[Radio] Preparing For The Looming Dementia Crisis
NPR
According to the World Health Organization, about 36 million people worldwide currently suffer from some degree of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Experts predict the number is set to double by 2030. Most families and health care systems are largely unprepared. [Audio and transcript]

Caring for the caregiver
The Morning Call
And as holiday family gatherings trigger people to fall into familiar childhood roles, the caregiver, often the most nurturing or responsible relative, kicks into uber-responsible mode and can get swept up in trying to make everyone happy, said social worker Jamie Huysman, co-author of “Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health & Happiness While Caring for a Loved One With Memory Loss.”

Wound care: Not open and shut
McKnights.com
“Although frail elderly with mobility issues are at greater risk for wounds, you can’t assume that those who are ambulatory aren’t at risk,” reasons Pamela Braun, MSW, LCSW, C-ASWCM, LF, president of Geriatric Assessment, Management & Solutions LLC. She stressed the importance of diligent, daily skin assessments, and urged staff to pay close attention to bottoms of feet and between toes — areas prone to pressure and friction. “The bath or shower is one of the best places to do skin assessments, and this should be done every day.”

Gender and Depression
Psychology Today
Both men and women are impacted by the impressions of others. Men, who may be recognized less often than women as experiencing depression, may not be advised to get help they need. On the other hand, perhaps the frequent referral of women to professional mental health services ends up over-representing women’s struggles with emotional health.

MSW student plays key role in gender-neutral housing policy
University at Buffalo Reporter
“The NASW (National Association of Social Workers) Code of Ethics calls for social and political action that emphasizes the ethical responsibility to advocate for all people so they have equal access to resources and opportunities. It also states that social workers should act to expand choice and opportunity for all people and promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity,” he says.

How to change perceptions of social work in the media
The Guardian (blog)
Social work remains something that happens, in the most part, away from the public gaze. It has been easy to fill this void with at best misunderstanding and at worst dishonest portrayals. Those with an axe to grind or a point to prove have been given the open goal and far too often social workers, their agencies and organisations have not even been on the pitch.

Support for hard-pressed social workers: editorial
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Both incidents are harsh reminders that social work is far from a science. As Johnston’s reporting showed, the profession requires practitioners to serve as detectives, judges, coaches and something akin to parents for overwhelmed families and abandoned and neglected children at their breaking point.

In the VA system, the future of primary health care
The Washington Post
But it was my rotation at the local Veterans Affairs health system that showed me the future of primary medical care and taught me the virtues of attacking illness on many fronts. It’s a lesson that will be acutely needed nationwide once the Affordable Care Act goes into effect and sends legions of newly insured patients into clinics and hospitals.