Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Organizational Supports For Evidence Use In Child Welfare, Emmeline Chuang, Crystal Collins-Camargo, Bowen Mcbeath, Monica Perez Jolles

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite its importance to achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children and families, use of evidence by child welfare managers and practitioners remains limited. This study describes four types of organizational supports that child welfare agencies may use to facilitate evidence use. Data collected in 2016 from a six-state sample of private child welfare agencies are used to examine agency investment in different supports for evidence use and their association with managerial evidence use. We also identify contextual, organizational, and managerial factors associated with agency investment in these supports. Findings suggest that technical infrastructure is necessary but not sufficient for promoting …

Prosecutors Or Helpers: An Institutional Ethnography Of Child Protective Services Casework, Anna Maria Rockhill

Dissertations and Theses

Millions of families come into contact with child welfare every year (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2020). The mission of child welfare is to strengthen the ability of families to care for their children and to protect children and provide aid, services, or referrals to families where maltreatment is said to have occurred (Congressional Research Services, 2020). The vast majority of the families who become involved with child welfare are multiply disadvantaged (e.g., Mersky et al., 2009; Sedlak et al., 2010; Testa & Smith, 2009) and child welfare is a key feature of the array of public supports …

Ambulatory Intensive Care For Medically Complex Patients At A Health Care Clinic For Individuals Experiencing Homelessness The Summit Randomized Clinical Trial, Brian Chan, Christina Nicolaidis, Meg Devoe, Priya Srikanth, P. Todd Korthuis, Samuel T. Edwards, Devan Kansagara, Rachel Solotaroff, Somnath Saha

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Importance Intensive primary care interventions have been promoted to reduce hospitalization rates and improve health outcomes for medically complex patients, but evidence of their efficacy is limited.

Objective To assess the efficacy of a multidisciplinary ambulatory intensive care unit (A-ICU) intervention on health care utilization and patient-reported outcomes.

Design, Setting, and Participants The Streamlined Unified Meaningfully Managed Interdisciplinary Team (SUMMIT) randomized clinical trial used a wait-list control design and was conducted at a health care clinic for patients experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon. The first patient was enrolled in August 2016, and the last patient was enrolled in November 2019. …

I See Myself Strong: A Description Of An Expressive Poetic Method To Amplify Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer Indigenous Youth Experiences In A Culture-Centered Hiv Prevention Curriculum, Ramona Beltrán, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Angela R. Fernandez

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Poetry is an ideal tool to convey participant voices in social research as it compresses the meaning and essence of participant narratives through using evocative sensory words that illuminate nuances of lived experience. Expressive poetics is an emerging arts-based research method that facilitates a multi-sensory and relational analytical process. In this article, the authors describe and illustrate an adapted expressive poetics research method through highlighting the experiences of Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, transgender, or queer (2SLGBTQ) Indigenous youth that participated in a culture-centered HIV prevention curriculum. It is our hope that through creating dialogic poems, we deepen and nuance the …

Love Letters For Liberatory Futures, Jessica Rodriguez-Jenkins, Roberta Hunte, Lakindra Mitchell Dove, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Alma M. O. Trinidad, Gita Mehrotra

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This collection of letters serves to explore the narratives of a collective of women of color in academia by examining individual, collective, spiritual, and institutional strategies for surviving and transforming our institutional spaces and the ways that White Supremacy has shaped our journeys. Multiple perspectives are viewed, and we have written to our children, our future social work students, our future selves, our BIPOC faculty siblings, and our feared enemies to envision and embody more liberatory futures.

Keywords: liberation, academia, BIPOC faculty, institutional racism, White Supremacy

Centering Communities Of Color In The Modernization Of A Public Health Survey System: Lessons From Oregon, Daniel F. López-Cevallos, Kusuma Madamala, Mira Mohsini, Andres Lopez, Roberta Hunte, Ryan Petteway, Tim Holbert

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: Public health survey systems are tools for informing public health programming and policy at the national, state, and local levels. Among the challenges states face with these kinds of surveys include concerns about the representativeness of communities of color and lack of community engagement in survey design, analysis, and interpretation of results or dissemination, which raises questions about their integrity and relevance.

Approach: Using a data equity framework (rooted in antiracism and intersectionality), the purpose of this project was to describe a formative participatory assessment approach to address challenges in Oregon Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Student …

Prevalence Of Depressive Disorder In The Adult Population Of Latin America: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Antonia Errazuriz, Dalia Avello-Vega, Juan Ramirez-Mahaluf, Rafael Torres, Nicolas A. Crossley, Eduardo A. Undurraga, Peter B. Jones

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Depressive disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide; however its prevalence and association with inequality and crime is poorly characterised in Latin America. This study aimed to: i. systematically review population-based studies of prevalence of ICD/DSM depressive disorder in Latin America, ii. report pooled regional, country, and sex-specific prevalence estimates, and iii. test its association with four country-level development indicators: human development (HDI), income (Gini) and gender inequality (GII), and intentional homicide rate (IHR).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies reporting primary data on the prevalence of ICD/DSM depressive disorder in …

An Examination Of Power In A Triadic Model Of Parent–Child–Pediatrician Relationships Related To Early Childhood Gender Development, Eline Lenne, Christina J. Sun, Susanne Klawetter

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, the authors introduce the Triadic Model of Pediatric Care, an innovative conceptual framework for pediatric practice with transgender and gender diverse children. The Triadic Model of Pediatric Care consists of three experts—pediatricians, primary caregiver(s), and children—who each possess unique insights, knowledge, and decision-making power. This model guides pediatricians to provide gender-affirming care that acknowledges children as experts of their own experience and worthy of bodily autonomy, while also working to ensure primary caregiver(s) have the information and support necessary to provide a safe and nurturing developmental environment for their child. The authors provide a recommendation for how …

Psu Student Housing Insecurity Interim Report, Jacen Greene, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Project Background

This study on student housing insecurity and homelessness was funded as part of a HUD FY2023 Community Project Funding Opportunity awarded to Portland State University. Phase 1 of the study, which led to this report by PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC), includes a literature review; a summary of PSU student survey results; a description of PSU programs based on interviews with staff and administrators; an analysis of programs at other institutions; and a set of recommendations for better addressing student housing needs. Phase 2 of the study will include the results of a comprehensive …

Migration Integration Policies As Social Determinants Of Health For Highly Educated Immigrants In The United States, Mitra Naseh, Yingying Zeng, Ian Sutherland, Abha Rai, Hyunwoo Yoon

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Highly educated immigrants are part of the growing population of immigrants who are impacted by the increasingly hostile migration policies in the U.S. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and inductive reasoning to explore the possible impacts of migration integration policies as social determinants of health among this group. Data was collected through 31 semi-structured interviewees with highly educated immigrants who had an intention and interest to stay in the U.S. at the time of the interview. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and four main themes emerged: (1) a life overshadowed by silent worries, (2) living through …

Exploring The Intersections Of Lgbtq Experience And Social Work Education: A Scoping Review, Gita Mehrotra, Kimberly D. Hudson, Eli Hess

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues, experiences, and theorizing have had limited representation within social work education. In recent years there has been an increase in the scholarly discourse regarding queer and trans issues and social work education, but little is known about the landscape of this body of published work. In this scoping review, we explored peerreviewed literature regarding the intersections of social work education and queer and trans experience, issues, and theorizing. Utilizing major academic databases, we identified 54 articles published in social work literature from 2010 to 2020 that met inclusion criteria. Topical areas of …

Re-Imagining Mandatory Reporting: Professionalization's Complicity, Sam Harrell, Stephanie Wahab

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mandatory reporting of child abuse is a part of the civil legal system that can activate a policy cascade disproportionately criminalizing racialized and marginalized communities. While social work scholarship has explored ways to increase provider compliance with mandatory reporting laws, there is a dearth of research focused on how social work education guides future providers towards the praxis of mandatory reporting discourses. This article presents findings from a content analysis of social work textbook excerpts focused on mandatory reporting of child abuse in the U.S. We found that textbooks affirm social work’s loyalty to the State by approaching mandatory reporting …

Disrupting Epistemic Injustice: Implications For Lived-Experience Accounts Of Mental Illness In Social Work Education, Jessica D. Hawkins

University Honors Theses

Mental illness stigma interventions have not been shown to be effective on a large scale. It has been suggested by stigma researchers that being in close proximity to people with mental illness, or listening to their lived-experience narratives, could reduce mental illness stigma. This study proposes an inclusion of a Mad studies framework in social work education -- a framework that highlights the importance of lived-experience accounts of mental illness in knowledge production about this population. Inclusion of lived-experience narratives could reduce stigma and discrimination of people with mental illness among social workers and other service providers.

Latinx Students Higher Educational Trajectory Post Covid, Jonathan Felix-Martinez

University Honors Theses

COVID-19 caused many universities to go fully remote during the pandemic. Many Latinx students did not know how to navigate online learning. This paper examines the experiences of Latinx students in their university experiences while online to determine if their higher educational trajectory changed as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative project gathered data from 9 Latinx students using in-depth, in-person interviews. Recommendations are presented to help the university create resources that will help improve Latinx students' experiences within the context of online learning and the effects of the recent pandemic.

Trans Futures In The Present Moment, Willow Grace Eckmayer

University Honors Theses

The current climate for trans folks in the U.S. remains increasingly hostile and many researchers have called attention to the "joy deficit" within the existing trans literature (Shuster & Westbrook, 2022). This study investigates what trans individuals are currently doing to survive, thrive, and resist in a belligerent socio-political climate. To answer this, five community conversations with 25 participants were held using a semi-structured conversation guide. Within the analysis, the central theme that emerged was that trans individuals are using their communities to create radical futures. Our communities are supporting us through mutual aid and radical acts of care, which …

Impact Of Industrial Disasters On The Mental Health Of Vietnamese Americans On The Gulf Coast, Vivian L. Duong

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused 200 million gallons of crude oil to spill on the Gulf Coast over a five-month span. About 16,000 miles of coastline, ecosystem and marine life along Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas were contaminated. This disaster and the recovery process caused social, financial, and ecological shocks, resulting in adverse psychosocial and physical health outcomes, health disparities, and socioeconomic inequality. Among the oil spill's most affected and vulnerable populations are the Vietnamese American communities that settled on the Gulf Coast after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. The plight of …

Race/Ism In Field Education: Narratives Of Bipoc Field Instructors, Gita Mehrotra, Anita Gooding, Olivia K. Bormann

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Field instructors are critical to enacting social work’s signature pedagogy as they are tasked with providing agency-based learning opportunities and supervision for students. It has been well-documented that field supervisors are instrumental in students’ learning and that the supervisory relationship is central to success in field education. However, there is a dearth of research regarding issues of identity, difference, race, and/or racism in these relationships, particularly from the perspective of field instructors of color. To date, we found no published literature that focuses specifically on the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) social work field …

Does Structural Racism Influence How Black/African Americans Define Memory Loss And Cognitive Impairment? An Africana Phenomenological Study, Andre Pruitt

Dissertations and Theses

With the variety of research about dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), few studies have explored the effect of social structures, such as racism, on how Black/African Americans conceptualize memory loss, dementia, or AD. Furthermore, limited within the scholarship are the environmental factors and structural racism that are thought to influence cognitive impairments and meaning making about cognitive decline impacting Black/African Americans.

Most U.S. research centers on methodologies and epistemologies grounded in Eurocentric ways of knowing (objectivity, individuality, either/or logic). However, Eurocentric methodologies fail to acknowledge the cultural experiences with memory loss, cognitive impairment, dementia, and AD, as well as the …

Do Program Practices Matter For Mentors?: How Implementation Of Empirically Supported Program Practices Is Associated With Youth Mentoring Relationship Quality, Thomas E. Keller, Alison L. Drew, Carla Herrera, Hyuny Clark-Shim, Renée Spencer

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates how the implementation of program-level practices by formal youth mentoring programs is associated with the quality of youth mentoring relationships as contexts for youth development and also examines whether this connection is mediated by the mentor-staff working alliance. Using data from mentors (n = 542) participating in multiple programs (n = 55), multilevel path models examined hypothesized direct and mediated effects. Parallel analyses were conducted with assessments of program practices from staff (n = 219). Greater exposure to program practices was associated with higher ratings of mentoring relationship satisfaction, commitment, and security and lower …

Wage And Cost Study Of Oregon Assisted Living And Residential Care Providers, 2022, Ozcan Tunalilar, Sarah Dys, Paula Carder, Diana Jacoby

Institute on Aging Publications

Senate Bill 703 directed Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) to conduct a study of licensed residential care (RCF) and assisted living (ALF) facilities, including those with a memory care (MC) endorsement, to evaluate: a) Total cost to provide care to residents, b) the sufficiency of the Medicaid reimbursement paid to facilities to meet the total cost of care, and c) the average compensation paid to direct care workers by the facilities by geographic region. ODHS contracted with the Institute on Aging (IOA) at Portland State University (PSU) to conduct a study to achieve these three objectives. In the fall …

Older Adults In Action: Using Action Research To Address Neighborhood Change, Amie Thurber

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Older adults face distinct challenges amidst changing neighborhood conditions, yet also bring distinct resources to aid their communities. After considering the literature related to well-being in older adulthood, the effects of neighborhood change on older adults, and older adults and social action, this paper explores the experiences of older adults in the Neighborhood Story Project. This action research project engages a group of neighbors to identify a set of research questions about their community, conduct place-based inquiry, and take action based on their learning. This study considers the degree to which the Neighborhood Story Project constitutes a macro therapeutic intervention. …

Direct Care Staff Experiences In Oregon Assisted Living, Residential Care And Memory Care Communities, 2022, Paula Carder, Sarah Dys, Lindsay Schwartz, Diana Jacoby, Jacklyn N. Kohon, Dani Himes, Madeleine Fox, Sheryl Elliott, Lauren Bouchard, Portland State University Institute On Aging

Institute on Aging Publications

Resident care assistants (e.g., direct care workers, caregivers, personal care aides) provide the majority of services to assisted living, residential care and memory care-endorsed (ALF/RCF) residents. They faced significant burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic, which amplified existing challenges in some ALF/RCF communities, yet little is known about their work experiences. This qualitative study collected data through focus group and individual interviews with 21 resident care assistants and 12 external colleagues who have experience hiring, training or managing resident care assistants and other ALF/RCF staff, including registered nurse consultants, staffing agency operators, state policy staff, ALF/RCF community operations managers, and advocates. …