Abstract
Gerontology and professional gerontologists have been involved with research on caregiving and with services to caregivers since caregiving emerged as a focus of policy and program development in the USA. In this chapter, we focus primarily on family caregiving, with secondary attention to the role of gerontology in preparing, planning, and managing professional caregiving services for the frail elderly. Given the nature of the field of gerontology, our focus is almost entirely on the care of frail older adults. We believe that many, and probably most, caregiving issues are more determined by the nature of the chronic illness or functional impairment that necessitates the caregiving than by age as such, at least for adult care recipients. In the following sections, we discuss demographic changes that will shape the nature of caregiving, the history of gerontology as it relates to the relationship between gerontology and caregiving, thoughts on the strengths that gerontologists can bring to work with caregivers, and finally, examples of the ways in which gerontologists provide services to the frail elderly and to family caregivers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Achenbaum, A. (1987). Reconstructing GSA’s history. Gerontologist, 27(1), 21–29.
Aranda, M. P., & Knight, B. G. (1997). The influence of ethnicity and culture on the caregiver stress and coping process: A sociocultural review and analysis. Gerontologist, 37, 342–354.
Binstock, R. H. (1992). Aging, disability, and long-term care: The politics of common ground. Generations, 16(1), 83–88.
Brault, M. W. (2012). Americans with disabilities: 2010. Current population reports. www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p70–131.pdf. Accessed 25 July 2012.
Brody, E. M., Hoffman, C., Kleban, M. H., & Schoonover, C. B. (1989). Caregiving daughters and their local siblings: Perceptions, strains, and interactions. Gerontologist, 29(4), 529–538.
Burton, L. M. (1992). Black grandparents rearing children of drug-addicted parents: Stressors, outcomes, and social service needs. Gerontologist, 32(6), 744–751.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1999). Prevalence of disabilities and associated health conditions among adults—United States. mortality and morbidity weekly report, 50(7). http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5007a3.htm. Accessed 13 March 2007.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2007). Nursing home compare, Baltimore. Retrieved 22 March 2007. www.medicare.gov/NHcompare/Home.asp.
Commission for Case Manager Certification. (2002). The evolution of CCMC. Rolling Meadows: Author.
Connell, C. M., & Gibson, G. D. (1997). Racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in dementia caregiving: Review and analysis. Gerontologist, 37, 355–364.
Crimmins, E. M., & Ingegneri, D. G. (1990). Interaction and living arrangements of older parents and their children: Past trends, present determinants, future implications. Research on Aging, 12(1), 3–35.
Doty, P. (1986). Family care of the elderly: The role of public policy. Milbank Quarterly, 64(1), 34–75.
Dwyer, J. W. (1996). The effects of illness on the family. In R. Blieszner & V. Hilkevitch Bedford (Eds.), Aging and the family: Theory and research (pp. 401–421). Westport: Praeger.
Evashwick, C. J. (1996). Definition of the continuum of care. In C. J. Evashwick (Ed.), The continuum of long-term care: An integrated systems approach (pp. 1–14). San Francisco: Delmar Publishers.
Evashwick, C., & Langdon, B. (1996). The continuum of long-term care: An integrated systems approach. San Francisco: Delmar Publishers.
Graphic Sociology. (December 2009). Figure 5. http://thesocietypages.org/graphicsociology/2009/12/. Accessed 27 July 2012.
Janevic, M. R., & Connell, C. M. (2001). Racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in the dementia caregiving experience: Recent findings. Gerontologist, 41, 334–347.
Jayson, S. (2011June 29 ). Census: More kids live with a grandparent in the house. USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2011/06/More-kids-live-with-a-grandparent-in-the-house-Census-says/48965076/1. Accessed 20 July 2012.
Journal of Gerontology. (1946). Certificate of incorporation of the Gerontological Society Inc. Journal of Gerontology, 1(1), 134–137.
Karel, M. J., Gatz, M., & Smyer, M. A. (2012). Aging and mental health in the decade ahead: What psychologists need to know. American Psychologist, 67, 184–198.
Knight, B. G. (2004). Psychotherapy with older adults (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Knight, B. G., & Maines, M. (2001). Mental disorders and mental health services in late life: Issues for public health and public policy. In G. Lesnoff-Caravaglia (Ed.), Aging and public health: Technology and demography—Parallel evolutions (pp. 69–92). Springfield: C. C. Thomas.
Knight, B. G., & McCallum, T. J. (1998). Adapting psychotherapeutic practice for older clients: Implications of the contextual, cohort-based, maturity, specific challenge model. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29(1), 15–22.
Knight, B. G., & Sayegh, P. (2010). Cultural values and caregiving: The updated sociocultural stress and coping model. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 65B, 5–13.
Knight, B. G., Lutsky, S. M., & Macofsky-Urban, F. (1993). A meta-analytic review of interventions for caregiver distress: Recommendations for future research. Gerontologist, 33, 240–249.
Kropf, N. P. (1997). Older parents of adults with developmental disabilities: Practice issues and service needs. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 8(2), 37–54.
McCall, N. (2001). Long term care: Definition, demand, cost, and financing. In N. McCall (Ed.), Who will pay for long term care? Insights from the partnership program (pp. 3–31). Chicago: Health Administration Press.
Mitchell, S. (2000). American generations: Who they are, how they live, what they think. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications.
Moody, H. R. (2000). Aging: Concepts and controversies. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Morrow-Howell, N. (1992). Clinical case management: The hallmark of gerontological social work. Journal of Gerontological Social Work Special Issue: Geriatric Social Work Education, 18(3–4), 119–131.
Musil, C., Youngblut, J., Ahn, S., & Curry, V. (2002). Parenting stress: A comparison of grandmother caretakers and mothers. Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 8(3), 197–210.
Musil, C. M., Warner, C. B., Stoller, E. P., & Andersson, T. E. (2005). Women and intergenerational caregiving in families: Structure, ethnicity, and building family ties. In M. L. Wykle, P. J. Whitehouse, & D. L. Morris (Eds.), Successful aging through the life span (pp. 143–158). New York: Springer.
National Academy of Certified Care Managers. (2002). Eligibility criteria. http://www.NACCM.net. Accessed 8 Mar 2007.
National Alliance for Caregiving and American Association for Retired Persons. (April 2004). Caregiving in the U.S. http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/us_caregiving.pdf. Accessed 9 Mar 2007.
National Alliance for Caregiving & American Association for Retired Persons. (2009a). Caregiving in the U.S. 2009. http://www.caregiving.org/data/Caregiving_in_the_US_2009_full_report.pdf. Accessed 25 July 2012.
National Alliance for Caregiving and American Association for Retired Persons. (2009b). Caregiving in the U.S. 2009: A focused look at those caring for someone age 50 or Older. assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/caregiving_09.pdf. Accessed 25 July 2012.
Noelker, L. S., & Bass, D. M. (1989). Home care for elderly persons: Linkages between formal and informal caregivers. Journal of Gerontology, 44, 563–570.
Olshevski, J. L., Katz, A. D., & Knight, B. G. (1999). The context of stress reduction: Community services and resources for caregivers. In J. Olshevski, A. Katz, & B. Knight (Eds.), Stress reduction for caregivers (pp. 117–135). Ann Arbor: Brunner/Mazel.
Peterson, D. A. (1987). Career paths in the field of aging: Professional gerontology. Lexington: Lexington Books.
Qualls, S. H., & Czirr, R. (1988). Geriatric health teams: Classifying models of professional and team functioning. Gerontologist, 28, 372–376.
Riley M. W., Kahn R. W., & Foner A. (Eds.). (1995). Age and structural lag: Society’s failure to provide meaningful opportunities in work, family, and leisure. New York: Wiley.
Siegel, J. S. (1999). Demographic introduction to racial/Hispanic elderly populations. In T. Miles (Ed.), Full-color aging: Facts, goals, and recommendations for America’s diverse elders (pp. 1–19). Washington, DC: Gerontological Society of America.
Smyer, M. A., & Qualls, S. H. (1999). The context and pragmatics of practice. In M. Smyer & S. Qualls (Eds.), Aging and mental health (pp. 257–283). Malden: Blackwell.
Soldo, B. J., & Myllyuoma, J. (1983). Caregivers who live with dependent elderly. Gerontologist, 23, 605–611.
Sorensen, S., Pinquart, M., & Duberstein, P. (2002). How effective are interventions with caregivers? An updated meta-analysis. Gerontologist, 42, 356–372.
Stechenrider, J. S., & Parrott, T. M. (1998). Introduction: The political environment and the new face of aging policy. In J. S. Steckenrider & T. M. Parrott (Eds.), New directions in old-age policies (1–12). Albany: State University of New York Press.
St. Onge, M., & Lavoie, F. (1997). The experience of caregiving among mothers of adults suffering from psychotic disorders: Factors associated with their psychological distress. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25(1), 73–94.
Stone, R., Cafferata, G. L., & Sangl, J. (1987). Caregivers of the frail elderly: A national profile. Gerontologist, 27, 616–626.
Taylor, M. G., & Lynch, S. M. (2011). Cohort differences and chronic diseases profiles of differential disability trajectories. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66, 729–738.
Toseland, R. W., Smith, G. C., & McCallion, P. (1995). Supporting the family in elder care. In G. Smith, S. Tobin, E. Robertson-Tchabo, & P. Power (Eds.), Strengthening aging families (pp. 3–24). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
University of Kansas. (2002). 1999: A report on sponsored research the University of Kansas. http://www.kstate.edu/research/awards/archives/awards99.pdf. Accessed 9 Mar 2007.
University of Kentucky. (2002). Sanders-Brown Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC): Overview. http://www.mc.uky.edu/coa/ADRC/adrc.htm. Accessed 8 Mar 2007.
University of North Texas. (2002). Applied gerontology: Opportunities for graduate students: Master’s program. http://www.unt.edu/pais/grad/gager.htm. Accessed 9 Mar 2007
U.S. Census Bureau. (August 2008a). Table 2. Projections of the population by selected age groups and sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050 (NP2008-T2). http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/summarytables.html. Accessed 26 July 2012.
U.S. Census Bureau. (August 2008b). Table 3. Percent distribution of the projected population by selected age groups and sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050 (NP2008-T3). Accessed 25 July 2012.
U.S. Census Bureau (June 2010). Table 10. Resident population by race, Hispanic origin, and age: 2000 and 2009. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0010.pdf. Accessed 25 July 2012.
U.S. Census Bureau (2011a). The Older Population: 2010. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/. Accessed 25 July 2011.
U.S. Census Bureau (2011b). Current Population Survey, 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement. http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2011.html. Accessed 20 July 2012.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (December 2010). Women in the labor force: A databook. http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook2011.htm. Accessed 25 July 2012
Wolf, D. A. (1994). The elderly and their kin: Patterns of availability and access. In L. G. Martin & S. H. Preston (Eds.), Demography of aging (pp. 165–194). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Zarit, S., Orr, N., & Zarit, J. (1985). The hidden victims of Alzheimer’s disease: Families under stress. New York: New York University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chun, M., Lee, L., Knight, B. (2014). Professional Gerontology and Caregiving. In: Talley, R., Travis, S. (eds) Multidisciplinary Coordinated Caregiving. Caregiving: Research • Practice • Policy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8973-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8973-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8972-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8973-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)