Social Work Commons^™

Chapter 14: Hospice And End-Of-Life Care, Sally Pelon, Brandon Youker, M. Paola Leon

Books and Contributions to Books

This chapter explores end-of-life issues and concerns as well as the hospice movement’s role in assisting terminally ill individuals. Specific social work assessment and interventions tools are offered considered as well as controversial issues in end-of-life care.

Experiences Of Parents And Caregivers Of Children With Disability On Community-Based Rehabilitation (Cbr) Services In Malaysia: A Qualitative Study, Haliza Hasan, Syed Mohamed Aljunid Syed Junid

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: The rehabilitation program for disabled children is provided through community-based rehabilitation (CBR) services by an initiative of the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia. This long-term program needs commitment and compliance, which relates to the quality of services experienced by parents and caregivers. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of the parents and caregivers of disabled children on the CBR services. Methods: This qualitative study utilized in-depth interview sessions held from March to May 2015. Fifteen parents and caregivers who had disabled children participating in the CBR program were selected using a purposive …

Attrition And Psychotherapy, Jesse Barrington Homan

Dissertations and Theses

Attrition in psychotherapy, also known as dropout, is a problem that affects clients who terminate, their families, therapists, mental health systems, and the overall community. Research on attrition is vast. However, the majority of this research has been done post hoc, relied on quantitative methods, and looked primarily at client demographic variables as the predictors of attrition. This has resulted in inconsistent findings, offers little to no useful information about attrition, and appears to blame clients for failed therapy. There has been little research on attrition from the perspective of clients who terminate. This study was designed to answer the …

Patient-Initiated Second Opinions During Acute Hospital Care, Roni Gagin, Neta Hagani, Esti Zigelboim, Shiri Shinan-Altman

Patient Experience Journal

Second opinions are used in medicine in order to make better-informed decisions. Only a few studies have examined patient-initiated second opinions, and even fewer have examined it in the context of acute hospitalization. It is not clear whether patients and families are aware of this right and how often they exercise it during acute hospitalization. The objective of this paper is to identify factors associated with the awareness and utilization of patient-initiated second opinions. A survey was conducted among 92 neurosurgical patients who completed a questionnaire that included information regarding: awareness of second opinion consultations, reasons for not seeking a …

A Pilot Study: Baseline Educational Achievements Of Children Raised By Grandparents In A Kinship Care Program, Mary Lou Lacomb-Davis, Phd, Aprn, Cpnp-Pc, Michael Patton, Msw, Jean Pawl, Phd, Rn, Ocn, Cne

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This pilot study reports the baseline data of a prospective longitudinal study examining the educational achievements of grandchildren being raised by grandparents in parent absent homes. The baseline data includes 117 grandchildren in grades K-12 in two school districts in a southeastern state. School records reporting 2,230 grades were examined for grade point average (GPA) and attendance for K-12 and conduct in grades K-5. The majority of the grandchildren achieved A/B averages. There were no significant differences between gender, pre-care experiences, placement by welfare agencies or paternal involvement across years of schooling. GPAs were lower in the grandchildren who had …

Guide Lines Vol. I, Issue 20 - November 2019, College Of Health And Human Services

GUIDE Lines

Periodic Newsletter of the Governors State University - University of Illinois, Chicago - Disparities Education Cancer research training and education project (The GUIDE Project).

Teaching Skills For Self Sufficiency: Health Management For Patients With Disabilities And Chronic Health Conditions, Teresa M. Hickam, Kathy Smith

Posters

Research shows patients who develop self-health management skills are able to translate these skills in other life domains such as higher education, social interaction and employment. Persons with chronic health conditions or disabilities often face challenges securing employment which in turn impacts self sufficiency and long-term health. The poster focuses on two programs at Children's Mercy serving as key building blocks for adolescents to manage their lives.

An Interprofessional Collaborative Approach To The Development Of A Content Valid Interview Questionnaire For Persons With Hearing Loss And Their Communication Partners, Nancy A. Delich, Stephen D. Roberts

JADARA

An assessment instrument needs to be valid in order for data to be accurately interpreted and applied. Currently, few rigorous content evaluations have been conducted on hearing-related questionnaires. This study describes a multiphase approach for obtaining content validity evidence in the development of a questionnaire that explores quality of life for persons with hearing loss and their communication partners. A panel of 15 interprofessional experts evaluated 41 questionnaire items for content relevance and content clarity. Findings revealed an overall scale of .99 for content relevance and .85 for content clarity, indicating high content validity for the revised 40-item questionnaire.

“Las Mamás No Son Putas”: Percepciones Y Experiencias De Embarazo Y Maternidad En Trabajadoras Sexuales En Buenos Aires / Mothers Are Not Prostitutes: Perceptions And Experiences Of Pregnancy And Motherhood Among Sex Workers In Buenos Aires, Fiona Kennedy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En Buenos Aires, la gran mayoría de las trabajadoras sexuales también son madres. Sin embargo, ha habido pocos estudios en Argentina sobre los vínculos entre el trabajo sexual y la maternidad y las experiencias de embarazo para las trabajadoras sexuales. Las trabajadoras sexuales en Buenos Aires experimentan estigmatización y violencia institucional en múltiples entornos, lo que afecta tanto el acceso a la salud como el bienestar general. Este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar cómo estas vías afectan a las trabajadoras sexuales en la maternidad y el embarazo, con el fin de encontrar áreas de intervención. La mayoría de esta investigación …

Adicción Como Un Hecho Político Económico: Un Análisis De Servicios De Atención De Abuso De Drogas Y Alcohol En Arica, Chile, Jack Steffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research question – What is the current landscape of drug abuse in Chile and how has the state attempted to address this problem?

Objectives – The objectives of the paper were to characterize drug use patterns in Chile since 1994, revise drug abuse services, and offer possible improvements for the system of drug abuse treatment.

Background – Chile, despite being one of the most well economically-developed countries in South America, has some of the worst mental health indicators, one of these being drug abuse. Since 1994, use of alcohol and marihuana has increased, while use of cocaine products has remained …

A Multifaceted Approach To Improve Quarterly Visit Rates At A Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Care Center, Paula Capel, Jessica Banks, Micaela Mckenna, Ashley Andrews, Christopher M. Oermann

Posters

Standard quality improvement methodology was used to improve quarterly visit rates among cystic fibrosis patients at Children's Mercy Kansas City Cystic Fibrosis Center.

• A family-centered, team-based approach was adopted
• A change in culture led to sustained improvement

Improved quarterly visit rates should drive improvement in outcomes including pulmonary function and nutritional status.

Conflict Between Religious Beliefs And Sexuality: An Autoethnography, Carlos E. Gerena

The Qualitative Report

Despite the shift in attitudes in religious institutions toward homosexuals in the United States, there are some religions that continue to view same-sex behavior as a deviant and damning sin. For many, religious beliefs and values provide meaning and impact personal identity. Using autoethnography, I will explicate my own experiences with religious institutions and the ongoing conflict between religious beliefs and sexuality. I will discuss messages received from the Pentecostal church, family, and Latino community, and how these messages influenced my human development and emotional well-being. I show that internalization of the principles taught by the Pentecostal Church triggered a …

Trauma-Informed School Practices: Building Expertise To Transform Schools, Anna A. Berardi Phd., Brenda Morton, Edd.

Open Textbooks

This textbook represents the combined insight and experience of Morton, a k12 educator, and Berardi, a psychotherapist, both of whom are also university educators with extensive work experience serving districts and their teachers seeking to incorporate trauma-informed principles into their school culture and classroom. The authors identify that the field of education is now ready to deepen its level of response to the paradigm shift created by advances in neuroscience and traumatology. Hence, the primary focus is on identifying and applying trauma-informed educator competencies needed to transform districts, schools, educators, classrooms, and the field of education itself, while also including …

Does Ethnic Identity, In-Group Preference, And Acculturation Protect Latinas With A History Of Interpersonal Trauma From Developing Symptoms Of Ptsd?, Evelyn M. Ramirez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research suggests ethnic identity, a sense of belonging to a particular cultural group, may be protective against symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the role of ethnic identity, in-group preference (i.e., an individual’s preference for interactions with members of their own ethnic group) and acculturation (i.e., the level of comfort with the mainstream culture) have not been investigated as protective factors for Latinas with a history of interpersonal and sexual trauma. In this study, ethnic identity, in-group preference and acculturation were assessed via self-report on the Scale of Ethnic Experience in two samples of undergraduate Latina and non-Latina …

Hope, Courage, And Resilience In The Lives Of Transgender Women Of Color, Nadine Ruff, Amy B. Smoyer, Jean Breny

The Qualitative Report

There is a lack of qualitative and strengths-based knowledge about the lived experience of transgender women of color in the US. To address this research gap, a Photovoice project was undertaken with five transgender women living in a small urban area. Thematic analysis of the participants’ discussion of their photographs identified three major themes: hope, courage, and resilience. Analysis suggests a framework for understanding these women’s lived experiences and the psychosocial tools that they use to negotiate their daily lives and persevere in the face of interpersonal and structural oppression.

Life Satisfaction And Healthcare Utilization Among Immigrants To The United States, Merritt Christian Rachel Harrelson

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research suggests a relationship between life satisfaction and healthcare utilization or HCU (Habibov & Afandi, 2016; Kim, Park, Sun, Smith, & Peterson, 2014). However, no study was found that examined this relationship among elderly American immigrants. The purpose of this study was to determine whether life satisfaction is linked to HCU for this population. The researcher of the current study applied binary logistic regression to data taken from the Health and Retirement Survey to determine whether changes in life satisfaction could be linked to variance in HCU across seven domains, including hospitalization, overnight nursing home stays, doctors visits, dentist …

Scaling-Up Child And Youth Mental Health Services: Assessing Coverage Of A County-Wide Initiative, Cole Douglas Hooley

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over 7 million children and youth have a diagnosable mental illness any given year. There are evidence-based treatments (EBTs) to effectively treat these conditions, but these EBTs reach a very small percentage of their target population with treatment rates between 1-3%.1 We know very little about what influences these coverage rates. Beginning in 2009, the Los Angeles County Mental Health Department (LACDMH) began an ambitious agenda to scale-up the provision of EBTs in child/youth mental health care. The present study seeks to contribute to the scale-up literature by examining three questions based on LACDMH’s initiative: 1) To what extent have …

Comparative Spending Of Medicaid Dollars On Child Participants Of Kentucky’S Sobriety Treatment And Recovery Teams Program Versus A Matched Comparison Group., Matthew Thomas Walton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child protective services agencies have long observed the complicating role that parental substance use and addiction plays in cases of child maltreatment. Families who struggle with these problems present unique challenges for child welfare professionals. These families are typically more difficult to engage, more likely to have children removed from the home, and have poorer outcomes when compared to other families. These poorer outcomes often include health problems. Addiction has well-known effects on health, and the specific manifestations of these problems for parents have been documented for years in child protection casework. However, what has been less investigated are the …

Improving Access To Addiction Recovery Care In Central Appalachia Through Organizational Collaboration, Katy Stigers

Journal of Appalachian Health

Fahe, a Network of 50+ members throughout Appalachia based in Berea KY, has brought together a coalition to finance, build, and manage several addiction recovery care centers across Kentucky and West Virginia, increase access to employment, and deploy vouchers for supportive services.

Bringing Upstairs Care Downstairs; Integration Of Rehabilitation Medicine, Care Management, And The Hospital Elder Life Program (Help) Into An Emergency Department., Robert Anderson, Molly Anderson, Rhonda Babine, Farid Feghali, Elizabeth Dunstan, Matthew Glazer, Susan Horton, Stephanie O'Brien, Elizabeth Pontius, David Smith, Megan Viens, Heather Williams

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: Services such as physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), speech-language pathology (SLP), social work (SW), care management, and elder life specialists have long been an established part of care for patients admitted to Maine Medical Center (MMC) but not for patients in the Emergency Department (ED). Methods and Results: Driven in part by changes in Medicare reimbursement models, care management established a presence in the Emergency Department (ED) in 2003 with a focus on care planning and cost avoidance. In recent years PT, OT, SLP, SW, and the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) have increased their ED involvement substantially. …

The Lived Experience Of Discharged And Readmitted African Americans With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease To A Safety-Net Hospital, Kiiyonna Jones

Dissertations

Background:Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a debilitating respiratory disease that negatively affects the quality of life of those affected and has been a major contributor to the continuous rise in healthcare cost in the Unites States (Guarascio, Ray, Finch, & Self, 2013; National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2009; Shavelle, Paculdo, Kush, Mannino, & Straus, 2009; Scott, Smith, Sullivan, & Mahajan, 2001). In 2014, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) identified COPD as an applicable condition to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, which penalizes healthcare organizations having readmissions higher than the national average. COPD is the second …

Mental Health Disparities For Latino Immigrants & Its Impact On Psychological Well-Being, Ana Do Rosario Sousa

Counseling Psychology | Master's Theses

In the present study, the researcher sought to examine the factors associated with Latino immigrants and the barriers/challenges that are faced in mental health. The main question that the researcher focuses on in the present study is: What are some of the mental health challenges for Latino immigrants & how do these disparities further impact psychological well-being? Furthermore, the research focuses on highlighting the variables that are increasingly damaging to the minority population of Latinos in the United States. These variables include lack of health insurance, stigma, acculturation issues, legal issues, and biopsychosocial factors, such as socioeconomic class. In multiple …

Women’S Experiences With Prenatal Care: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring The Influence Of The Social Determinants Of Health, Karen A. D'Angelo, Janelle K. Bryan, Brenda Kurz

Janelle K. Bryan

Background & Purpose: Racial and ethnic disparities pervade birth outcomes in the United States and the state of Connecticut. While Connecticut’s infant mortality rate is less than the national average, rates for the state’s Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino communities exceed it. This study explored how prenatal care in Connecticut may be enhanced to address these disparities.

Methods: In spring 2013, seven focus groups and two semi-structured interviews were conducted (n=47). Participants also self-administered brief surveys. Recruited by local service providers, participants were 18 or older, pregnant and/or in the first year post-partum at the time. Most self-identified as …

Are They Ready? Participants’ Perceptions Following A Cert Training And Disaster Simulation, Ronda Christman

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

The frequency of disasters is increasing and it is important that students and community members are trained to safely respond. Academy and University students along with community members experienced CERT training and disaster simulation. Learn how participants perceptions changed following a CERT training and disaster simulation.

Perilous Times Call For Emergency Preparedness, Sonia K. Wrate, Ronda Christman

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

As disasters become more frequent it is important that people are ready to respond. University students along with community volunteers learn with and from each other during a disaster simulation. Learn how participant’s perceptions of spirituality and civic engagement has changed following a disaster simulation.

Practice Matters: Screening And Monitoring Hyperlipidemia, M. Laurie Branstetter Dnp, Maria E. Main, Tonya Bragg-Underwood Dnp

Eve Main

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide Faith Community Nurses with current information on hyperlipidemia, a chronic disease responsible for the leading cause of death worldwide. Current guidelines for cholesterol screening and a risk calculator resource for estimating cardiovascular risk are provided. Myths and truths are presented for review with patients. Suggestions and resources for lifestyle modifications and patient education are included. Faith Community Nurses are at the center of community health and actively involved with improving health outcomes related to chronic disease.

The Modifiability Of Risk Factors Associated With Adolescent Suicide And Its Preventions, Nastaeen Tajin

Honors College Theses

Adolescent suicide has been of major concern in the past few decades, with the rates steadily increasing every year. Suicide can be defined as the act of intentionally taking one’s life. Adolescent refers to children between the age of 13 and 19, although the term will be used interchangeably with ‘teen’ throughout this paper. The purpose of this study had been to identify the risk factors of suicide associated with children of this age range, and propose preventative measures based on the modifiability of these risk factors. In order to achieve this, the two search catalogs utilized were the Wayne …

Evaluation Of The Project P.A.T.H.S. In Mainland China: Findings Based On Student Diaries, Daniel T. L. Shek, Xiaoqin Zhu, Janet T. Y. Leung, Tak Yan Lee, Florence K. Y. Wu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Objectives: Based on 859 student diaries, the present study evaluated a positive youth development program entitled “Tin Ka Ping (TKP) Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social programs (P.A.T.H.S.) ” project implemented in mainland China during the 2015–2016 academic year. Method: To understand the perceived effectiveness of the students, the study analyzed quantitative as well as qualitative data derived from the student diaries. Results: The students held very positive views toward the program and the implementers. The narratives of the students also showed that they perceived improvement in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, familial, and societal domains after joining the program. Conclusion: In …

Associations Of First Trimester Co-Use Of Tobacco And Cannabis With Prenatal Immune Response And Psychosocial Well-Being, Kristin Ashford, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Andrea Mccubbin, Amanda T. Wiggins, Sheila Barnhart, Joshua A. Lile

Perinatal Research and Wellness Center Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: This study aims to describe the association of first trimester co-use of tobacco and cannabis with maternal immune response and psychosocial well-being, relative to tobacco use only.

METHODS: A preliminary midpoint analysis included 138 pregnant women with biologically verified tobacco use, 38 of whom (28%) also tested positive for recent cannabis use. Maternal perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and serum immune markers (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, CRP, MMP8), were collected, although cytokine data were only available for 122 women.

RESULTS: Participant average age was 29.1 years, approximately half had a high …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Homeless Chronicity, And Age At Onset Of Homelessness, Joseph T. Tucciarone Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood adversity is associated with numerous negative outcomes across multiple domains, including mental and physical health, interrelationships, and social functioning. Notably, research suggests that childhood adversity has a dose-response relationship with these outcomes; that is, greater numbers of adverse experiences in childhood are associated with worse outcomes. These outcomes overlap with many risk factors of homelessness. This study sought to address two questions: 1) Does a dose-response relationship exist between childhood adversity and chronic homelessness? 2) Does childhood adversity negatively predict the age at which homelessness first occurs? Adults experiencing homeless who are accessing homeless services in the Tri-Cities area …