Judith G. Gonyea

• PhD
• Boston University

For patients experiencing serious or life-limiting illnesses, informed decision-making depends on understanding prognosis and illness trajectory. Although physicians are viewed as the most appropriate group to share medical information, there is growing recognition that: a) cultivation of prognostic awareness occurs over time through a series of co...

For patients experiencing serious or life-limiting illnesses, informed decision-making depends on understanding prognosis and illness trajectory. Although physicians are viewed as the most appropriate group to share medical information around prognosis, there is growing recognition that other clinicians can contribute to these discussions. Indeed,...

A core tenet of interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) is that efficient and effective teams are critical for the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care. Although palliative care has a history of excellent care, increasing demands and larger patient loads are challenging teams to adapt and strengthen team functioning in hospital s...

Older homeless women have often been an invisible population; however, this is changing as their numbers grow. Today, women age 50 and older represent 30% of the shelter population. In this qualitative study, we explored the question, What does “aging in place” mean to women in their fifties who are navigating the urban streets and shelter system?”...

Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) is fundamental to the delivery of high-quality patient-centered care. An IPCP core tenet is that efficient and effective teams are crucial for the delivery of care that achieves patient satisfaction as well as positive patient-level outcomes. Although a growing number of IPCP studies explore how IPCP...

Food insecurity and loneliness are shockingly large and growing problems in the older population in the U.S. and globally. Thus, the study's primary aim was to investigate the prevalence as well as the association between these two social determinants of health in the marginalised and often underserved population of older residents of urban subsidi...

Poverty and food insecurity are associated with poor health in later life. Although housing is recognized as a social determinant of health; relatively little research has explored food insecurity in the marginalized population of older subsidized housing residents. In this study, we examined factors associated with food insecurity and particularly...

Objectives: Prior research has demonstrated the benefits of religion on caregiver well-being; however, less research exists on the processes underlying this relationship, particularly in Latino Alzheimer's disease (AD) families. This study's aim was therefore to explore the direct and indirect influences of positive and negative religious coping o...

The emergence of “aging in place” as social policy in the U.S and globally reflects a deepening understanding that a home is more than a physical domicile, it also represents a source of personal and social identity and offers one a sense of place and belonging. In this qualitative study we explore the question, What does “aging in place” mean to o...

Nations globally are facing the fiscal consequences of being aging societies, including the redistribution of wealth resources across sectors that influence generational relations (i.e., healthcare, education, public pensions). Political differences or clashes between youth and older adults is not a new phenomenon. However, questions are being rais...

To be old and homeless is to face multiple stigmatized identities simultaneously. This qualitative study explored how older homeless adults construct their personal and social identities to manage this stigma. A series of semi-structured in-depth interviews and field observations were conducted over a period of two years with twenty homeless older...

Purpose of review: The aim of the review is to examine the findings of empirical studies of palliative care interventions for patients with heart failure in which a social worker was identified as a key member of the interprofessional clinical team. Recent findings: Our systematic review of the empirical literature from January 2016 to August 20...

Older homeless women have largely been an invisible population. Two co-occurring trends however are bringing them into the public spotlight—the aging and the feminization of the adult homeless population. Yet despite the steep increase in their numbers, relatively little research exists about how gender and age intersect to shape the homeless exper...

By 2050, the older Latino population will reach 17.5 million and constitute 20% of the nation’s seniors; correspondingly, the Alzheimer’s disease rate among Latinos is projected to increase 1.3 million. Consequently, there is growing interest in delivering culturally sensitive health care services to this population, Although a significant body of...

Objectives: Older minority subsidized housing residents represent a population that is particularly vulnerable to depression. Although research suggests that neighborhood characteristics influence older adults’ mental health, it has not been explored in this target population. Drawing on social disorganization and social capital theories, this stud...

Research examining the distribution of major depressive disorders, depressive symptoms and other mental health disorders in community samples suggest that lower-income, minority adults age 50 and older, particularly those with chronic diseases and disabilities, face a greater risk for depression. Furthermore, research seems to support loneliness as...

The majority of midlife and older Americans have a strong desire to remain in their own homes or communities as they grow older. Yet for too many women, this option represents a significant, if not impossible, challenge. In this article, the authors explore factors that limit older women’s housing options, including the complex relationship between...

In much aging-related public policy, older women have been a secondary or residual consideration. Survivors Insurance-directed overwhelmingly toward women-came late to Social Security; Medicaid and long-term healthcare coverage was an afterthought to Medicare’s 1965 enactment; and 2017 efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act would have massively...

Objective: Depression is particularly prevalent in low-income and disabled older adults, and minority populations face a greater risk of poverty and earlier disability onset. Yet, little is known about the mental health of older subsidized housing residents, a population which is disproportionately composed of persons of color. The study’s aim was...

There is a growing awareness that the adult homeless population is ageing, mirroring the general US population trend. Although men still outnumber women among the adult homeless population, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women, including older women, seeking shelter each night. The concept of 'home' is widely associated with wo...

An estimated 151 million social orphans exist worldwide, of which at least eight million live in institutions with little possibility of family reunification or legal permanency via the mechanism of adoption (RELAF, 2010; UNICEF, 2012). As such, institutional staff are uniquely situated to fulfill the role of identity agents, a role typically perfo...

Purpose of the study: Demographic projections suggest that the older Latino population will experience the fastest growth among all racial/ethnic groups; and by 2050 will constitute 20% of the nation's seniors. Yet, Latino Alzheimer's elders and their families remain underrepresented in the health care system and caregiver intervention studies. To...

Despite the high suicide rate among young Asian American women, the reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. This qualitative study explored the family experiences of 16 young Asian American women who are children of immigrants and report a history of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviors. Our findings suggest that the participants experienced mul...

By 2050, Alzheimer's disease (AD) rates among U.S. Latinos are projected to increase 6-fold, from 200,000 to 1.3 million. Yet, there is evidence that many Latino elders are not receiving services to reduce their risk or manage their dementia. We sought to address this gap through the development and testing of Circulo de Cuidado, a Spanish-language...

There is growing interest, in the U.S. and globally, to transform communities to become more aging friendly. However, the majority of emerging initiatives lack a formal evaluation component limiting our understanding of their effectiveness as well as their replication. This study is an evaluation of a pilot project, the Aging Well at Home Program (...

The rapid aging of the world population, particularly the dramatic growth in the oldest old population, has captured the attention of policymakers globally. Much of this interest is driven by concerns about the public costs of population aging, especially rising fears that as more and more citizens survive to advanced old age, nations’ public pensi...

The dramatic increases in life expectancy that have occurred throughout the twentieth century have had a profound impact on both individuals and families. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years and people over 65 years of age accounted for approximately only 4 % of the U.S. population—or less than one in 25 persons. Today, life expectanc...

Adults aging with disabilities comprise a diverse group. In this article, we identify the prevalence and characteristics of this target population, focusing on adults who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. We articulate challenges in the delivery of health, social, and support services to adults aging with disabilities, particularly how...

Purpose: According to recent estimates, there are over 75,000 homeless elders in the U.S. today (Cunningham & Henry, 2007; Gibeau, 2001) and this figure is expected to rise as the baby boomers swell the ranks of the older population. Despite these statistics, homeless older adults remain both an under served and studied population by service provid...

Employing the political construct of “target” populations, we suggest that the Boomers in old age will constitute a conceptually distinct population from that represented by either their parents or grandparents. A fourfold typology organized along the dimensions posited by Schneider and Ingram (1993) yields categorizations of target populations as...

The aging of the US population, coupled with the strong desire of the overwhelming majority of Americans to age-in-place or stay in their homes as they grow older, has and will continue to present challenges for local communities. The successful aging paradigm has underscored the importance of not only the immediate environment of home but also the...

Despite their growing numbers, homeless older adults remain largely invisible in society and there has been a pervasive lack of public focus on elder homelessness. In this article, we seek to shine light on this forgotten population and deepen understanding of difficult challenges they confront in regaining housing security. We also examine the shi...

Although guilt is often identified as being a common emotion experienced by family caregivers in the clinical literature and in small descriptive studies, it has only recently emerged as a construct in the empirical research focused on identifying predictors of caregiver distress. Using Pearlin's stress process model, and based on data from 66 midl...

Older residents in low-income public housing are estimated as having a psychiatric disorder prevalence rate more than two times the rate found among community-dwelling elders in the United States. Yet despite this higher prevalence rate, only limited research has focused on the mental health needs of this population. Based on data from 196 older ur...

Lower-wage workers have always faced challenges in saving for their retirement years. As U.S. businesses increasingly adopt defined-contribution pension plans and emphasize individual responsibility and choice, what is the impact of this shift on the working poor? Lack of pension coverage is a significant concern because Social Security alone will...

The purpose of this article is to review changes and developments in the federal government's income maintenance and regulatory policies related to older adults' labor force participation. Government has been an important third player helping to shape and constrain the worker-employer relationship. Without question, the principal direction in recen...

The neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease are a major contributor to caregiver distress and burden. Despite recent efforts to teach caregivers skills to manage neuropsychiatric symptoms and reduce burden, there continues to be limited evidence that these strategies have helped caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disea...

In this article, the authors examine the existing and potential roles corporate America is currently playing and the roles it might play in increasing the baby boomer generation's commitment to volunteerism and civic engagement; and identify trends that suggest that businesses can, and should, play a significant role in mobilizing baby boomers to c...

Corporate America began to explore employees' child-care responsibilities approximately fifteen years ago, yet today less than 1 % of US companies offer some form of childcare assistance. One of the primary reasons cited for companies' general reluctance to embrace family-oriented benefits for employees is the lack of data demonstrating that these...

This chapter describes housing services available for older adults, noting that shelter is a basic need and describing the programs designed to meet that need. It identifies the role of income disparities in determining the housing options available to seniors and uses the concept of "environmental press" to argue that "goodness of fit" is an appro...

Most studies investigating correlates of Alzheimer's disease (AD) caregiver burden have focused on the role of objective factors as opposed to subjective factors. Although objective variables (e.g., caregiver age, patient dementia severity, functional status) have been shown to be significantly associated with burden, the correlations generally are...

The authors document the higher poverty rate of older women, especially women of color, compared with older men - a pattern created and maintained by the intersection of the structural factors of age, race, and marital status. They then review how the U.S. Social Security program generally benefits older women and reduces their late-life economic v...

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 27.5 (2002) 863-865 The combined forces of an older and more ethnically and racially diverse society will have a profound impact on the United States of the twenty-first century. By the year 2030, the number of persons sixty-five and older is expected to more than double to 66 million, or one in every five...

Although researchers have explored the growth and impact of family-supportive policies in the business sector, there has been a curious lack of attention to the development of family-responsive policies in the nonprofit sector. This article suggests possible explanations for the dearth of such studies, reviews the existing literature, and offers di...

Although researchers have explored the growth and impact of family-supportive policies in the business sector, there has been a curious lack of attention to the development of family-responsive policies in the nonprofit sector. This article suggests possible explanations for the dearth of such studies, reviews the existing literature, and offers di...

Using a feminist perspective, this article examines women's experiences in caring for older family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Central to this analysis are the concepts of the social construction of gender-based inequities in caring, the interconnections between generations of women as givers and receivers of care, and variation...

Reviews the research regarding employment and caregiving for elderly persons from 2 perspectives: an overview of findings and a review of methodology. Focusing primarily on corporate-based studies, the review examines both the prevalence of caregiving among employees and the impact of balancing the dual demands of caregiving and work. The limitatio...

The construction of social definitions is important, as these definitions are ultimately translated into public policies. This article explores the emergence of the concepts of the advantaged elder and the feminization of poverty. It is a paradox that society has simultaneously embraced these two concepts when the elderly population, especially the...

Increasing attention is being given to the ways in which family responsibilities and demands spill over into the work environment. This article reviews the research assessing both the impacts of child care and elder care and family-oriented personnel policies on employees. Six dimensions of the employees' work experience are explored: stress; moral...

The relationship between support group participation and families' knowledge and utilization of community services was explored through the comparison of 301 Alzheimer's disease families attending ADRDA support groups and 75 control Alzheimer's disease families. The data revealed that while support group membership was not associated with families'...

A partnership project for collaboration between families and professionals was demonstrated in eight Massachusetts communities. The project proved successful in its strategies to heighten public awareness, strengthen interagency networking, and improve community resources.

This article explores whether well and vulnerable elders residing in the suburbs differ in terms of: their level of satisfaction with their current living arrangement; their perception that they face a move within the next two years; and their level of interest in a series of different housing options. Our data support theoretical models that pose...

The primary objective of this study was to explore the relationship between support group participation and families' sense of psychological well-being. Comparison of 301 Alzheimer's disease families attending support groups and 75 control Alzheimer's disease families was undertaken. While correlational analysis did reveal group participation was a...

The focus of this article is the identification and assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Alzheimer's disease support groups' predominant model of service delivery. Based on information from 47 support group leaders and 301 members, Alzheimer's disease support groups' structure, format, member composition and perceived benefits are examined...

Health and social service professionals generally view respite services as a preventive health care measure for both caregiver and recipient. However, many families with dependent elders are reluctant to use formal respite care services. Factors associated with family member perceptions of hospital-based respite care as a viable personal option are...

This research investigated the planning by family members for the institutionalization of their elderly relatives. Institutional decision-making was conceptualized as having four stages: recognition; discussion; implementation; and placement. The key question explored was what are the most salient structural and dynamic factors associated with the...

Investigated the planning by 59 female and 21 male family members (median age 56 yrs) for the institutionalization of their elderly relatives. Institutional decision making was conceptualized as having 4 stages—recognition, discussion, implementation, and placement. Multivariate analyses revealed that both structural and dynamic variables made inde...

This article examines the impact of a state policy change — the loss of in-home chore services — on families providing care for older relatives. The presence or absence of chore services was not associated with caregiving behavior, perceptions of burden, or stress among relatives of both terminated and continuing clients. A significant relationship...

The investigators of this project examined the relationships between caregiving experience and subjective and objective burden. Interviews were conducted with 80 people caring for, or assisting, an elderly relative. The findings indicate that different factors are related to subjective burden than are related to objective burden. The age and income...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1983. Reproduction. Includes bibliographical references.