Journal of Applied Gerontology current issue

Theory as a Necessary Part of Applied Gerontology

Cutchin, M. P. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Social Theory, Aging, and Health and Welfare Professionals: A Foucauldian "Toolkit"

Powell, J. L. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Health and welfare have emerged as pivotal drivers used to position the identities that older people adopt in contemporary Western societies. Both contain continually changing technologies that function to mediate relations between older people and care professionals. However, they also represent an increase in professional control that can be exerted on lifestyles in old age, and thus, the wider social meanings associated with that part of the life course. The article presents a theoretical analysis of gerontology based on a critical reading of the work of Michel Foucault. It identifies the interrelationship between managerialism and older people in terms of a conceptual toolkit of (a) "medical power," and (b) "assessment," "surveillance," and "resistance"; the key point is that they are relevant in theorizing power relations between health and welfare professionals and user groups such as older people.

Practice Implications: A Commentary on Powell's Foucauldian Toolkit

Castle, N. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Challenging Gerontology's Empirical Molehills: A Commentary on Powell's Foucauldian Toolkit

McDaniel, S. A. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Gerontology and theory have long been intellectually separate, with empirical studies dominant. Marrying Foucauldian theory, as Powell proposes, with gerontology is clever, timely and potentially fruitful for policy, practice and research. Although Foucault had little to say about age, his insights on power and on bodies are profoundly relevant to the process of ageing. Powell’s proposed application of a Foucauldian toolkit to caring for older people, enables the opening of insights into both the cared for and the carers, the latter of whom are differentially disadvantaged as well by gender, ethnicity, class and often immigration status. Viewed through Foucault’s concept of power, ageing population is observed as a fiction, justifying all manner of policy panics and woes that may not exist as actual challenges. Foucault’s concepts of power, identity, regulation, resistance and the bodily as socially shaped, have transformed sociology. A similar transformation of gerontology would be welcome.

Gerontological Theory: A Commentary on Powell's Foucauldian Toolkit

Svihula, J. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

A Response to Castle, McDaniel, and Svihula

Powell, J. L. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Reconsidering Successful Aging: A Call for Renewed and Expanded Academic Critiques and Conceptualizations

Dillaway, H. E., Byrnes, M. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Many scholars now critique successful aging terminology. Nonetheless, there is incomplete analysis of the political motivations behind the development of and/or effects of widespread use of these terms. This article suggests that analysis of the people who developed the terms and the settings within which they work parallels an analysis of the terms themselves and illustrates the continuing negative perception of aging. This study fleshes out a more thorough critique of the sociopolitical contexts surrounding the successful aging paradigm so that it can help renew and expand existing critiques. The authors conclude that researchers need to be wary of adopting successful aging terminology without considering and expanding their understanding of the political motivations and results that accompanies it. New, expanded conceptualizations of successful aging are needed so that socially minded researchers and practitioners of gerontology do not contribute to ageism and discrimination against older adults.

How Do Charge Nurses View Their Roles in Long-Term Care?

McGilton, K. S., Bowers, B., McKenzie-Green, B., Boscart, V., Brown, M. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

This article explores how registered nurses (RNs) in long-term care (LTC) understand their role as charge nurses. Data are derived from 16 charge nurses employed in 8 facilities in Ontario, Canada. Qualitative methods are used to analyze audiotapings of interviews. The findings reveal a range of dimensions and subdimensions. Charge nurses experience their work as highly complex and unpredictable. Themes that captured the following dimensions of the supervisor role in LTC include (a) against all odds, getting through the day; (b) stepping in work; and (c) leading and supporting unregulated care workers. In addition, analysis within each category reveals a complex intersection between the nurses’ perceptions of the context and their consequent work strategies. The emerging demands placed on supervisors due to the growing complexity of residents, increasing government regulations, and staffing shortages have caused the role of the charge nurse to evolve with little reflection on its impact.

Working Memory, Cues, and Wayfinding in Older Women

Davis, R. L., Therrien, B. A., West, B. T. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Individuals create cognitive maps based on relationships between cues in the environment. Older individuals are often impaired in wayfinding, especially in environments that lack distinctive features. This study examines how working memory ability in older women is related to wayfinding performance in the presence of salient (distinctive, prominent) or nonsalient cues. The degree of salient cue complexity is also examined, thus leading to the hypothesis that salient, complex cues are important in wayfinding and that working memory capacity is related to wayfinding performance. The virtual computer-generated arena is used to test this hypothesis in 20 healthy older women in three different environmental cue conditions varying in salience and complexity. Data analyses indicate that older women perform best in salient cue conditions. A greater working memory capacity is related to improved performance in the nonsalient cue condition. These findings offer preliminary evidence that cue salience is especially important in wayfinding.

Using Massage to Reduce Use of Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs With Older Adults A Brief Report From a Pilot Study

Nelson, R., Coyle, C. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:56 PST

Despite known adverse effects, sedative-hypnotic drugs (SHDs) are widely used in institutional settings serving the elderly. Using a 2 (Intervention, Control) x 3 (Baseline, Intervention, Withdrawal) mixed design with random assignment to the intervention (n = 15) or control (n = 13) group, the authors sought to determine if a nonpharmacological sleep intervention (massage at bedtime) could reduce "as-needed" SHD (PRN-SHD) usage. Each phase of this pilot lasted 7 days and PRN-SHD usage was monitored via chart review. Results, indicating a 13% greater reduction in requests for PRN-SHD for the intervention group when it received massage, approached statistical significance for the quadratic planned comparisons (p = .17) despite limited power (.28) for the observed effect size of .07. While preliminary, results suggest that massage at bedtime may reduce PRN-SHD usage with older adults. Randomized controlled studies with larger samples are needed.