ABSTRACT With global migration increasing, understanding aging perceptions (APs) among immigrant older adults (IOAs) is essential for informing healthcare and social policies. This scoping review synthesized evidence on IOAs’ aging perceptions, influencing factors, and research gaps. Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, four databases were searched for studies published between 1996 and 2025. Fifty-four studies, mostly qualitative, were included. Four themes emerged: successful aging outside the homeland, conflicting aging perceptions, challenges and barriers, and adaptive coping strategies. Aging out of place reflected interactions between individual, social, and environmental factors, with IOAs experiencing the “double jeopardy” of aging and immigration.

ABSTRACT This study examines how residential space quality affects cognitive impairment in Chinese urban older adults through life quality evaluation mediation, using CLHLS data (2011-2018) and structural equation modeling. Results show the direct effect evolved from marginal (2011) to highly significant (2018), reflecting urbanization policy impacts. Residential space quality primarily influences cognitive function indirectly through enhanced life quality evaluation, requiring objective improvements to transform into cognitive protection via subjective perception. Findings suggest gerontological social workers should implement integrated interventions with dual-assessment protocols, addressing both housing quality and psychosocial support simultaneously.

ABSTRACT Life course theory links early-life experiences to late-life depression, yet research on childhood neighborhood effects among rural older adults—especially gendered differences—remains limited. Analyzing 2014–2018 CHARLS data of 8,034 rural older adults via structural equation modeling, we confirm a significant long-term association between childhood neighborhood environment and depressive symptoms. Multi-group analysis reveals stark gender heterogeneity: the association holds exclusively for rural older women, with no significant effect among men. These findings underscore women’s lifelong vulnerability to early environmental exposures, calling for life course-informed childhood neighborhood assessments in gerontological social work.

ABSTRACT Men aged 50+ are disproportionately represented among older adults in shelters. Drawing on Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity, we conducted a secondary qualitative data analysis of interviews with older men in shelters/transitional housing aged 50+ (n = 21) and service providers (n = 15) to understand how older men negotiate support in three Canadian shelters/housing sites. Older men’s experiences and behavior that limited support include: 1) choosing isolation; 2) self-reliance; 3) aggression in conflict; and 4) equating support with being less masculine. Older men negotiated support through: 1) social practices that avoided vulnerability; 2) relationship-building with trustworthy providers; 3) creative expression; and 4) service.

ABSTRACT Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) older adults experienced discrimination. There is evidence that neighborhood context may play a protective role in mental health outcomes. Methods Using the 2022 California AANHPI Community Needs Survey, multivariate regression models examined associations among discrimination, neighborhood characteristics, and mental health. Results COVID-related discrimination was associated with higher levels of serious psychological distress, while higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion and safety were associated with better mental health outcomes. Discussion These findings highlight the importance of neighborhood factors in promoting AANHPI older adults’ mental health.

ABSTRACT Developing and delivering meaningful and impactful activity programming in long-term care settings is essential to the promotion of emotional, social, and cognitive well-being of residents. In this article, we present qualitative findings from a feasibility study of RASCALs, a nature-focused livestream group activity program for older adults in assisted living. Using an established feasibility evaluation framework, the researchers examined eight domains: acceptability; demand; implementation; practicality; adaptation; integration; expansion; and initial impact. Interviews (N = 18) were conducted with older adult participants (n = 12), nursing staff (n = 3), interventionists (n = 2), and the facility activities coordinator (n = 1). Data were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis. Results indicated that the RASCALs program was readily accepted by participants and that there was evidence of initial impact, particularly in terms of contributing to well-being and promoting socialization. Implementing the intervention also appeared to be practical in this setting, however there were challenges associated with delivery. Demand, adaptation, and expansion were related to resident interest, flexibility and creativity, and communications and promotion, respectively. Facilitators, barriers, and potential impact are further discussed, as are implications for practicing social workers and social work researchers.

ABSTRACT This study explored nursing home social services directors’ interest in receiving training related to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Nationally representative data from the National Nursing Home Social Services Directors Survey of 2019 were used. Two-thirds of respondents reported moderate or strong interest in discrimination training. The subgroup most interested in this training topic were nonwhite, social work-educated men, not residing in the Midwest. While most (65%) respondents expressed moderate or strong interest in training, 35% of respondents reported little to no interest in training. Recommendations to serve LGBTQ+ nursing home residents are discussed, and resources are provided.

ABSTRACT In the context of normalized forms of elder abuse and neglect in Canada, it is important to examine how constructions of family caregivers in the public sphere (re)produce potentially harmful assumptions. In this paper, we examine mainstream media construction of the “caregiver” identity in advocacy-related coverage over a 6-year time period (2016–2021). Relying on abductive formal analysis, we explore how care for older adults is presented as largely burdensome and linked to what are labeled the “complex care needs” of a growing aging population that is erroneously presented as largely incapacitated or incompetent. In particular, the emphasis and confusion generated around the indiscriminate use of the disease label of “dementia” functions to emphasize burden, particularly for women and women’s liberation more broadly while simultaneously dehumanizing older persons and ignoring various well-documented and socially generated causes of cognitive impairment. Our analysis suggests that reliance on the caregiver identity contributes to the marginalization of older adults and perpetuates ageism while obscuring multiple system failures that harm older persons and strain families’ ability to be responsive to elders’ needs.

ABSTRACT This paper examined the prevalence of and risk factors associated with unmet needs for activities of daily living (ADL) for older adults dying with dementia. We focused on a sample of 632 older adults in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Employing Andersen’s behavioral model of health, we investigated the association of predisposing, enabling, and need factors and found that older age, using hospice, receiving residential care, and severity of ADL disability were associated with fewer unmet care needs. This study emphasizes the timing of end-of-life care preferences and the quality of care services for older adults with dementia.