Oral health and cancer screening in long-term care nursing facilities: Motivation and opportunity as intervention targets.

Objective: The objective of this study is to propose empirically and conceptually supported interventions that might increase the capability and opportunity to provide of oral hygiene care and oral cancer screening in long-term nursing care facilities.

Background: Improving the oral health in the older adult population is a priority of the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Poor oral health disproportionably affects older populations, which indicates lower participation in regular oral health care (OHC) that includes screening and early detection of oral cancer.

Administrators' Perceptions of Oral Health Care and Cancer Screening in Long-Term Care Nursing Facilities.

An estimated 1.7 million adults in the United States more than the age of 65 reside in long-term care nursing facilities (LTCNFs), and only 17% of them receive dental care. More than 83% of LTCNF residents require assistance with oral care.

Interdisciplinary medical social work: a working taxonomy.

Findings from a year-long exploratory study aimed at describing universal functions of medical social work with interdisciplinary teams in acute care settings are reported here. A universal taxonomy of interdisciplinary social work skills and competencies was empirically identified through a participatory action research framework. Findings support previous conceptual descriptions of medical social work's overarching and historical role to help interdisciplinary teams in acute care to consider patients' home environment, knowledge, beliefs, culture, and resources during assessment, treatment, and discharge planning.

Science, pseudoscience, and the frontline practitioner: the vaccination/autism debate.

This article demonstrates how misinformation concerning autism and vaccinations was created and suggests that social workers may be perfectly poised to challenge pseudoscience interpretations. Utilizing social network theory, this article illustrates how erroneous research, mass media, and public opinion led to a decreased use of vaccinations in the United States and a seven-fold increase in measles outbreaks. It traces the dissemination of spurious research results and demonstrates how information was transmitted via a system of social network nodes and community ties.