Nursing home social workers and allied professionals: Enhancing geriatric mental health knowledge

Robin Bonifas

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Research has highlighted the challenges social services professionals face in providing quality psychosocial care to persons living in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). A primary area of difficulty is addressing the needs of persons with mental health conditions, including problematic behaviors associated with dementia. This study evaluated the geriatric mental health knowledge of a sample of SNF social service directors (n=120) and found that although, on average, practitioners have a good level of general knowledge, their understanding is limited regarding the symptoms of dementia and effective interventions that can address associated problematic behaviors. Implications for social work education are discussed.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)809-832
    Number of pages24
    JournalEducational Gerontology
    Volume37
    Issue number9
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Sep 2011

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Education
    • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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