Course List
SOWK 8321
Biology and Psychology and Aging
Consequences of normal aging processes (distinguished from age-related disease processes), extension of life expectancy; interrelationship of biology, behavior; age-related physiological/anatomical changes that affect health; epidemiological studies of disease and aging; psychosocial, cognitive factors of aging and memory of learning, psychopathology affecting mental health.
SOWK 8329
Aging and Social Policy I
Policy creation process, problem analysis as they bear on aging, the elderly; political organization of the elderly, their participation in national, state, local policy processes; leading organizations exerting influence in age-related matters; techniques of policy advocacy on behalf of the elderly; substantive policy issues such as retirement, income security, health care, institutionalization, housing, community services.
SOWK/SOC/GERO 5310
Social Gerontology
Health needs of the elderly, health-care systems that address them; mechanisms for health-care delivery and for financing institutional and community-based care; effects for elderly of reform proposals. Focus on sociological theories of aging, social consequences of demographic and epidemiological processes in an aging society.
SOWK 8211 & SOWK8191
Social Work Practice with Older Adults
Biopsychosocial/cultural approach to aging; includes demographic, attitudinal aspects; impact of race, gender, class, ethnicity; health, mental health issues; assessment factors; long-term care continuum; roles.
SOWK 8380
Assessment and Case Management of Older Adults
Methodologies essential to planning, management, and evaluation of human service programs; emphasis on client assessment, community needs assessment and resource inventory, program impact assessment, program evaluation; includes issues of program design and reorganization based on data generated by these methods; requires writing program recommendations, research report.
SOWK 8346
Family in Late Life
Prerequisite: graduate standing. Family life of the elderly; includes late-life marital relationships; widowhood, living alone; relations with children, grandchildren, siblings, other kin; alternative, innovative lifestyles; neglect, abuse of the elderly; demographic, structural changes in family, society that affect these matters; core concept is the family as a natural support system for the elderly, its potential and limitations in a context of community support networks.
SOWK 8340
Aging and Social Policy II
Health needs of the elderly, health-care systems that address them; mechanisms for health-care delivery and for financing institutional and community-based care; effects for elderly of reform proposals.
SOWK 8309
Intergenerational Family Therapy
Provides students with knowledge on family functioning across generations based on Murray Bowen’s theories. Application of theories through the use of family assessment and intervention techniques.
SOWK 8305
Management and Community Practice I
Management, administration in social work, human services; includes decision making, leadership styles; basic tasks, roles, skills of managers; management processes such as financial, human resource management.
SOWK 8306
Management and Community Practice II
Continuation of SOWK 8305; Use of competing values framework (a meta-theoretical model) to integrate management skills of boundary-spanning, human relations, coordinating, directing.
SOWK 8159 & SOWK 8259
Evaluation Research I & II
Management and community practice applied to the methods of social work practice evaluation through needs assessment and program evaluation. Builds on foundations provided in SOWK 7370, extending into macro-practice research at the organizational and community level. Emphasizes empowerment evaluation as a mechanism to foster improvement and self-determination. A theories-ofchange approach is used to guide evaluation.
HSAD 5123
The Health Care System
Provides an overview of the structure and function of the U.S. healthcare system in delivering health services and public health interventions. Topics include organizational arrangements, financing, health status and system-level determinants of health, health insurance, the health workforce, health services costs and quality, access to care and regulatory issues.
HSAD 5143
Management of Health Care Organizations
Provides an overview of how modern health care delivery institutions and public health agencies are organized and governed, how they respond to their environment, and how they reach and implement decisions. Exercises emphasize organizational structure; the roles of health professionals, managers, and staff; and health policies applicable to organizational settings.
SOWK 8218 & 8191
Grief, Loss, and Social Work Practice
Basic assessment and intervention skills for practice with client systems experiencing grief and loss.
SOC/GERO 5336
Social Aspects of Death and Dying
An exploration of the subject of dying and death in contemporary society. Emphasis is on the psychological and social correlates of death. The dynamics of the grief process and issues of ethics of life support are explored. Dual‐listed in the UALR Graduate Catalog as GERO 5336. Three credit hours.
SOWK 8210
Social and Emotional Implications of Illness and Disability
Health care issues, problems; variety of social work practice dimensions; social, emotional components; reciprocal relationships of health, psychosocial cultural processes; social work practice in a multidisciplinary environment.
PADM 7336
Managing the Not-for-Profit Sector
Management issues unique to nonprofit sector; hands-on use of real-world examples, problems through selected readings, special projects; attention to managing volunteers, fundraising.