Rising Above the Flood: A Systematic Review of Gerontological Social Work in Disaster Preparedness and Response

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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01634372.2021.1986764?journalCode=wger20

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http://hdl.handle.net/11603/23219
 https://doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2021.1986764

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UMBC School of Social Work
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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2278-8495

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Susanny J. Beltran, Paola Luigi, Nancy Kusmaul & Milo Leon (2022) Rising above the Flood: A Systematic Review of Gerontological Social Work in Disaster Preparedness and Response, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 65:5, 545-561, DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2021.1986764

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This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Beltran, Susanny J. et al.; Rising Above the Flood: A Systematic Review of Gerontological Social Work in Disaster Preparedness and Response; Journal of Gerontological Social Work. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Abstract

Physical/cognitive limitations associated with the aging process place older adults at disproportionate risk of negative consequences during disasters. Guided by the profession’s commitment to supporting vulnerable populations, gerontological social workers have long been on the frontlines supporting older adults during disasters. Yet, disaster social work practice remains an undeveloped and under-researched area. Thus, we asked “what is the current role of gerontological social workers in disaster preparedness with older adults in the United States, and potential areas for improvement?” This paper systematically reviews the literature discussing social work and disaster preparedness/response with older adults in the U.S., to identify needs and inform future directions. PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct a systematic search across relevant databases for peer-reviewed-publications between January 1, 2009-June 12, 2020. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. This body of literature is small and covers two broad areas: (1) charging the social work profession to engage in this work, and (2) describing current efforts and unique challenges of older adults during disasters. Only three empirical studies were identified. Future educational efforts should formalize training to prepare social workers for this practice area. Research should detail the roles of social workers in disaster preparedness/response, and factors that predict involvement.