This book provides a unique analysis of provider-, environment-, client-, and societal-based obstacles to the empowerment of frail elderly persons in a philosophical framework of social values, as well as an applied framework wherein a variety of international case studies by a distinguished board of contributors provide concrete examples of the feasibility of achieving real empowerment. Empowerment means different things to different people in the context of housing, health, and social service delivery. This book analyzes the various definitions of the concept and practice of the empowerment of frail older persons and then discusses the definitions in a philosophical framework of social values regarding aging and the older person.Each chapter demonstrates the feasibility of achieving increased empowerment of older persons, even those with severe physical or mental disability. True empowerment of older persons in every country requires time, energy, money, and commitment to the goal. This book will be of interest to academic as well as professional audiences in areas of Gerontology, Psychology, Sociology, and Family Studies. Caregivers and policymakers will also find this analysis useful.

IntroductionEmpowerment: Definitions, Applications, Problems and Prospects by Mary E. McCall, Leonard F. Heumann, and Duncan P. BoldyOpportunities and Impediments in Housing, Health and Support Service Delivery by Leonard F. Heumann, Duncan P. Boldy and Mary E. McCallService Providers and Empowerment: Information, Training and CoordinationPromoting Empowerment in Residential Aged care: Seeking the Consumer View by Duncan P. Boldy and Linda E. GrenadeReimagining Senior Empowerment in Service Delivery: Creative Applications in a Global Context by Mary E. McCallRetaining and Expanding Empowerment in the Transition to a Community-Oriented Support System: Japan in the 21st Century by Tokie AnmeEmpowerment in Post-Reform Community Care in England and Wales by Bleddyn DaviesEnvironment and Empowerment in Conventional HousingAnother Way of Living in One's Own Home: The Salmon Group Projects by Robin Currie, Marie-Jo Guisset, and Niek de BoerThe Role of the Built Environment in Holistic Delivery of Home and Community Based Care Services to Frail Elderly Persons by Leonard F. HeumannWhen Community Planning Becomes Community Building: Place-Based Activism and the Creation of Good Places to Grow Old by Philip B. StaffordClient Empowerment in Long-Term CareThe Rights of Elderly People in a Nursing Home--A Little Creativity, a Lot of Respect, a Taste for Adventure and an Allergy to Burearcracy by Germain HarveyBringing Managed Health Care Home: A New Service Strategy for People with Chronic Illnesses and Disabilities by Dennis L. Kodner, Meg Sherlock, and Jonathan ShankmanElderly Persons with Severe Mental Illness: Empowering a Neglected and Growing Population by Paul H. CarmichaelOlder People with Long Standing Disabilities and their Caregivers: Empowering a Neglected and Growing Population by Lindsay GethingOverview and the FutureEmpowerment in Pathways Through Care: A Cross-National Comparison of Care Delivery Systems in Britain and Germany by Michaela SchunkEmpowerment of Frail Elderly People and the Vision of a Self-Actualized Society by Duncan P. Boldy, May E. McCall, and Leonard F. Heumann