Infusing Equitable Aging in Health into Social Work: Three International Examples That Address Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Adults

OVERVIEW: A key strength of social work research is that it often examines complex social issues through a multitude of disciplinary lenses. For example, social work research examining health disparities often pulls from public health and other disciplines for theoretical framing. Social work also uniquely centers social justice and equity as core features of the profession. However, these concepts are often vague or ill-defined. This roundtable presents a new conceptual framework of particular relevance for social work researchers, educators, and practitioners whose work intersects with health: Equitable Aging in Health.

EQUITABLE AGING IN HEALTH CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: One of the key objectives of the Equitable Aging in Health conceptual framework is to help social workers develop, refine, and implement health-related interventions. It builds on principles in critical gerontology, public health concepts of social and political determinants of health, international human rights, and intersectionality frameworks to present a new conceptual framework for social work researchers, educators, and practitioners. Equitable aging centers five domains of power (intrapersonal, interpersonal, disciplinary, cultural, and structural) as critical components (or hub) that drive six political and social determinants of health (economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, and laws and politics). The sixth determinant of health (laws and policies) incorporates international human rights (economic, social, cultural, civil, political rights). When justice is infused in these five domains of power, political and social determinants of health can produce equitable aging outcomes. The Equitable Aging in Health Framework presents a new tool that incorporates justice and power to help understand and explain health disparities and ultimately how to achieve equitable opportunities and outcomes for older adults.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: To illustrate the utility of this conceptual framework, this roundtable will present three international interventions that use the Equitable Aging in Health Conceptual Framework to address social isolation and loneliness. Social isolation and loneliness among older adults have garnered significant international attention, particularly as systems, structures, and services have evolved during a global pandemic, and thus present a timely social issue for social work to apply the Equitable Aging in Health conceptual framework. The first intervention applies this framework to community-level services to address social isolation among older rural-urban migrants in mainland China. The second intervention applies an equitable aging conceptual framework to cultural-political responsive care and training models to address social isolation and loneliness in rural indigenous villages in Taiwan. The third intervention applies this framework to a policy intervention to address social isolation and loneliness among nursing home residents in Spain. The roundtable discussion will provide opportunities for participants and panelists to discuss the strengths and challenges of employing this framework, specific examples of how to apply it to social work research, education, and practice, and stimulate conversation about the development and application of this conceptual framework for social work research, education, and practice.