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College students are poised to take on important leadership roles in society, and as such, it is vital that they understand the interests and needs of people throughout the life course and that they do not harbor ageist believes that may play out in the policies they enact, the services they provide, or the products they create. Many college students have little exposure or interaction with older adults aside from family members such as grandparents, and their primary sources of knowledge of aging and older adults are various media outlets. To understand how these factors converge, college students were asked to list words they associated with "old person" and with "grandpa/grandma." Findings reveal a strong decline-focused perception of the general category of older adults as well as negative emotional terms. Perceptions of specific, more likely to be known older adults revealed more positive, healthy, and nuanced views. Implications for college teachers are highlighted, including carefully curated intergenerational service-learning opportunities. Future directions include exploring perceptions of these two categories of older adults across cultures.

University-based retirement communities (UBRCs) are a relatively recent addition to housing options for older adults. The case example of a new UBRC, Mirabella at Arizona State University (ASU), is presented within the context of Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles and New American University design aspirations. We provide an overview of the planning process, describe initial collaborations between Mirabella and research faculty, and outline areas of overlap and distinction between Mirabella's approach and other UBRCs, AFU principles, and the design aspirations of the New American University model. Empirical investigations are needed to identify key characteristics of UBRCs that facilitate university integration and how those characteristics impact individual, community, and university level outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe the important background of the process of changing their publishing policy and offer insight into implications for future inclusive actions. They discuss the alignment of the policies with their core values, significance of adopting an inclusive name change policy, and steps identified for inclusive publishing that should be the aim of their field.

While participatory design approaches aim to include stakeholders in all design activities, in resource-limited situations, participation is challenging. Participatory designers often make decisions dealing with the tension between the agency of stakeholder participants and the project's viability. In designing health services, care professionals have limited availability, and patients, such as low-income older adults, have limitations such as lack of transportation and lower access to specialized communication technology or broadband. Yet, it is critical to find innovative ways to engage stakeholders in the design process for services and interventions that aim to improve their health and well-being. This article explores new ways to engage stakeholders in the participatory design process in resource-limited projects. We used a case study approach focused on the design experience of a project focused on social isolation and older adults to understand the complexity of real-world participatory design. While there are tradeoffs between project viability and stakeholders' agency, stakeholders' agency is possible in resource-limited projects. However, experts must adjust and balance influence in different activities to achieve meaningful participation of all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, we argue that gerontologists should increase their engagement with anthropologists to increase transdisciplinary collaboration, fulfill the interdisciplinary promise of gerontology as a field, and to ensure the work of anthropologists is formed by, and employed in, situations where meaningful engagement with practitioners and policymakers can lead to social change. Anthropology is the study of human societies in historical, biological, and sociocultural context, comprising a holistic field of study that can contribute unique methods, approaches, and theories to the field of gerontology. Although increasing amounts of anthropological scholarship have focused on older adulthood, this critical work of anthropologists still needs to be utilized by those in positions of power to enact change. Furthermore, the work conducted by anthropologists of aging has not consistently been recognized as anthropological scholarship. Therefore, a notable gap exists between the promise of the anthropology of aging and the utilization of the field, its findings, and engagement with the broader gerontological academy. As such, the contributions of anthropology to aging scholarship and the resulting reduction in inequities in the aging experience are not always adequately recognized. By examining the history of anthropology's engagement with aging and the lifecourse, we argue for a more applied anthropological gerontology. We conclude with a call to action to ensure that anthropological gerontology is seen as a fundamental branch of scholarship, both within anthropology and gerontology, which can be used to improve the lived experiences of older adults globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult guardian ad litem programs are a necessary public service to protect adults from abuse and neglect. This article describes the development and implementation of an adult guardian ad litem program. We discuss the program's impetus, pilot testing, evaluation, and implementation of the program. Our experience highlights the vital role of diverse inter-sectoral stakeholders. Furthermore, the development process highlights the need for flexibility in program development, tension negotiation among stakeholders, and engagement of aging stakeholders in nontraditional arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing the pervasiveness of negative societal attitudes toward aging and older adults is critical, as research indicates how older adults are viewed subsequently influences how they are treated. The Gerontological Literacy Network (GLN) is a multi-university collaboration established to address ingrained beliefs that underlie ageism and gerontophobia. The GLN developed a data-gathering protocol that uses drawing as a foundation to assess the gerontological literacy of college students. The protocol includes drawing what aging means, writing a paragraph describing the drawing, indicating the age at which someone is "old," and writing words associated with "old person" and "grandma/grandpa." Results from 1,609 protocols confirm that college students have negative views of aging as depicted in drawings of negative emotional states, illness, physical decline, and death. The presence of positive representations of aging (e.g., smiling) reveals the heterogeneity of perceptions and suggests the potential to achieve more accurate perceptions through educational interventions. This article provides an overview of the protocols and suggestions for future efforts related to gerontophobia and ageism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses assessment of social worker safety by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Topics discussed include engagement of social workers in South Carolina in unsafe workplace behaviors to deliver service to their clients; need for a multipronged approach to improve the safety of social workers like awareness building, education and training; and impact of increase in client loads, changing socioeconomic times, population shifts of social worker safety.

African-Americans face higher rates of Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias than any other group. With cases of Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias expected to double by 2050 the African-American community stands to be disproportionally affected. Recognizing the need for culturally tailored programming for caregivers and those living with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias In Our Community, Dementia Speaks was developed through a community-participatory model of engagement. While pilot results showed a non-statistically significant increase in pre/posttest knowledge a more nuanced review of the data indicates success in changing attitudes and behaviors regarding the disease among caregivers. Results provide a guide for informing future interventions and improving existing programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Office for the Study of Aging (OSA) at the University of South Carolina was established in 1988 in conjunction with the founding of the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Disease Registry. Over the last 25 years, the Office for the Study of Aging has furthered its purpose through the development of research and programs for all of South Carolina’s aging population. Examples include the Placemat Strength Training Program, the Dementia Dialogues education program, and the South Carolina Vulnerable Adult Guardian ad Litem program. The work of the office is sustained through a unique government–university–community partnership that supports innovative work and provides direct lines for dissemination, translation, and implementation of programs. The office’s efforts have resulted in two state laws involving aging and older adults as well as recognition through awards and publications. The Office provides a partnership model that offers a dissemination and translation pipeline for programs to be developed, piloted, revised, and enacted into policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]