senior hands

Call for Papers 
I.J. Shapiro and A.J. Borrell 2015 Award
for Best MSSW Student Paper
$1,000 Award 
New deadline:  Friday, May 15, 2015

 

Senior Psychcare, a leader in innovative care for age-related problems in nursing homes and assisted living facilities with the mission of helping seniors attain the highest possible level of functional ability while maintaining their quality of life, is sponsoring a student paper contest on mental health issues and services for older adults. The contest is open to MSSW students at The University of Texas at Austin only.

The purpose of the contest is to solicit ideas on ways to improve geriatric mental health and substance use assessments and interventions by making them more innovative, effective, and efficient in coming years. Service delivery can include a wide range of issues at system, provider, community, and individual client levels in various senior care settings. Some examples include:

  • increasing the workforce of geriatric mental health and substance use disorder counselors
  • training to assist non-geriatric social workers to transition into geriatrics
  • developing and implementing community education to reduce stigma about mental health and substance use problems
  • integration of evidence-based mental health and substance use interventions in healthcare and aging services settings
  • use of technology to increase accessibility and affordability
  • educating and/or assisting people with dementia and their caregivers
  • suicide prevention and end of life/death with dignity issues