Teaching Note—Supporting Homebound Older Adults and Caregivers Through Integrative Service Learning

ABSTRACT

The Supporting Older Adults & Caregivers: Integrative Service Learning (SOCIAL) partnership trains undergraduate social work students to provide practical home-based support for older adults with chronic illness and their family caregivers, serving as a pipeline for future leaders in older adult care. More than 2 million older adults are homebound, and 5 million need help leaving their homes. Family members often assume daily caregiving tasks to assist their loved ones, navigate health care systems, and provide much needed emotional support. In this teaching note, we provide an example of an integrative service learning model which can serve older adults and caregivers while offering valuable pedagogical experiences to baccalaureate students, along with strategies for curriculum building, community engagement, research and evaluation, and program sustainability.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Administration for Community Living [90CCDG001-02-00]; Michigan Health Endowment Fund [R-2108-149060]; National Institute on Aging [P30AG0059304]; and Health and Aging Policy Fellows [2018-0074].

Notes on contributors

Keith T. Chan

Keith T. Chan is Assistant Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Christina Marsack-Topolewski is Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. Sarah LaFave is Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Maggie Ratnayake is Interim Executive Director at Lori's Hands, Inc. Jillian Graves is Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. Diane Fenske is Lecturer at the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. Lynn Jones is Consultant at Lori's Hands.