The US eldercare workforce is falling further behind

Rowe, John W.

doi:10.1038/s43587-021-00057-z

Cited by 33 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…there will be an increase in demand of 5,790 full-time psychologists to care for adults aged 65 and older (APA, 2018;Information Handling Services Markit, 2018). The health care workforce well trained in gerontology remains too small to meet the physical and behavioral health needs of the older adult population, as a small percentage of health care providers in any profession opt to specialize in gerontology (Hamp et al, 2016;Institute of Medicine, 2012;Moye et al, 2019;Rowe, 2021). Most professional training programs do not integrate gerontology education and training into their curriculum, and as a result, the professional health care workforce lacks minimal competence in caring for the behavioral health needs of older adults (Hoge et al, 2015;Karel et al, 2012;Karlin & Molinari, 2021).…”

Section: Professional Training and Workforce Deficitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and referral of at-risk older adults: A clinical training perspective.

Koontz,

Canady,

Sexton

2024

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

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As the percentage of older adults aged 65 and over continues to rise dramatically in the United States and globally, psychology must develop ways to meet the behavioral health needs of this age group. The psychology workforce devoted to working with older adults is insufficient, and one consequence of this deficit is the underidentification of behavioral health symptoms in this age group, often closing the door for further intervention. Older adults with mild-moderate symptoms and who reside in rural and/or underresourced areas are least likely to seek help for behavioral health concerns, and, when they do, it is most often requested from their primary care provider who may not recognize symptoms as indicative of a behavioral health concern. Psychologists in training participated in a clinical experience to improve their competence in providing services to older adults. This training and community engagement experience focused on the identification of mild-moderate behavioral health symptoms within a rural, community-dwelling older adult population over a 6-year span. Students provided behavioral health screenings, psychoeducation, feedback, and referral to assessment/treatment services for older adults during regional health and wellness events. Screening results revealed high rates of anxiety, mild neurocognitive disorder, and depressive symptomology in our sample (n = 658) of older adults, providing evidence for routine and systematic screening and early detection of behavioral health symptoms in the older adult age group. Impacts on readiness to work with older adults by those who completed this clinical training experience are discussed. Public Significance StatementThis article presents a combined training and community engagement program to increase psychology students' readiness to provide care to older adults. Trainees reported that the program enhanced their professional competence regarding working with older adults, many of whom presented with concerns including mild neurocognitive disorder, anxiety, and depression.

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Section: Professional Training and Workforce Deficitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and referral of at-risk older adults: A clinical training perspective.

Koontz,

Canady,

Sexton

2024

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

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“…The majority of health professional education programs for licensed nursing home staff lack geriatric‐focused didactic and experiential learning (Schapmire et al, 2018). Consequently, health professionals such as nurses, physicians, and social workers bring limited geriatric‐focused knowledge to the care and services they provide to older persons residing in nursing homes (Rowe, 2021). For licensed professionals, required professional certification programs specific to the specialization of their role in nursing homes are needed to enhance their education and training.…”

Section: National Competenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy Priorities for a Well‐Prepared Nursing Home Workforce

Mueller

Travers

2023

J American Geriatrics Society

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“…9,10 The NAM reports, reinforced by other commentaries, point out how the multidisciplinary geriatric health professional workforce has not kept pace with expansion and increased clinical service demand for the 65+ population. [1][2][3][4][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] For geriatricians and geriatric psychiatrists this gap is widening. Using 1992 ABMS Certification data there were 5,926 board certified geriatricians and 849 geriatric psychiatrists corresponding to a 1990 census 65+ population based ratio of 18.9 per 100,000 for geriatricians, and 2.7/100,000 for geriatric psychiatrists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gluing together a fragmented healthcare system for geriatrics will be hard. It's time for united action

Colenda,

Applegate

2024

J American Geriatrics Society

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Abstract“Gluing” together integrated Geriatric Clinical Service lines (GCSL) within the US healthcare system is a significant challenge. Reasons encompass health professional workforce shortages, inconsistent requirements for geriatric educational competencies among the health professional disciplines, preconceived ageist attitudes about older adults with complex illnesses, and a US healthcare system infrastructure that is not aligned with longitudinal and interdisciplinary care needs for older adults. This review focuses on three major characteristics of the US healthcare system that have impeded widespread dissemination of GCSLs: (1) the US's historical fee for service (FFS) reimbursement system; (2) increasing reliance upon disease specific specialty care services for older patients that have resulted from advances in medicine; and (3) rising consolidation of US healthcare systems over the last 30 years. Three specific options are also provided that might help change the current and future trajectories of GCSLs: (1) local political advocacy to implement health policy legislation; (2) expand geriatric physician and health professional workforce by nontraditional means; and (3) reprioritize expansionist healthcare systems corporate behavior. Each of these interventions will be hard to achieve, but it is time to unite if GCSLs are to thrive as pathways to improve care outcomes for older adults with complex medical, cognitive and neuropsychiatric disorders.

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The US eldercare workforce is falling further behind

Cited by 33 publications

References 9 publications

Identification and referral of at-risk older adults: A clinical training perspective.

Identification and referral of at-risk older adults: A clinical training perspective.

Policy Priorities for a Well‐Prepared Nursing Home Workforce

Gluing together a fragmented healthcare system for geriatrics will be hard. It's time for united action

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