Social Work Commons^™

From The Editor, Peggy Pittman-Munke Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Journal of Contemporary Rural Social Work

Volume 7, Number 2

2015

From the Editor: Peggy Pittman-Munke, Murray State University

Self-Efficacy And Mental Health Services Provided By Rural And Frontier Oncology Social Workers, Lindsey R. Overstreet Msw, Lcsw, Diane A. Kempson Msw, Phd, Carol J. Hermansen-Kobulnicky Phd, Rph

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This pilot study explores the relationship between self-efficacy and professional behaviors of a non-random membership sample of the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) who practice in rural and frontier settings (N = 19). The New Generalized Self-Efficacy (NGSE) scale was used to measure provider self-efficacy; a researcher-designed questionnaire was used to assess the professional behaviors of conducting mental health assessments and providing supportive counseling to individuals diagnosed with cancer. Pearson correlation and two-sample t-tests were used to analyze data. While study results did not elucidate relationships explored, results revealed a disparity between participants’ overall high sense of professional preparedness …

Building Collaboratives With Southern Rural African American Churches Through The Integration Of The Interorganizational Collaborative Framework, Alex D. Colvin, Angela Burdock

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The rural Black church often plays an important role in the lives of many African Americans and frequently functions as an informal helping network in meeting emergency service needs for this group. This article provides a review of the constructs of the Bailey and McNalley-Koney Interorganizational Community-Based Collaborative Framework. Additionally, this paper explores action-oriented measures for integrating constructs into practice to build interorganizational collaboratives with southern rural African American churches.

The Development Of Dual And Multiple Relationships For Social Workers In Rural Communities, Tammy Piché, Keith Brownlee, Glenn Halverson

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Mental health professionals who work in small, rural communities often have to contend with dual and multiple relationships. The more integrated service providers are within the community, the more likely they will encounter overlapping personal and professional relationships with clients. Although there is extensive literature on the potential risks of dual and multiple relationships, little empirical evidence exists which addresses the contextual factors that specifically lead to these relationships in rural social work practice. This qualitative study explored the experiences of twelve social workers or social service workers practicing in northern and northwestern Ontario. Findings provide some insight into the …

Evaluation Of The Demographics, Socioeconomics, And Satisfaction Levels Of Recipients At A Rural Food Bank, Michael J. Lyman Msw, Ph.D., Jeongah Seo Bsw

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The present study assesses the demographics, socioeconomics, behaviors, environment, and satisfaction of food bank clients as a way to inform food bank administrators about where their services could be more efficiently focused. Unfortunately, very little has been published in the research literature about levels of recipient satisfaction at food banks in any settings, but especially in rural settings. This descriptive study used existing demographic and socioeconomic data from intake forms at a rural food bank, in addition to the responses of a convenience sample of 44 foodbank recipients to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). The data were used to assess …

Rural Older Adults And Functional Health Literacy:Testing Self-Efficacy, Knowledge And Skills Resulting From Hands-On Health Promotion, Michele L. Dugan-Day, Susan C. Dollar, Wafaa A. Kaf

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Functional Health Literacy (FHL) involves the knowledge, skills and belief in self-efficacy to use health care information in self-care. FHL is critical for rural older adults since they are at risk of poor health care outcomes. As part of the Senior Health University project, we measured the FHL of rural older adults before and after educational sessions that included hands-on skill building. Ninety-eight participants aged 60 and older were recruited from five rural congregate meal sites over two years. Survey methods allowed for paired sample t-tests of FHL variables. Findings included significant post-training increases in FHL, suggesting the potential benefit …

Shifts In Practice Based On Rapid Re-Housing For Rural Homelessness: An Exploratory Study Of Micropolitan Homeless Service Provision, Margaret F. Sloan Ph.D., Karen A. Ford, Daisha M. Merritt Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Based on interviews with rural homeless service providers, the authors examine in this practice note how policy has created shifts in practice for organizations serving homeless populations. Homeless individuals find a decreasing opportunity for assistance while awaiting Rapid Re-Housing. Some organizations, dependent on Rapid Re-Housing monies, are facing a lack of funding to pay for general homeless care provision. Organizations are creating care networks to address requirements of the new policy in addition to pooling resources in underserved areas.

Teaching Students To Write Book Reviews, Peter A. Kindle Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This teaching note argues that one value associated with preparing book reviews for publication is the increased capacity to develop this skill in undergraduate and MSW-level social work students. A book review assignment is presented that has been effective in developing student authors. After graduation, student authors (N = 21) agreed that acceptance for publication improved their self-confidence, increased attention to their studies, and enhanced their practice.

Book Review: Rural Social Work In The 21st Century, Peter A. Kindle Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Book Review: Rural Social Work in the 21st Century Michael R. Daley 2015 Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books 309 pages Paperback, $49.95. ISBN-13: 978-1935871613

Book Review: Rethinking Rural: Global Community And Economic Development In The Small Town West, Karen Harper-Dorton Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Book Review: Rethinking Rural: Global Community and Economic Development in the Small Town West Don E. Albrecht 2014 Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press 232 pages Softcover, $17.09 ISBN-13: 978-0-87422-319-4

Book Review: The Last Best Place? Gender, Family And Migration In The New West, Claudette L. Grinnell-Davis

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Book Review: The Last Best Place? Gender, Family and Migration in the New West Leah Schmalzbauer 2014 Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press 224 pages Paperback, $24.95 ISBN-13 978-0-8047-9293-6

Emmett, Tony Teevy

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

Rusty Stone Silo, Christopher Schmersahl

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

Out What Was The Kitchen Window, Lucien Darjeun Meadows

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

Doublewide, Day Libby Merrill

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

That Is To Say, Zara Raab

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

Contemporary Rural Social Work - Fall 2015 (Volume 7, Number 2)

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Contemporary Rural Social Work - 2015 (Volume 7, Number 2)

Full issue

Longitudinal Description Of Developmental Youth Assets And Substance Use: A Cohort Study Of Rural Youth, Michael P. Vimont

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Rural communities seeking strategies to enhance the well-being of their youth must have local data for guidance. As a concept, developmental youth assets is increasingly used in measuring the psycho-social health of adolescents. This longitudinal study focuses on a cohort of over 200 youths residing in a rural community located in northeast Ohio. This five-year study observes trends of eight assets and the use of three substances. Results show that a decrease in asset scores took place between the sixth and eighth grade while the use of substances increased between the eighth and tenth grades. Additionally, outcomes show that youths …

Qualitative Experiences Of Rural Postpartum Women And Implications For Rural Social Work, Christopher D. Gjesfjeld, Addie Weaver, Kathy Schommer

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Geographic barriers and shortages of healthcare professionals in rural America have been well documented. These barriers and shortages influence rural women’s access to maternity and associated healthcare services during pregnancy and mothers’ postpartum period, but their perspectives about these realities have been overlooked. Semi-structured interviews with 24 mothers residing in a rural North Dakota county were conducted to understand their perspectives about both accessing healthcare services and parenting children in a rural context, with emphasis on understanding these mothers’ experiences using non-rural maternity care. Thematic analysis of qualitative interview data led to the emergence of three core themes. First, mothers …

Integrating Service, Community, And Teaching: Inspiring Students While Building A Mentoring Program For African American Youth, John W. Miller

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This teaching note describes how the author used various social work practice skills to design and effectively implement a community-based local mentoring program for African American adolescents. This program served as a case study for social work students who practice in rural areas to learn about community development since our program lacks formal rural community practice training module in its curriculum. This article details the process and provides practical examples and recommendations for social work faculty on how to infuse community service experience into the classroom.

Border Town, Jennifer Soule

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

A Poetics Of Place: The 2nd Annual Poetry Section Of Crsw, Danielle Beazer Dubrasky Crsw Poetry Editor

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Editorial Comments

What I Left, Unknown, Barbara Cecelia Harroun

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

The Old Church Bells, Raymund P. Reyes

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

Upstream, Gail Folkins

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Poem.

From The Editor, Peggy Pittman-Munke Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Journal of Contemporary Rural Social Work

Volume 7, Number 1: Special Issue

2015

From the Editor-in-Chief: Peggy Pittman-Munke, Murray State University

Social Action Meets Social Media: Environmental Justice In West Virginia, Debra Hunt Young, Samantha Teixeira, Helen Hartnett

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This article presents a case study of a community organizing effort known as Citizens Actively Protecting the Environment (CAPE). Led by rural West Virginians in response to the Elk River chemical spill of 2013, this environmental justice movement was novel in that it harnessed social media, specifically Facebook, to catalyze advocacy and change efforts in a rural area. The literature on environmental health disparities and environmental justice in rural communities is reviewed. Then authors describe how resident-led organizing in rural areas was effective in promoting environmental justice. Details of the CAPE project are presented, as well as ways social media …

Social And Environmental Justice And The Water-Energy Nexus: A Quest In Progress For Rural People, Karen V. Harper-Dorton Ph.D., Stacia J. Harper

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Access to affordable and reliable clean water and energy is necessary for economic development, health, and well-being of all people worldwide. Unavailable, unaffordable, or unreliable water and energy resources represent social and environmental injustices that disproportionately burden poor people, especially those in rural areas. Furthermore, there is an inextricable link between water and energy: clean water requires power for delivery and sanitation, and power production requires large amounts of water. This water-energy nexus connects two vital resources for humanity with more attention to economic concerns than to human or environmental issues. This paper addresses social and environmental justice issues that …

Ecology And Social Justice: A Course Designed For Environmental Social Work In Rural Spaces, Arielle Dylan

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

This article describes a course developed by the author that responds to the stated social justice aims of the social work profession. If social workers are to advocate successfully for environments conducive to the general welfare of all people, promote social justice, equitable distribution of resources, and just environmental management, environmental social work scholarship needs to move beyond theorizing and suggestions itemizing broad responses, and provide instead illustrative examples of interventions and alternative practices. The trend in very recent years of environmental social work scholarship has done just this. Education, in particular in the classroom setting, provides an opportunity to …

The Slow Violence Of Climate Change In Poor Rural Kenyan Communities: “Water Is Life. Water Is Everything.”, Jennifer L. Willett

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Climate change is the most pressing global environmental problem and the most unyielding worldwide environmental injustice of our time. Although some social workers have begun to address climate change, this literature is centered on its generalized impact, rather than its specific effects on vulnerable populations. As a concept, slow violence offers a frame to understand the slow occurring effects of climate change on the global poor. This study used an ethnographic approach to examine the effects of climate change on two poor rural Kenyan communities. Findings discussed include the consequences of droughts, the connection between droughts and deforestation, failed governmental …