SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT RESEARCH AND THE NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS THROUGH IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE


Social work students in Research I & II will be partnering with LifeStream Services for the next two years to help with the evaluation of their transportation and nutrition services for older adults.  The ELDERS (Engaging Learners in the Development of Essential Research Skills) Project was funded by the Council on Social Work Education through their Baccalaureate Experiential Learning (BEL) program.  The main purpose of the funding is to facilitate innovative student learning experiences with older adults. This project is important because is estimated that we will need around 60,000 additional social workers to work with the increasing aging population, yet only around 6,000 choose specialties in aging.

Students in Dr. Greta Slater's research methods and statistics courses will be riding the InterUrban—a door-to-door transportation service for Blackford, Delaware, Henry, Grant, Jay, Madison, & Randolph counties—with older adults and assisting them with the completion of LifeStream's  survey.  Students will also be helping elders complete surveys at the congregate meal sites and senior centers in these counties in the Spring. The project will help students connect the research and statistics concepts from class with hands-on learning and will provide a helpful community service for LifeStream Services too.