Introduction to Issue 64(5)

Abstract

Dear Readers, I am happy to introduce another wonderful issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work! This issue opens with a Letter to the Editor from Iwuagwu and Kalu, introducing readers to an intervention conducted in Nigerian primary care settings to address loneliness and social isolation among older adults; the letter includes a call for rigorous research to develop an evidence base for similar interventions in diverse settings. Next, Wong shares social workers’ insights into the vital roles they serve in long-term care settings that focus on advocacy and collaborative activities supporting personcentered. Yockey identifies the high level of binge alcohol consumption among Hispanic older adults and the associated correlates based on secondary analysis of National Survey on Drug Use and Health data. Miller and colleagues present findings from a systematic review of the literature on suicide prevention among older adults and draw attention to the need for further evaluation studies in this area given the high suicide rates among this population. The next four articles form a special section on caregiving, caregivers, and care receivers. Two articles provide international perspectives. Ahmad Ramli et al. discuss the meaning family caregivers ascribe to caring for persons with mental illness in Malaysia with emphasis on how religious, cultural, and familial values shape the caregiving experience. Munkejord et al. describe the challenges associated with live-in caregiving among women who have immigrated to Taiwan to fill such positions. The other two articles address caregiving and care receiving in a situational context. Kunicki et al. present findings on differences in burden severity between spousal and adult child caregivers of persons with dementia; Brotoman and colleagues’ commentary brings attention to the human needs of neurodiverse older adults – those with intellectual and developmental disability, autism spectrum disorder, Down’s syndrome, and other similar conditions – and their caregivers, highlighting social work roles in rectifying policy inequities that marginalize this population group. The issue concludes with three media reviews. Lee uses Backman’s (2021) A Man Called Ove and Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino to illustrate how the use of story can enable social work students to understand the intersection of immigration and aging. Fischer-Shemer reviews Rudavsky’s Witness Theater, which documents partnerships between teens and Holocaust survivors that provide an avenue for gerotranscendance as survivors deeply connect with teens to share their trauma experience, some for the first time. Bullock JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORK 2021, VOL. 64, NO. 5, 447–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2021.1934638