Seizing Interdisciplinary Opportunities in the Changing Landscape of Health and Aging: A Social Work Perspective

Purpose of the Study: This paper is a revision of the Kent Award Lecture given at the Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in November, 2010. Design and Methods: This paper looks at the evolution in geriatric social work assessment and outcomes research and concludes with observations of the changing landscape in health and aging. Results: Since the 1960s, the policies and the context of health care delivery have changed many times as have geriatric health screening and assessment of patients in need of social health care services. Research on social-behavioral and environmental factors critical in measurement of outcomes of health care has progressed significantly as theories of care and the research technologies that allow us to study these factors have become more sophisticated. Implications: Researchers from multiple disciplines need to study the questions which can build the evidence necessary for empirically supported social policy direction. Opportunities in interdisciplinary geriatric assessment and measurement of outcomes, which are presented to researchers today, are highlighted.