SOWK 432 Social Work with Aging Adults

This course is designed to introduce students to the knowledge, values, and skills associated with working with an older population of clients. Topics will include the effects of aging on physical, mental, and emotional processes as well as socio-cultural, spiritual, and environmental considerations.

As individuals transition from middle age to old age, social workers will be required to develop new and innovative approaches in working with this distinct population. This course aids the students in developing competency in the areas of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation when working with older adults. It prepares students with foundational knowledge and skills necessary for effective practice with older adults.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Case Studies provide a way to apply skills and knowledge acquired from the course. The student will read through the scenario provided and answer three questions where critical thinking skills and course materials need to be applied. Each case study is related to the content of its corresponding module. Each assignment will have a minimum 2-page and maximum 3-page limit.

Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Assessment Assignment

The student will complete a 3-5 page paper using the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of assessment. The student will be required to interview an older family member – i.e. parent, grandparent, or great uncle/aunt, etc., over the age of 55 and complete an assessment using the model provided. Particular emphasis must be placed on activities of daily living, spirituality, social functioning, and environmental safety. The paper will assess Competency 1-Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2-Diversity (knowledge), Competency 3-Justice (values, knowledge, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 4-Research (knowledge), & Competency 5-Policy (knowledge, values, cognitive/affective processes).

Pandemic Project Assignment

The student will write a 2-3 page report about an article of their choosing that addresses changes in the care of aging adults since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The scholarly article will be recent (2021 to present) and must be located at the Jerry Falwell Library. Details of the articles findings and impact on Social Work practice will be addressed in an APA formatted paper. 

Choices Assignment

Using online research, a PowerPoint brochure will be created with the purpose of helping aging adults understand their choices. The brochure will cover choices in the areas of health insurance, medical care locations and end of life decisions. Brochures will be formatted as a PowerPoint presentation. All brochures must include citations within the content and a reference list slide using current APA format. This assignment will be 10 minimum and 12 maximum slides, including a title and reference slide.

Quizzes (8)

Each quiz will cover the Learn material for the Module: Week in which it is assigned. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 10 multiple-choice and true/false questions, and have a 15-minute time limit. The student will have 2 attempts to complete each quiz in the allotted time. The highest score will be calculated in the student’s grade. The quizzes will assess Competency 1-Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2-Diversity (knowledge), Competency 3-Justice (values, knowledge, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 4-Research (knowledge), & Competency 5-Policy (knowledge, values, cognitive/affective processes).

This quiz will cover the Learn material from the assigned Modules: Weeks. This quiz will contain 50 multiple-choice and true/false questions and have a time limit of 1 hour and 30 minutes. The student will have 2 attempts to complete the quiz in the allotted time. The highest score will be calculated in the student’s grade. This quiz will assess Competency 1-Ethics/Prof. Behavior (values, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 2-Diversity (knowledge), Competency 3-Justice (values, knowledge, cognitive/affective processes), Competency 4-Research (knowledge), & Competency 5-Policy (knowledge, values, cognitive/affective processes).