The first half of 2016 has proven to be a complex, difficult, and complicated year for gerontological social workers around the world. For many of us, the issues we teach about, areas we conduct research in, and the domains of practice we work in have been impacted by social, economic, and political events—often crises. In our own pages, we are starting to see more discussion of wide-ranging issues such as treatment of immigrant workers; long-term effects of sexual violence and discrimination; and implications of isolation, housing transition, and neighborhood changes. At the Journal, we want to be responsive to current events and issues in gerontological social work practice. To help facilitate learning in the field about challenges and opportunities for gerontological social work, we are issuing three new calls for special sections of the Journal. The first special section call is related to issues of addiction and substance use. In the United States, as well as in other nations, addiction in later life is gaining more attention, but there remains a small evidence base behind it, particularly as it relates to the role of social workers. We want to help build this knowledge base. Our second special section call focuses on aging and social and economic justice. We have listed a wide range of topics that could fit under this umbrella in the call. We intend for articles to directly identify relationships between aging and social and economic justice and offer informed analysis of these relationships, their antecedents, and their outcomes, and to help strengthen conceptual frameworks and increase the evidence base in this area to improve practice. Third, we are calling for the submission of letters to the new President of the United States—to be inaugurated January 20, 2017—and the new session of the US Congress that also convenes in January 2017. We ask that these letters highlight the role of gerontological social work in improving outcomes in later life and provide thoughts, insights, and recommendations to the new President and to Congress. Although we expect there to be some opinion in these pieces, we ask authors to present their arguments and analyses in a productive way, citing sources as needed and applicable. If you are interested in submitting a paper for review in one of these areas, please consult the Journal’s web page on the Taylor & Francis website at http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wger20#.V4PlCjkrLZt.
In this issue
This issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work contains articles covering a wide range of topics. First, Dr. Kevin Charras and collaborators present an environmental design framework for adults with dementia. This is followed by a study from Dr. Noelle L. Fields examining factors related to length of stay in assisted living facilities. A brief report on the successful gerontological social work BRIDGE model of transitional care presented by Renae Alvarez and colleagues is next. And a second brief report by Harry Owen Taylor and colleagues describes a means of assessing social isolation among older adults in low income senior housing. The last two articles take different looks at the experience of aging. Dr. Jennifer M. Putney presents a study of perspectives on aging by older lesbian adults. Dr. Susan Baidawi and coauthors describe prison experiences and psychological distress among older inmates. Our review for this issue is written by Dr. Karen A. Zurlo and looks at edited book Financial Capability and Asset Holding in Later Life. In full disclosure, I, along with Jennifer Greenfield, on our editorial staff, are pleased to have book chapters in this volume, but did not attempt to influence the review in any way.
We are proud to present to you this issue and encourage you to consider submitting to one of the special section calls.