.

Graduate education in gerontology has an essential role in providing the foundational knowledge required to work with a diverse aging population. It can also play an essential role in promoting best-practice approaches for the development of professional identity as a gerontologist. The primary goal of this study was to determine what factors predict the professional identity and career path of gerontologists. In addition, the study explored how experiential learning influenced professional identity for newcomers to the field and for those experienced in an aging-related field ("professional incumbents"). Graduates (N = 146) of Association for Gerontology in Higher Education-affiliated graduate programs participated. Professional identity as a gerontologist was predicted by length of time in the field, age, satisfaction with coworkers, and satisfaction with opportunities for advancement. Experiential learning contributed to professional identity in important but different ways for newcomers to the field and for professional incumbents. The inclusion of an academic/experiential learning model within graduate gerontology programs promotes the development of professional identity and career path for all graduate students.

Learner-centered online courses/programs in gerontology and geriatrics: new responses to changing needs of health professionals.

This article describes recent trends that have led to an emphasis on a learner-centered approach to gerontology and geriatrics education especially in distance-based education. A learner-centered approach to education has combined with technological advances to stimulate distance-enhanced education for students in geriatric and gerontology programs. The technological advances, especially the Internet, that have enhanced the capacity of educational programs to involve students in the learning process even though separated from the instructor by time and distance, are discussed. In response to the needs of health care professionals who were seeking to enhance their skills in research, education, and leadership in their respective professions, including gerontology, the learner-centered Doctoral Program in Health-Related Sciences (DPHRS) was established in the School of Allied Health Professions of Virginia Commonwealth University. The specifics of this distance-enhanced, learner-centered program are described. The article ends with strategies for encouraging a learner-centered experience with special focus on distance-based education.

Collaborative community-based research and innovation.

This work describes the results and lessons learned from a community-academic partnership to research the effect of training on the capacity of rural home care aides to care for older persons with dementia. The research study increased the aides' knowledge of Alzheimer's and related disorders and, for one group, the aides' satisfaction. The authors used content analysis to identify barriers and facilitators of success of the research partnership. These factors are discussed and placed within a framework of innovation concepts.