Social Work Commons^™

Technology And Opportunity: People With Serious Mental Illness And Social Connection, Lisa Townsend, Allison Zippay, Kyle Caler, Bradley Forenza

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and their perceptions of social connections. Results: Cell phones and computers allowed greater linkage with social, medical, mental health, and employment resources. Nearly all obtained phones through publicly funded programs. “Running out of minutes” …

Introduction To The Special Section: Positive Developmental Strategies For Engaging Emerging Adults And Improving Outcomes, Janet S. Walker, Celeste Seibel, Sharice Jackson, John D. Ossowski

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As compared to any other age cohort in the US population, young people in late adolescence and early adulthood have a higher rate of unmet need for mental health services. Not only are these young people (from about 16 to 25 years old, and referred to here as “emerging adults”) more likely to experience a serious mental health condition (SMHC), but they are also less likely to engage in services. Furthermore, when emerging adults do engage in services, they face multiple barriers to service continuity, particularly as they come up to “milestone” ages at 18, 21, and 24.

There is …

North Douglas County Community Needs Health Assessment (Phase 1), Callie H. Lambarth, Diane Reid, Beth L. Green

Early Childhood

Beginning in February 2016, the North Douglas County (NDC) communities of Drain, Elkton, and Yoncalla, Oregon engaged in a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) planning process, focusing on children ages birth-to-8 and their families. The purpose of this process was to explore, understand, and integrate linkages between early learning and young child and family health; identify health-related resources currently available and accessible to NDC families; and prioritize health areas of interest to be explored during the CHNA.

The North Douglas County CHNA builds on community partnerships already established in the region through initiatives that aim to coordinate and align early …

Perceived Life Satisfaction Among Gay Males: The Coming-Out Process, Kimberly D. Carter

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project was a mixed method of both a quantitative and qualitative design to examine the perception of 38 gay male’s life satisfaction post coming out. In the past few years, laws affecting the gay community have been at the forefront of policies and debates, given all communities an insight into the specific challenges that are endured. As the gay community starts to openly live their lives as a gay man, there has been a need to accept and understand not only the challenges, but to give acceptance.

Additionally, this project sought out to determine if the gay community …

Biopsychosocial Factors Of Resilience In The Medically Indigent Adult Population, Kaitlin E. Puckett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The medically indigent adult population continues to struggle with the effects of not having insurance coverage, despite the efforts of the Affordable Care Act to provide more affordable healthcare coverage to the population. Based on the United States Census Bureau’s reported population in 2015, an estimated 45 million Americans are without insurance. This study aims to identify and explore the impacts of the biopsychosocial factors of resilience that enable the population to face adversity, stress, and manage distress in the face of trauma (Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Rutter, 2006; Zimmerman, 2015). Four hypotheses follow a review of literature and …

A Pilot Project Of Art And Eating Disorders: A Self-Advocacy Campaign Through Video Narratives, Sarah Pray

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

This pilot project of Art and Eating Disorders was approved by The Emily Program Foundation (TEPF) (Emily Program Foundation, n.d.), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit working to eliminate eating disorders through advocacy, social outreach, and collaboration with community partners. TEPF recruited five artists. Artists were interviewed by Sarah Pray and artwork digitally recorded at various locations, filmed and edited by videographer, Eve Daniels. Artists brought artwork and other creative work related to their recovery. The resulting videos were uploaded to the TEPF website (www.theemilyprogramfoundation.org) weekly. The goal of the pilot project was to measure the project's ability to document …

The Effects Of Continuing Education On Nurse Knowledge Of Safe Haven Laws In Illinois, Lindsay Thiemkey Gordon

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Illegal and often fatal infant abandonment is a pervasive public health crisis. Safe Haven Laws (SHLs) help to prevent illegal infant abandonment by allowing specific professionals, including nurses, to accept unharmed newborns within statutorily defined parameters. SHLs have existed for nearly two decades, yet many healthcare workers are not knowledgeable about these laws: this implies that initial efforts to educate healthcare workers about SHLs have been ineffective. Continuing education supports lifelong learning which is a basic tenet of nursing practice. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to teach nurses about SHLs through evidence-based continuing education. Literature firmly …

Art Therapy And Its Impact Upon Marital Communication With Geriatric Adults Suffering From Dementia And Their Spousal Caregivers: An Exploratory Review And Research Study, Ashlyn G. Kubacak

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

The World Health Organization estimated that 47.5 million people across the globe were living with dementia in 2015, and this number is expected to increase and eventually double by 2030. The cost of caregiving for someone who has dementia is substantial, with estimated federal costs fluctuating between 157 billion and 215 billion dollars annually. Sixty percent of caregivers rate the emotional strain of caregiving to be “high to extremely high”, and 40% of caregivers are diagnosed with depression. It is therefore important to provide support not only for those persons with dementia, but also for their caregivers in order to …

Student's Assistance And Contribution To Their Community After Participating In An Emergency Prepardeness Inter-Professional Collaborative Practice Simulation, Elizabeth Scott, Ronda Chrstman, Sonia Wrate, Rebecca Retzer, Laura Racovita-Szilagyi, Cynthia Gettys, Brooks Kirschmann

Faculty Works

Poster presented at Teaching to Transform for the New Reality of Nursing Practice. The 12th Annual Nursing Faculty Development Workshop at University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY in May 2016.

A Qualitative Study Of Job Competencies For Healthcare Social Work Administrators: An Application Of The Short Competency Model Process Used To Identify The Behaviors And Personal Characteristics Of Exemplary Performers, Lashonda Jones-Moore

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Job competencies are central to every organization’ s human resource management system. Competencies can be used to help organizations create high performance cultures, select and hire a workforce, develop leaders, and establish a foundation for training strategies. Social work, as a profession, has developed competency models for many specialized fields of social work. Health is the second most common practice area reported by social workers with a master’ s degree in social work, the predominant social work degree for licensed social workers. In highly structured, rapidly evolving, and complex organizations such as healthcare systems, leaders and managers require distinctively different …

Nature Connection: Theory, Evidence And Practice, Matt V. Bukowski

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

This presentation explores scholarly work at the intersection of mental health and the natural world in a variety of disciplines. My intent is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives, research-based evidence, and clinical practices that support the idea that experiencing the natural world can improve human mental health outcomes.

Nurses’ Perceptions Of Parents Staying During Chronically Ill Child’S Hospitalization: Learning To Speak The Same Language, Nicole Toscano

Social Work Theses

Since parents and nurses are at the forefront of a hospitalized child’s care, it is crucial to understand the views of parents and nurses to provide the best care for the patient. Parental views have been examined by previous research; thus, this qualitative research study assesses nurses’ perceptions concerning the parental role during a child’s hospitalization. Assessing where nurses’ place parents in the medical world will help the overall care of the patient. The results of the semi-structured interviews of two nurses corresponds with the hypothesis that nurses’ view parents as integral to the care of the patient, even if …

Victimization Of The Homeless: The Role Of Public Perceptions And Implications For Social Work Practice, Marion Murray, Simon Funge, Jay Gabbard

Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Client Satisfaction Survey For Hiv/Aids Dental Care Services: An Example From Rural Texas, H. Stephen Cooper Ph.D., Lcsw, Freddie L. Avant Ph.D., Lmsw-Ap, Acsw, C-Ssws, Kim L. Rich-Rice Ph.D., Lmsw-Ipr

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The challenges to examining client satisfaction are demonstrated through an evaluation of dental services provided by a regional service provider to people living with HIV/AIDS. The process of developing and administering a measure of client satisfaction is discussed. Forty-one of 350 (11.7%) dental clients chose to participate. Quantitative and qualitative data suggests that overall participants are satisfied with services. Identified concerns included a lack of specialized dental, medical, mental health, and case management services. Implications of the study for service delivery, future evaluations, and rural social work practice are addressed.

The Impact Of Foster Care On Depression: An Examination Of Placement Type And Mental Health Service Utilization Among Children And Adolescents, Kisha Cummings

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Children and adolescents in foster care with a history of complex trauma such as neglect, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse have a greater odds of being clinically diagnosed with depression in adulthood compared to children and adolescents without such a history. The current study examines the prevalence of depression in a national sample of children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 years. This study asks whether a) foster care is associated with a greater prevalence of depression among children and adolescents in foster care compared to children and adolescents not in foster care; b) there is an association between …

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: A Look At Seven States And The Nation, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Kansas, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

Patients’ Perspectives On Health Care In The United States: Florida, R. J. Blendon, J. M. Benson, Caitlin L. Mcmurtry, J. M. Sayde

Brown School Faculty Publications

The landscape and experience of health care in the United States has changed dramatically in the last two years. January 2014 saw insurance purchased on state exchanges and the federal marketplace go into effect, the start of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and its accompanying subsidies and tax credits for qualifying Americans, discrimination protections, including pre-existing conditions, for those seeking to buy health insurance, and the implementation of essential health benefits for all plans sold through the insurance marketplace.

The Stigma Effect: The Role Of Internalized Racism And Internalized Homophobia In Risky Sexual Behavior Among Black Gay Men, Darren Lovell Whitfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black gay, bisexual, queer, and same-gender-loving (GBQSGL) men account for less than 1% of US population, yet account for 36% of all new HIV infections. While, Black GBQSGL men experience higher rates of HIV infection compared to other gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) from other racial groups, they are no more likely to report engaging in condomless anal sex (CAS). These findings suggest that one possible explanation is that the context of sexual behavior for Black GBQSGL men may be riskier because of the prevalence of HIV in the community. Furthermore, research suggests that racism …

Prevention Strategies And Mental Health In Vietnam, Edward Cohen

Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the current state of mental health services in Vietnam and provides recommendations for improving the care of people with mental illness. Vietnam’s mental health problems are as prevalent as anywhere else in the world. The country has recently begun an initiative to reform mental health care by improving community-based services for people with serious mental illness. However, mental illness has not been a part of public discourse in Vietnam. There is little recognition of prevalent common mental illnesses (such as depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse) and the care of people with serious mental illnesses relies on either …

Promoting Socially Just Healthcare Systems: Social Work’S Contribution To Patient Navigation, Patricia Desrosiers, Gayle Mallinger, Tonya Bragg-Underwood

Social Work Faculty Publications

Patient navigation is an emerging area of healthcare practice that uses an interdisciplinary and integrated care model designed to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes. The authors define patient navigation, delineate the alignment of social work competencies with patient navigator requirements, and argue for a clear social work role and presence as patient navigators in interdisciplinary healthcare delivery. Social workers are well-equipped to carry out a variety of patient navigator responsibilities due to their unique skill of social justice advocacy as a macro-level intervention. Through involvement in patient navigation, social work leaders can promote the development of socially just …

Child Sexual Abuse And The Impact Of Rurality On Foster Care Outcomes: An Exploratory Analysis, Austin G. Griffiths, April L. Murphy, Whitney Harper

Social Work Faculty Publications

Given the cost of long-term foster care placement in both human and economic terms, few studies have specifically explored if any factors help to predict why this vulnerable population spends significantly more time in foster care. The overarching goal of this exploratory study was to use binary logistic regression to investigate whether any child demographic or environmental characteristics predicted the discharge of a child placed in Kentucky's foster care system for child sexual abuse. Results indicated that children in the most rural areas of the state were over 10 times more likely to be discharged from foster care during the …

An Examination Of Quality Of Life Of Parents Of Adult Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christina Noel Marsack

Wayne State University Dissertations

Previous research on parental caregivers has focused primarily on caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, rather than focusing specifically on parents of adult children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most research on ASD has centered on parents of young children with this diagnosis, but not on parents of adult children with ASD. Understanding the experiences of parents caring for adult children with ASD is important given the increase in the prevalence of individuals with ASD and the lack of information regarding parents of adult children with ASD. A nonexperimental, quantitative, correlational design was used to examine effects …

Factors Associated With Primary Care Providers' Willingness To Deliver Routine And Transition Care To Transgender Individuals, Deirdre Aisling Shires

Wayne State University Dissertations

Transgender individuals report being denied healthcare services, but very little is known about primary care providers’ (PCP) willingness to deliver either routine or transition care to the transgender community. The purpose of this study is to examine PCP willingness to deliver routine care, continue a hormone therapy (HT) regimen initiated by another provider, and initiate HT for transgender patients using a theoretical framework informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior and Intergroup Contact Theory. The study sample was all family medicine, internal medicine, and women’s health providers in a large integrated Midwestern health system. Eligible participants were emailed a unique …

Caring For Children With Intrauterine Drug Exposure, The Rees-Jones Center For Foster Care Excellence

White Papers and Policy Briefs

Overview of national statistics regarding in utero substance exposure and the impacts on health care for children involved with the child welfare system.

For questions about this publication or others, please email [email protected]

childrens.com/fostercare

Addressing The Health And Safety Of Children In Foster Care, The Rees-Jones Center For Foster Care Excellence

White Papers and Policy Briefs

The Texas foster care system is an integral part of the safety net for the state’s most vulnerable children, and is charged with the daunting task of providing safe homes to thousands of children who are in crisis. Children and youth in foster care still face persistent barriers when they interact with the health system, which blunt the effectiveness of reform initiatives and potentially create lifelong harms for children in the program. Addressing disparities in the areas of physical health, mental health, educational attainment and special health care needs is integral to improving safety, stability and permanency for every child …

Teen Dating Violence: Co-Occurrence With Bullying Among African American Teens In South Florida, Rosemarie Hemmings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen dating violence and bullying are major public health concerns but are preventable. Both dating violence and bullying occur within similar social context and the prevalence of teen dating violence was highest for African American teens as reported on the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Social learning theory provides a foundation for understanding and changing behavior related to dating violence victimization and bully victimization. The research questions focused on relationships between bully and teen dating violence victimization when controlling for race/ethnicity, gender, substance abuse, age, and age of first sexual intercourse. Additionally, the potential mediating variable of spending time …

Intensive Care In Oncology: Admission And Outcomes In Adult Patients With Cancer, Surya John

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Historically, patients with cancer have been perceived as poor candidates for ICU admission. General ICU admission criteria lists cancer patients as low priority in ICU admission depriving them of the care they rightfully deserve. The purpose of this literary synthesis was to examine ICU admission criteria, risk factors, and outcomes of ICU admission in relation to hematological and solid tumor cancers and discuss ways that practitioners and nurses can educate patients with cancer and their families on appropriateness of ICU care.

Methods: A total of 768 articles were found in a literature search including all literature from 2005 to …

Harmful Or Helpful? Direct To Consumer Advertising, Sally A. Kiss

The Graduate Review

Policy change in 1997 by the Food and Drug Administration made the United States only one of two countries to allow direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). DTCA refers to the promotion of prescription medications through media directly to consumers as opposed to distribution of information only medical professionals. Supporters argue that DTCA educates consumers and helps them to make more informed decisions about their health care. On the other side, opponents argue that it leads to otherwise healthy people believing they are sick, thereby increasing profits for pharmaceutical companies. After reviewing the history of DTCA and literature demonstrating the pros and cons …

An Exploration Of Home-Based Therapists’ Supervisory Experiences: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Cherre Camper

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

In-home family therapy has become one of the most common options of treatment for providing services to families who do not typically utilize a private clinic (Lawson, 2005; Reiter, 2000; Yorgason, McWey, & Felts, 2005). Researchers have given some attention to the topic of home-based therapy and to general supervision, but little attention has focused on the actual supervision experiences of home-based therapy providers. This phenomenological study explored the supervision experiences of seven past and current in-home therapists: marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and social workers (MSWs). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants, and data was analyzed to develop …