Dear Readers,
Welcome to this issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, which features seven articles that report qualitative and quantitative research findings from four countries: Portugal, Ghana, China and the United States. Topics focus on diverse caregiving experiences as well as subjective loneliness, and digital and virtual options to facilitate social connections.
The issue opens with Yang et al.’s cross-sectional survey study that examines the moderating effect of personality on the relationship between caregiver burden and anxiety among caregivers of persons with dementia in China. Next, Mayo et al. present qualitative focus group findings on generational differences regarding the impact of ageism, highlighting older adults’ ability to recognize ageism’s impact on other generational cohorts more so than on their own. Article three, by Guerra and colleagues, reports findings from qualitative interviews with community-dwelling older adults in Portugal about the subjective experience of loneliness; discussion includes how identified themes can be applied to create more person-centered digital solutions that can potentially minimize loneliness. Article four, by Quach et al., also presents findings from qualitative interviews, this time with family caregivers of persons living in nursing homes regarding the facility transfer experience, the importance of resident-facility fit, and early social work involvement in problem resolution. In article five, Kyei-Arthur and Atobrah present qualitative findings on the range of motivations prompting family careving to older adults in the context of urban poverty in Ghana. Next, Immel and colleagues report findings from focus groups with LGBT older adults about their needs for virtual outreach as an additional source of informal social support; the value of virtual connections toward generativity, socialization, and affirmation is highlighted. The issue closes with survey study results from Afonso et al. that address the experiences of residential care staff in Portugal early during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As always, I hope you enjoy reading the informative articles in this issue.