Robin P. Bonifas - Bullying Among Older Adults: How to Recognize and Address an Unseen Epidemic

Health Professions Press, Inc.
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Copyright 2016 by Health Professions Press, Inc.
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Manufactured in the United States of America by Versa Press, East Peoria, Illinois.

All of the cases and examples in this book are composites of the authors actual experiences. In all instances, names have been changed; in some instances, identifying details have been altered to further protect confidentiality.

Professional care partners who purchase Bullying Among Older Adults: How to Recognize and Address an Unseen Epidemic are granted permission to print or photocopy the downloadable resources from the HPP website for their own use in caregiving. Please be sure all copyright and credit lines remain in place on each copy you make. The downloadable resources comprise PDF files. None of the materials may be reproduced to generate revenue for any program or individual. Unauthorized use is prosecutable under federal law.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bonifas, Robin P., author.

Title: Bullying among older adults : how to recognize and address an unseen epidemic / by Robin P. Bonifas, with invited contributors.

Description: Baltimore : Health Professions Press, Inc., [2016] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016021001 (print) | LCCN 2016021945 (ebook) | ISBN 9781938870095 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781938870484 (epub)

Subjects: | MESH: Bullyingprevention & control | Agedpsychology | Behavior Controlmethods | Caregivers

Classification: LCC BF637.B85 (print) | LCC BF637.B85 (ebook) | NLM BF 637.B85 | DDC 302.34/30846dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016021001

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data are available from the British Library.

Contents

Downloadable Resources

The following resources are available for download at www.healthpropress.com/bonifas-downloads (use password [case sensitive]: hJZ&sS7n).

About the Author

Robin P. Bonifas, Ph.D., M.S.W., is Associate Professor and Associate Director for Curriculum & Instruction at the Arizona State University School of Social Work. Dr. Bonifas earned her doctorate from the University of Washington in Seattle and has more than 15 years of experience working with older adults and their families in both long-term care and inpatient psychiatric settings. Her research focuses on enhancing psychosocial care for persons with chronic illness and disability, especially those with comorbid mental health conditions and those requiring long-term care. She also evaluates curricular interventions designed to prepare students for effective practice with older adults. Her current projects examine elder social justice issues, such as resident-to-resident aggressive behaviors in nursing homes, bullying among older adults, and other challenges to social relationships in senior care environments. In addition, she is examining the impact of interprofessional education on students competencies for collaborative healthcare practice.

After completing her masters degree in social work, Dr. Bonifas served as the director of social services in three different skilled nursing facilities over the course of 13 years. She appreciated interacting with individuals in nursing homes so much that she began working on her doctoral degree in 2001 in order eventually to prepare other social workers for practice in this area and to conduct research to advance the field of gerontological social work. The John A. Hartford Foundation funded her doctoral research, which focused on examining factors associated with quality psychosocial care in skilled nursing facilities. Since completing her Ph.D. in 2007, Dr. Bonifas has been working within an academic setting and has continued with research based in skilled nursing as well as the study of social relationship challenges in assisted living.

To date, Dr. Bonifas has given more than 25 presentations across the United States on bullying among older adults, helping senior care providers understand what it is and why it may occur, how it impacts older adults, and what strategies can be used to minimize its occurrence. Her research on resident-to-resident aggression in nursing homes has been published in Health and Social Work and the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

Dr. Bonifas was named the John A. Hartford Faculty Scholar in Geriatric Social Work in 2011. She serves as the Vice President of the Association of Gerontology Education in Social Work and as a consulting editor for Health and Social Work and the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. She is also the treasurer for the Arizona chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

About the Contributors

Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D., is an accomplished speaker and consultant with nearly 20 years of experience as a psychologist in long-term care. Dr. Barbera writes extensively about mental health issues in long-term care. She is the award-winning author of The Savvy Residents Guide and McKnights Long-Term Care News column The World According to Dr. El. She combines her training, clinical expertise, and knowledge of the business of long-term care with humor and pragmatism to offer effective solutions to common problems affecting cost and quality of care. Visit Dr. El at MyBetterNursingHome.com for resources to create long-term care settings where everyone thrives.

Katherine Parker Cardinal, M.A., has a masters in Management of Aging Services from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her final project, which won the 2015 Management of Aging Services Capstone Award, highlights how evidence-based school bullying prevention and intervention has application in aging services.

As a gerontologist, Cardinals work demonstrates how community leaders must view social wellness and emotional climate as a responsibility within their power of influence. Synthesizing information across various disciplines, she invites social scientists to study links between social bullying and physical aggression and to explore the complex nature of bullying that co-occurs with emotional or spiritual abuse, mental illness, and substance abuse and within the contexts of racism, homophobia, sexism, and bigotry. She continues to explore the interconnections between childhood trauma, bullying, and unconscious teaching or parenting styles that have been embedded in culture and influenced by centuries-old institutions.