Dear Colleagues,
In this last issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work in 2017, I want to thank all of our authors, reviewers, and readers. This year has been an unusual one for the United States and for many other nations as well. In 2017 there have been political, policy, economic, social, and cultural trends and events that have highlighted the enormous amount of work there is to do to create societies where people live safely and securely, in good health, with robust social and economic supports, and have the opportunity to experience a “good old age”. In the field of gerontological social work, we continue to face challenges in helping older adults and their families to meet their needs, goals, and to age well. That said, contributors to this Journal in 2017 have helped build our knowledge about how to improve later life experiences and outcomes, shown us ways that practice interventions can work, highlighted developing areas of practice and areas of practice need, and helped us understand where attention needs to be focused in regards to policy development and change. For those contributions, we are grateful. For our readers who take this knowledge into their work and use it to make a difference for older adults and their families and in our communities overall, we are thankful for your ongoing commitment to using evidence and scholarly knowledge to improve outcomes in the field. In 2018, the Journal will work towards adding new features that help move knowledge into practice. Please look for those and we welcome your suggestions for innovations in this area as well.
In this issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, our first article is by Scott E. Wilks and colleagues who present results from a study evaluating gerontology competency in MSW programs where students are and are not enrolled in a gerontology specialization. The second article is by Joshua J. Turner and associates and examines perceived need for formal transportation alternatives among older adults and preferences for those alternatives. This is followed by an article calling for professionals to formally screen older adults with dementia for firearm ownership and potential use authored by Gabriele Cipriani and international collaborators. After that is a study presented by Mariko A. Foulk, Berit Ingersoll-Dayton, and James Fitzgerald looking at Mindfulness-based forgiveness groups for older adults. Finally, this issue contains a review by KyongWeon Lee of the book The age of dignity: Preparing for the elder boom in a changing America. This issue closes with a note of thanks to reviewers who provided service to the Journal between the years of 2015 and 2016.
Thank you for a good 2017,