Gerontological Social Work ─ A Task-Centered Approach

This eminently practical book applies the task-centered model to gerontological practice across various settings (community based, hospital based, home healthcare, etc.). After an introductory chapter presenting demographic background information and outlining the common problems and needs of an elderly population, the book describes the continuum of care and the principal providers of services.

Gerontological Social Work features in-depth coverage of specific client problems, such as physical or mental health, caregiving, home and personal safety, senior living, and long-term care arrangements. A series of task planners offer a menu of possible actions that can resolve or alleviate a designated problem. Rating scales, schedules, and other forms assist the practitioner and client in the intervention process. An appendix classified by topic lists hundreds of Web sites related to work with the elderly.

Matthias Naleppa is an associate professor at the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University and a recent Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar. William J. Reid is Distinguished Professor of Social Work at the State University of New York at Albany. His most recent book, with Stuart Kirk, is Social Work: A Critical Appraisal.