Step 1: Identify a complex issue or phenomenon.

Complex Phenomenon #1: Poverty

How/Why is it complex?

o Poverty is a complex issue because it has many factors. It could be

related to location, social class, financial means, drugs, etc. It is

complex because it affects people all over the world, and it is not

something with an easy solution.

Why are you interested in this phenomenon/problem?

o I am interested in poverty because it is prevalent in all parts of the

world. It can be seen on the global, national, state, or even local levels.

I feel that as a society, we should offer help to as many people as we

can instead of just focusing on ourselves.

What future relevance does studying this problem have for you?

o If something does not change, or if we cannot find a solution to

eradicate poverty, it will be even more of a problem in my future and

in the lives of my future children. Poverty is something we should be

able to prevent.

Complex Phenomenon #2: Abortion

How/Why is it complex?

o Abortion is a controversial topic. You can argue for or against it based

on economics, religious reasons, political standpoints, personal

values, and even psychological reasons.

Why are you interested in this phenomenon/problem?

 o I am interested in abortion because of my religious beliefs. I think the

unborn child needs to have an advocate, and I want to be that voice

for them. Abortion is not something I take lightly because it involves

the life of an innocent being.

What future relevance does studying this problem have for you?

o Studying abortion will allow me to better understand the arguments

for and against the issue. This will be beneficial when it comes to

elections in the future, so I have a better reasoning and support for my

argument against it.

Complex Phenomenon #3: Elder abuse and neglect

How/Why is it complex?

o Elder abuse is a complex problem because it deals with the social,

psychological, and physical neglect and abuse of the older

populations. An elderly person may be in a long term care facility and

be neglected due to the facility being understaffed, under regulated, or

maybe because the resident cannot afford to be in a higher end home.

Elder abuse can be looked at through the standpoint of social services,

business administration, and criminology to name a few.

Why are you interested in this phenomenon/problem?

o Elder abuse hits home for me. I have seen so many elderly people in

my community being neglected and thrown by the wayside because

they do not have family or the financial means to receive the best care

possible. A few ladies I knew personally that were in the nursing

 home in my hometown developed a staff infection that they never

recovered from. Part of the reason they developed staff was because

the nursing home failed to dress wounds, turn the residents, and

check on them enough. I dont want to see this happen to anyone else

if I can help it, so I am interested in finding ways for the elderly

populations to receive better long-term care.

What future relevance does studying this problem have for you?

o My parents may one day need assisted living, so I want to know all of

the ways I can ensure they are taken care of in the best possible way.

Now that you have identified three possible problems, chose one that is of most

interest to you.

The complex problem I want to study further is #3 elder abuse and neglect.

Step 2: Formulate an interdisciplinary question.

How can elder abuse and neglect be prevented in long term care facilities?

Step 3: Identify significant concepts.

What concepts are important to studying this interdisciplinary problem further?

List them here:

o Is elderly abuse and neglect in long term care facilities prevalent

because it is something that is not talked about among staff and

directors?

o Does abuse and neglect occur due to the facilities being understaffed?
 o Does abuse and neglect occur because of a lack of regulations for the

treatment of residents?

o Stakeholders include the residents, families, directors of the long term

care facilities, doctors, psychologists, long term care facility staff

members and DHHS just to name a few.

Step 4: Gather all relevant disciplines.

Sociology and Psychology

o How does elderly care impact the social life of the resident? Does the

psychological trauma that neglect and abuse causes for the residents

have an impact on their living and their own outlook of life. Is neglect

and abuse causing the resident to withdrawal from social activities

and social stimulus provided by the long-term care facility? The

discipline of psychology will be able to understand the behavior of the

resident, and even the personnel that are abusing and neglecting the

residents. Is the abuse verbal or physical?

Social Sciences

o Political Science

What are the legal responsibilities for the facility and the

members of the long term care facility? What responsibility

does the board of directors have when it comes to ensuring the

employees are following procedures and giving the residents

the proper care?

 o Economics

How do financial means relate to elder abuse and neglect? Are

residents being abused because of the lack of funding for

adequate staff to help care for the residents? Lack of funding

may result in facilities not being up to date with proper

equipment to help care for the residents.

Applied Fields

o Business

Is the long care facility being run just to turn a profit, or does it

have the best interest of the residents at its core?

o Business Administration

Those who ensure the laws and regulations are followed in the

facility are important because they need to ensure that

employees are following the regulations for the best

experience of the resident.

Step 5: Consider the problem/question through the perspectives of each discipline,

one at a time.

Disciplinary Perspective #1: Psychologists and sociologists look at the impact

neglect plays on the elderly. They can determine how much neglect affects the

health of the residents. Does the level of neglect the residents are facing contribute

to their declining health? Does verbal or physical abuse have a larger impact on the

resident socially and mentally?

 Disciplinary Perspective #2: Economics looks at the financial aspect of the

long term care facility. Looking through an economics perspective, one could

determine if the facility is making enough profit to hire more help in order to better

care for residents. Are the residents that are being neglected or abused from a

particular socioeconomic class? Does the location of the funding determine how a

resident is treated? For example, is a privately funded resident treated different

than a resident who is on Medicare?

Disciplinary Perspective #3: Business administration looks at how the

business runs as a whole. Is the administration aware of the neglect and abuse

occurring to the residents? What kind of standards do they hold their employees to?

Are there set standards for the employees?

Disciplinary Perspective #4: The perspective of political science looks at the

legal realm of the abuse occurring at the long-term care facility. What are the legal

ramifications for elder neglect and abuse for the directors, doctors, nurses, and

other staff? Who does the responsibility of making sure the residents are taken care

of in a proper way fall on?

Step 6: Gather together al the insights gained from each discipline.

Try to align disciplines together.

Economics, business/business administration, and political science have

similar perspectives of the issue of elder abuse and neglect. These disciplines are

looking at the financial reasoning behind elder abuse and neglect. They also look at
legal matters and regulations that are in place in the state level, local level, and in

the individual long term care facility.

Psychology and sociology have a different perspective. These two disciplines

look at the direct effect on the resident and how it plays a role in the life of the

resident. These disciplines look more at how the abuse and neglect make the

resident feel and how it relates to how they interact with others.

Step 7: Evaluate all the insights.

The business and business administration insights overlap. They both deal with the

business side and how things run as far as regulations, standards, and profit are

concerned. The economics also overlaps with these two to an extent. The economics

side will also look at finances. The economics insight will be more external and focus

more on wealth and what prices the services offered should be. This insight will also

look at how well the long-term care facility is maximizing their profits. Psychology

and sociology conflict more with the other insights, because these two disciplines

are focusing on the well being of the resident rather than the interest of the business

itself. Psychology and sociology would not be concerned with how well the facility

does financially. Instead, this discipline is all abut the health and wellbeing of the

residents. All of the disciplines together should be focused on the residents and how

they are cared for because without them, there would be no long-term care facility.

Step 8: Construct an interdisciplinary response to the complex issue/question.

Integrate the different disciplinary perspectives into an interdisciplinary response.

In order to prevent elder abuse and neglect in the long term care facilities, all

members of the facility need to be on the same page. Nurses and doctors need to

communicate with one another about the residents and the needs they may have.

Administration needs to keep a check on how the residents are treated and find

ways to ensure they are receiving the proper care they deserve. Monthly meetings

mandatory for all personnel would help determine how the facility is doing in

regards to care as a whole. This meeting could be a way to see what is working and

what areas need to be worked on. Residents should be able to fill out survey cards to

anonymously express how they feel their care rates. This would help the personnel

determine what needs to be worked on as well. Elder abuse and neglect in long-term

care facilities is an issue that can be avoided if each member of the facility worked

together to help the cause.