Lesbian and gay elders and long-term care: identifying the unique psychosocial perspectives and challenges.

This qualitative study of lesbian and gay elders seeks to identify the psychosocial challenges this community faces regarding long-term care. Two focus groups were conducted among 16 gay elders in community and long-term care settings. Participants reported fear of being rejected or neglected by healthcare providers, particularly personal care aides; fear of not being accepted and respected by other residents; fear of having to go back into the closet if placed in long-term care; and a preference for gay-friendly care.

Helping patients make decisions about complementary and alternative treatments: the social work role.

Increasingly people are using complementary and alternative modalities (CAM) to cope with and manage cancer. Many patients, however, do not know how to access credible information and make informed treatment decisions. Social workers are in a unique position in the healthcare team to facilitate patients' decision-making about CAM.

Promoting effective social work policy in end-of-life and palliative care.

Policy developments in the health care arena in general, and in end-of-life and palliative care in particular, strongly influence the practice environment for the delivery of hospice and palliative care services and the diverse roles of social work practitioners. This article analyzes policy developments in two crucial areas-ethics and law and disenfranchisement and health disparities. It focuses on the recent social work literature and other key sources and provides recommendations to promote the roles of social workers in ethics consultation, public policy, and advocacy and to integrate better the perspectives and concerns of diverse communities into palliative care practice, education, and policy.