Aging Practice Tools

Every communication about aging has the potential to dismantle or perpetuate ageism. Read this blog, coauthored by NASW and the National Center to Reframe Aging, for tips to enhance your communication about aging in social work assessment, advocacy, and other outreach.

NASW is developing a task force for the revision of the 2013 Guidelines for Social Work Safety in the Workplace. The guidelines were created to establish safety measures and protocols for social workers within the workplace. Social workers utilize these guidelines as a resource to help create, develop, and assist communities, private and public agencies, local, state, and federal policymakers to create a safe working environment in areas where social workers are employed.

During the Medicare open enrollment period (OEP, October 15–December 7), Medicare beneficiaries can review, compare, and change their coverage options for the upcoming calendar year. As a social worker, you can help clients understand and navigate the OEP. Read this NASW Practice Alert for detailed information about Medicare coverage options and beneficiary out-of-pocket costs for 2023 (including reduced-cost insulin), Medicare OEP tools and resources, financial assistance for Medicare beneficiaries, and messaging regarding Medicare Advantage and original Medicare.

It is important for social workers—including those who work with older adults—to develop a deep understanding about the ways in which the environment and individual health outcomes are interconnected. This NASW publication describes the connection between human health and features of the environment, including weather, air, and food. The resource also highlights efforts within the social work profession to bring environmental health issues to the forefront and to advance practices and policies that are beneficial to people, communities, and the natural environment.

In the spirit of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15), NASW has published a report describing how social workers are responding to and preventing elder abuse at local, state, national, and Tribal levels. This publication aims both to advance elder justice within the social work profession and to underscore the innumerable contributions of the profession to the elder justice field.

This inventory, developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in May 2022, provides resources for health and social service providers interested in enhancing outreach to and support for older Veterans who have or are at risk for behavioral health conditions. The inventory includes programs and publications on topics such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, pain management, suicide prevention, and long-term services and supports.