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Our understanding of what intervention strategies are effective in improving the well-being of older adults experiencing elder abuse and self-neglect (EASN) is severely limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a method called “teaming,” a wraparound approach to provide enhanced social support to older adults experiencing EASN. A teaming intervention was administered by advocates in Maine, USA, as a component of a larger community-based EASN intervention, Repair harm, Inspire change, Support connection, Empower choice (RISE), implemented to complement adult protective services.

Qualitative interviews and a focus group were conducted with RISE advocates (n = 4). A descriptive phenomenological approach involving two independent assessors was used to code transcripts into themes and subthemes.

Three domains were identified: (1) team and support forming process, which describes the development of a supportive network based on each client’s needs; (2) techniques, which refers to the specific strategies advocates use to promote collectivity and shared responsibility around the client; and (3) implementation challenges, which discusses the difficulties advocates encounter when using teaming with people experiencing EASN.

This study represents the first in-depth exploration of teaming in the context of EASN intervention. Preliminary findings on the experiences of advocates suggest that teaming is a beneficial approach to support the individualized needs of each client, and to promote improved and sustainable case outcomes for clients.

Universities’ unique position within society means they have an important role to contribute to sustainability and to help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which are one of the most widely recognised articulations of sustainability. This study aims to look at the integration of the SDGs in education, specifically, in the Bachelor of Design (B-DES) “pathways” at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Interviews with pathway coordinators and a survey of all 45 core subjects were used to understand the current degree of integration and the benefits, constraints and opportunities of deeper integration.

Sustainability is deeply incorporated into B-DES curricula, but the SDGs are not. Most teachers, but particularly pathway coordinators, see value in deeper incorporation. Issues that constrain this include some students’ fatigue with the idea of “sustainability”, a crowded curriculum and some teachers’ scepticism, even disdain for the SDGs, which they see as contradictory, too broad or overly political.

This study sheds light on the extent of integration and reveals several possible pedagogical approaches: analysing what industries need to do to make a proportionate contribution to achieving the SDGs, critical review of industries’ use of and alignment with the SDGs, comparing and contrasting the SDGs with disciplines’ theoretical frameworks and critiquing the SDGs’ ambition with reference to the capabilities and technologies of a discipline. Provided they are done with due consideration of the SDGs’ limitations, these methods of integration have the potential to better prepare students as global citizens and for international employment.