TOPICS
Choose ONE of these topics. Juanita Simon, a program assistant at ElderHealth Northwest, leads an exercise class with hand weights at an ElderHealth Northwest adult day health center Thursday, March 20, 2008 in Seattle. The class is part of a day of meals, exercise, and other social programs provided at the adult day care center. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Juanita Simon, a program assistant at ElderHealth Northwest, leads an exercise class with hand weights at an ElderHealth Northwest adult day health center Thursday, March 20, 2008 in Seattle. The class is part of a day of meals, exercise, and other social programs provided at the adult day care center. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Topic One: Profile the current situation and needs of a specific category or group of older adults in the United States.. Students who took this course in prior semesters thought that it would be interesting to focus on Native American elders, transgendered older adults, gay and lesbian older adults, homeless older adults, older adults who have Down’s syndrome, older adults who live in the US but are not citizens and older adults who are incarcerated in prison. You could focus your report more specifically than that if you choose; for example on Native Alaskan elders or older adults who are gay men living in rural communities. 1000-1250 words, including at least 5 references to course material and/or additional sources.
Topic Two: Abuse and Neglect: Select one specific aspect of the problem that you would be interested in learning more about. You could focus on a specific segment of the older population (people who live in the community with their spouses or adult children, people who live in assisted living) or specific issue (self-neglect, financial abuse by family members, financial abuse by fraudulent businesses and telemarketers, the need for tighter regulations in assisted living (where there are many fewer regulations to protect residents than in skilled nursing facilities or programs designed to prevent abuse. Imagine that you are a researcher who just got a grant to design and conduct a small scale study about the topic you chose in your community ( which you can define as a neighborhood, town, city, county… whatever seems appropriate). Your report should include two major components:
1.Provide some background information on the topic and why it is important. Include at least three references to course material , sources recommended in the course or other appropriate sources as background information and cite at least two one published research studies that are related to the topic if you can. Avoid low quality sources like the on-line “Nursing Home Abuse Guide” which is posted by a law firm advertising for clients who want to sue nursing homes. It includes lots misleading and unsubstantiated information.
2.Describe how would you conduct the research and the specific research question or questions that you would hope to answer.. You might want to focus on learning about the extent and causes of the problem by conducting a survey, checking legal and medical records, and/or interviewing people or you might want to design a new human service program that you could implement and evaluate. What would you want to learn about and how would you conduct your research project? Why do you think would be the advantages and disadvantages of the research method you chose?
