Social Work Commons^™

Is A Social Support Based Model Better For Treating Alcoholism? A Systematic Review, Jordan Anthony Contreras

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Alcoholism continues to persist as a significant health issue in the United States and impacts individuals and families across race, gender, and age. While much work has been made in the field of substance abuse treatment, there remains a substantial need for additional research to formulate effective strategies for treating alcoholism and related unhealthy drinking behaviors. The existing literature suggests that mutual support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are the standard for achieving successful recovery among those seeking help. Simultaneously, there exists a growing amount of research proposing a range of other interventions that may prove effective in treating alcoholism. …

Mental/Behavioural Health And Educational Outcomes Of Grandchildren Raised By Custodial Grandparents: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review, Yanfeng Xu Ph.D., Yao Wang, Lauren P. Mccarthy, Theresa Harrison, Hanna Doherty

Faculty and Staff Publications

Grandparents caring for grandchildren has increased globally in the past two decades, but we have a limited understanding of its effects on custodial grandchildren's mental/behavioural health and educational outcomes. This mixed methods systematic review aims to synthesise mental/behavioural health and educational outcomes of custodial grandchildren within custodial grandparent-headed families and with comparison to other types of household structure and further examine factors associated with these outcomes. A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted. We searched ERIC, Family Studies Abstracts, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Social Work Abstract and SocINDEX in March 2021 and …

The Campbell Collaboration’S Systematic Review Of School-Based Anti-Bullying Interventions Does Not Meet Mandatory Methodological Standards, Julia H. Littell, Dennis M. Gorman

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Background

Many published reviews do not meet the widely accepted PRISMA standards for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Campbell Collaboration and Cochrane reviews are expected to meet even more rigorous standards, but their adherence to these standards is uneven. For example, a newly updated Campbell systematic review of school-based anti-bullying interventions does not appear to meet many of the Campbell Collaboration’s mandatory methodological standards.

Issues

In this commentary, we document methodological problems in the Campbell Collaboration's new school-based anti-bullying interventions review, including (1) unexplained deviations from the protocol; (2) inadequate documentation of search strategies; (3) inconsistent reports on the number of …

Virtual Versus Face-To-Face Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Depression: Meta-Analytic Test Of A Noninferiority Hypothesis And Men’S Mental Health Inequities, Carly M. Charron, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

Global rates of depression have increased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how the recent shift of many mental health services to virtual platforms has impacted service users, especially for the male population which are significantly more likely to complete suicide than women. This paper presents the findings of a rapid meta-analytic research synthesis of 17 randomized controlled trials on the relative efficacy of virtual versus traditional face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in mitigating symptoms of depression. Participants’ aggregated depression scores were compared upon completion of the therapy (posttest) and longest follow-up measurement. The results …

Risk And Protective Factors Of Dementia Among Adults With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review Protocol, Karen A. Lawrence, Theresia M. Pachner, Molly M. Long, Stephanie Henderson, Donna L. Schuman, Brenda L. Plassman

Social Work Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Individual epidemiological studies have controlled for several confounders of the relationship between PTSD and increased dementia risk, yet particular risk factors underlying this relationship have not been determined. This systematic review protocol aims to identify risk and protective factors of dementia among adults with PTSD.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct an electronic search of the databases: PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, The Cochrane Library, Scopus and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Global. After screening the studies, quantitative synthesis will be performed, if possible. Otherwise, a narrative synthesis will be …

Social Work’S Contribution To Research Regarding Suicide Among African Americans, Darius Reed

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Suicide among African Americans has increased significantly in the past 15 years, yet it remains a neglected topic in social work research. Social workers are the largest direct provider of mental health services in the United States. However their valuable person-in-environment perspective has not been incorporated into research to provide insight on ways to decrease incidents of suicide among African Americans. This systematic review examines social work’s contribution to suicide research while focusing on the social context in which African Americans live. The systematic review also examines protective factors specific to African Americans that can be used to mitigate suicide …

Harnessing Social Media For Good: How Human Service Nonprofit Organizations Use Social Media To Connect To Stakeholders And Clients, Angela C. Volpe

Doctor of Social Work Banded Dissertations

This banded dissertation examines how human service nonprofit organizations use social media to connect to stakeholders and clients and makes suggestions for how nonprofits can best utilize this powerful medium in their practice.

The first scholarly product was a qualitative systematic review that examined the existing literature regarding how human service nonprofit organizations use social media to enhance their provision of services for clients. Themes discovered included types of social media being used, levels of human service nonprofit organizations (HSO) social media engagement and reasons for use, and barriers to social media use.

The second scholarly product was a case …

Yoga-Specific Enhancement Of Quality Of Life Among Women With Breast Cancer: Systematic Review And Exploratory Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Daline El-Hashimi, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

Physical activities during and after cancer treatment have favorable psychosocial effects. Increasingly, yoga has become a popular approach to improving the quality of life (QoL) of women with breast cancer. However, the extant synthetic evidence on yoga has not used other exercise comparison conditions. This meta-analysis aimed to systematically assess yoga-specific effects relative to any other physical exercise intervention (eg, aerobics) for women with breast cancer. QoL was the primary outcome of interest. Eight randomized controlled trials with 545 participants were included. The sample-weighted synthesis at immediate postintervention revealed marginally statistically and modest practically significant differences suggesting yoga’s potentially greater …

Trauma-Informed Interventions For Sexual Exploitation And Their Effectiveness On The Exit Process: An Empirical Review, Lorraine M. Armenta-Buelna

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In recent years much effort has been dedicated to the purpose of combating commercial sexual exploitation yet there is a lack of concise and comprehensive information on the effectiveness of strategies and interventions to help this population. Research in this field has helped define and illuminate consequences of this lifestyle. The existing literature points to the complexity of the population's needs and the challenges faced when trying to leave 'the life' however there is a dearth of information on what works. The purpose of this project is to identify and summarize the findings of any empirical studies which evaluate interventions …

Systematic Literature Review: Programmatic Considerations For Grief Groups In Elementary Schools, Gabrielle Lottie

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

There has been an increase of focus surrounding aiding children who have lost a loved one by death over the past decade. It is broadly assumed that school-based grief groups for children are a beneficial way to support children, who are experiencing the loss of a loved one, in a safe and familiar environment. This systematic literature review was designed to explore the research question: What are the different models and goals of grief groups in an elementary school setting for children who have lost a loved one due to death? The review was set up using peer-reviewed articles, which …

The Association Between Neighborhood Factors And Mexican Americans’ Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Kai Wei, Jaime Booth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This systematic review seeks to elucidate the association between neighborhood factors and Mexican American mental health outcomes. We searched PsycINFO and Academic Search Premier for studies related to neighborhood factors and mental health. Google Scholar was used to identify additional studies, followed by a manual inspection of the related work. Eleven studies were identified. Nine studies found that neighborhood factors had a significant impact on mental health among this group. Neighborhood compositional factors influenced mental health directly, among which minority concentration was found to be protective for Mexican American mental health. Neighborhood contextual factors influenced mental health directly and indirectly …

Medication-Assisted Treatment For Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence And Implications For Social Work Practice, Amber M. Holbrook, Viba H. Nguyen

Amber Holbrook

Evidence-based practice with pregnant clients who are opioiddependent can be especially challenging because pregnant women are rarely included in clinical trials. The paper synthesizes systematic reviews on the outcomes of medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependent pregnant women and compares the effectiveness of methadone and buprenorphine. We explore evidence on maternal and neonatal outcomes, the safety of breastfeeding, and discuss the implications for social work practice. Searches were conducted in 6 databases. Ten reviews met the inclusion criteria. Results suggest medication-assisted treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine are equally effective in reducing maternal substance use, although methadone may offer slightly higher …

Integrated Care Of Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review, Joshua Goodwin

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This systematic review examines the outcome of integrated care intervention on the treatment of chronic illness, specifically, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Twenty-three studies conducted between 2000 and 2015 were included for final review, assessed for quality, and thematically analyzed and organized by outcome measure. Studies reporting on survival rates for cancer patients did not report significant improvement for those receiving integrated psychological or psychosocial intervention, with the exception of a single study. More favorable outcomes were reported for integrated care interventions aimed at increasing quality of life and psychosocial wellbeing. Medical outcomes for HIV/AIDS patients were more promising, particularly in regard …

The Effects Of Caregiver Substance Abuse On School Performance: A Systematic Review, Kelsey Knutson

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify how a school-aged child’s school performance is affected by having a primary caregiver who abuses substances. It is important for social workers to understand what behaviors indicate concerns about substance abuse in the child’s home because social workers can work on interventions to best support the child. Ten studies met inclusion criteria for the systematic review. The findings demonstrated that children living with a caregiver who abuses substances tend to be more often truant, have an increase in externalized behaviors in the classroom, and lower academic performance. The findings also found …

A Systematic Review Of The Effects Of Family Conflict: Focusing On Divorce, Infidelity, And Attachment Style, Jacob B. Borst

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

In this systematic review, I explored the topic of family conflict, focusing on the conflicts of infidelity and divorce, and how these conflicts affect attachment style. The literature review provided information showing that family conflicts may increase the likelihood of children committing at-risk behaviors, have negative impacts on attachment style, and may even influence the success of future relationships. Positive outcomes can also occur from family conflict such as leaving an abusive environment or gaining secure attachment figures such as a stable stepparent. A focused literature search found 25 articles and two books that provided information regarding the effects of …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Effective Interventions For African-American And Hispanic Alzheimer’S Caregivers, Carolyn L. Lokensgard

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

In this systematic review, an investigation of research on effective social work interventions for African-American and Hispanic caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was conducted. Through a comprehensive literature search, twelve articles met the set inclusion criteria. Peer-reviewed journal articles on quantitative or qualitative research studies on African-American and Hispanic AD caregivers served as the data source. The review found three categories of interventions: in-home programs, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) focused small groups, and support groups. The majority of the studies included a demonstrated effort to culturally tailor each intervention. The results of the review demonstrate an overall …

Efficacy Of Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing Therapy In The Treatment Of Trauma: A Systematic Review, Jessica Regan

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This systematic review examines the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy as an intervention in the treatment of trauma in adults. Upon careful review of present literature, 14 articles met criteria. Common themes were identified throughout the reviewed studies, including treatment intervention comparison, variation in EMDR model, treatment fidelity, longitudinal follow-up, and co-morbidity. While results show that EMDR is an effective treatment intervention for the treatment of trauma, the majority of studies found it to be no more effective than other treatment interventions.

Medication-Assisted Treatment For Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence And Implications For Social Work Practice, Amber M. Holbrook, Viba H. Nguyen

Social Work (Graduate) Faculty Publications

Evidence-based practice with pregnant clients who are opioiddependent can be especially challenging because pregnant women are rarely included in clinical trials. The paper synthesizes systematic reviews on the outcomes of medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependent pregnant women and compares the effectiveness of methadone and buprenorphine. We explore evidence on maternal and neonatal outcomes, the safety of breastfeeding, and discuss the implications for social work practice. Searches were conducted in 6 databases. Ten reviews met the inclusion criteria. Results suggest medication-assisted treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine are equally effective in reducing maternal substance use, although methadone may offer slightly higher …

A Replication Of Failure, Not A Failure To Replicate, Gary Holden, Kathleen Barker, Sofie Kuppens, Gary Rosenberg, Jonathan`

Publications and Research

Purpose: The increasing role of systematic reviews in knowledge production demands greater rigor in the literature search process. The performance of the Social Work Abstracts (SWA) database has been examined multiple times over the past three decades. The current study is a replication within this line of research.

Method: Issue level coverage was examined for the same 33 SWA core journals and the same time period as our 2009 study.

Results: The mean percentage of issues missing in the current study was 20%. The mean percentage of issues missing in the current study was significantly greater than …

Making Sense Of Meta-Analysis: A Critique Of "Effectiveness Of Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy", Julia H. Littell, Aron Shlonsky

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Evidence-based practice depends in part on knowledge derived from relevant research. For any given topic, there are likely to be many, potentially relevant studies; a careful appraisal and synthesis of the results of these studies is needed to understand the state of the empirical evidence. Meta-analysis is widely used to combine results of quantitative studies; yet this method is unfamiliar to many people and, as a result, meta-analyses are often uncritically accepted. In this article, we argue that meta-analysis is only one component of a good research synthesis. We critique a recent meta-analysis on the effectiveness of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, …

Welfare-To-Work Programs In America, 1980 To 2005: Meta-Analytic Evidence Of The Importance Of Job And Child Care Availability, Kevin M. Gorey

Social Work Publications

This meta-analysis extended a Campbell Collaboration review of welfare-to-work programs. Its synthesis of 65 randomized trials in America over the past generation replicated a small overall intervention effect. Moreover, it found (1) there was no long-term employment effect of interventions in areas where jobs were relatively unavailable, and (2) programs that provided child care were more effective than those that did not in the short and long term, even in areas of high labor market withdrawal. The availability of jobs as well as such supports as child care that enable their access seem to be key elements of welfare-to-work programs …

Evidence-Based Or Biased? The Quality Of Published Reviews Of Evidence-Based Practices, Julia H. Littell

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

Objective

To assess methods used to identify, analyze, and synthesize results of empirical research on intervention effects, and determine whether published reviews are vulnerable to various sources and types of bias.

Methods

Study 1 examined the methods, sources, and conclusions of 37 published reviews of research on effects of a model program. Study 2 compared findings of one published trial with summaries of results of that trial that appeared in published reviews.

Results

Study 1: Published reviews varied in terms of the transparency of inclusion criteria, strategies for locating relevant published and unpublished data, standards used to evaluate evidence, and …