The ageing demographic transition: The impact on elderly and social workers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol22iss2id187Keywords:
older people, ageing population, social work practice,Abstract
The issues associated with an ageing population pose substantial challenges for governments globally. Social workers are well suited to respond to the challenges of this demographic change. However, there is a severe shortage of social workers that are skilled in working in this field. This article looks at the ageing demographic transition, how support for the increasing older population will be a problem, and the issues that may impact older people,as well as social workers. How discrimination, culture and ethics inform social work practice, and the legislation and policies that are available for the aged. The article also looks at the knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and models of practice that are used by social workers in working with the older generation.
References
Age Concern New Zealand. (2005a). Age concern New Zealand releases report on elder abuse & neglect prevention service: Media statement. Retrieved 17 May 2006 from www.ageconcern.org.nz/?/article&id=000000107.
Age Concern New Zealand. (2005b). Age concern elder abuse and neglect prevention services: An analysis of referrals for period: 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2004. Wellington: Author.
Age Concern, (n.d.). Do you have an enduring power of attorney?: Planning for your future. [Brochure]. Wellington: Author.
Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers. (2004). Code of ethics. Dunedin: Author.
Beehive.govt.nz. (2006). Budget 06: Caring for older New Zealanders. Retrieved 29 May 2007 from http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=25803.
Berkman, B., Gardner, D., Zodikoff, B., & Harootyan, L. (2005). Social work in health care with older adults: future challenges. Families in Society, 86(3), 329-338.
Bertera, E., & Bailey-Etta, B. (2001). Physical dysfunction and social participation among racial/ethnic groups of older Americans: implications for social work. In F. Ahearn. (Ed.). Issues in global aging (pp. 97-115). London: Haworth Press Inc.
Bevan, C. (2001). An ageing society issues and challenges. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 20, 15-21.
Boston, J., & Davey, J. (2006). Politics of ageing. In J. Boston & J. Davey (Eds.), Implications for population ageing: Opportunities and risks (pp. 363-372). Wellington: Institute of Policy Studies.
Browne, C., & Broderick, A. (1994). Asian and Pacific Island elders: Issues for social work practice and education. Social Work, 39(3), 252-259.
Chenoweth, L., & McAuliffe, D. (2005). The road to social work & human service practice: An introductory text. Victoria: Thomson Nelson Australia.
Department of Labour. (n.d.). Social worker: occupational skill shortage assessment. Retrieved 25 May 2007 from http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Xe66dinYEA0J:www.workinsight.govt.nz/PDFs/professional-report-social-worker.pdf+social+work+and+elderly&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=nz
Duncan, G. (2004). Society and politics: New Zealand social policy. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.
Dunstan, K., & Thomson, N. (2006). Demographic trends. In J. Boston & J. Davey (Eds.), Implications for population ageing: Opportunities and risks (pp. 11-49). Wellington: Institute of Policy Studies.
Dwyer, M. (2006). Communities and volunteering. In J. Boston & J. Davey (Eds.), Implications for population ageing: Opportunities and risks (pp. 11-49). Wellington: Institute of Policy Studies.
Families Commission. (2005). Beyond zero tolerance: Key issues and future directions for family violence work in New Zealand. Retrieved 17 May 17 2006 from http://www.familiescommission.govt.nz/download/zero-tolerance.pdf
Gibson, F., Kunz, J., & Schmidt, M. (2005). A social work perspective. In B. Haight & F. Gibson, Working with older adults (4th ed.) (pp.397-415). London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Glasgow, K. (2005). Ageing is living: A guide to positive ageing. Wellington: Age Concern New Zealand Incorporated.
Golden, R., & Sonneborn, S. (1998). Ethics in clinical practice with older adults: recognising biases and respecting boundaries. Generations, 22(3), 82-87.
Green. P. (1994). Studies in New Zealand social problems (2nd ed.). Palmerston North: The Dunmore Press.
International Federation on Ageing, (n.d.). Welcome to international federation on ageing. Retrieved July 4, 2007 from http://www.ifa-fiv.org/en/accueil.aspx
Kirst-Ashman, K., & Hull, Jr. G. (2006). Understanding generalist practice (4th ed.). California: Thomson Learning.
KiwiSaver (2007). Retirement saving made easy with KiwiSaver. Retrieved 30 June 2007 from http://www.kiwisaver.govt.nz/
Linzer, N. (2004). An ethical dilemma in elder abuse. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 43(2/3), 165-173.
Ministry of Social Policy. (2001). The New Zealand positive ageing strategy: Towards a society for all ages – He anga orange kau mo nga whakatipuranga katoa. Wellington: Author.
Opal Cox, E., Kelchner, E., & Chapin, R. (2001). (Eds.). Gerontological social work: Issues challenges and potential. New York: Haworth Press.
Petrie, M. (2006). Implications of population ageing for families. In J. Boston & J. Davey (Eds.). Implications for population ageing: Opportunities and risks (pp. 307-328). Wellington: Institute of Policy Studies.
Rosen, A., & Zlotnik, J. (2001). Social work’s response to the growing older population. Generations, 25(1), 69-72.
Schofield, V. (2005). Health social work. In M. Connolly (Ed.), New Zealand social work: Contexts and practice (pp. 146-156). Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Selby, R. (1994). My whanau. In R. Munford, & M. Nash (Eds.). Social work in action (pp. 144-151). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
Silverstone, B. (2005). Social work with the older people of tomorrow: Restoring the person-in-situation. Families in Society, 86(3), 309-320.
Social Workers Registration Board. (2007). Welcome. Retrieved 4 July 2007, from http://www.swrb.org.nz/.
Statistics New Zealand. (2006). Population ageing in New Zealand. Retrieved 18 May 2006 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/Articles/pop-ageing-Feb00.htm
Thompson, N. (2001). Anti-discriminatory practice (3rd ed.). New York: Palgrave.
TVNZ. (2007). CloseUp: Flatting for oldies. Retrieved 27 June 2007 from http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_win-dows_skin/1204755
United Nations. (2000). United Nations principles of older persons. Retrieved July 4, 2007 from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/iyop/iyoppop.htm
Wilson, P. & Rodway, P. (2006). Ageing and the long term fiscal position. In J. Boston & J. Davey (Eds.), Implications for population ageing: Opportunities and risks (pp. 99-125). Wellington: Institute of Policy Studies.
World Health Organisation. (1999). Global movement for active ageing. Retrieved July 4, 2007, from http://www.who.int/hpr/globalmovement/index/htm.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
