Social Work Commons^™

Exploring The Health Implications Of Mixed-Income Communities: Hope Sf And Potrero Hill, San Francisco, Ca, Taryn Gress

Faculty Scholarship

This site profile is part of a series that spotlights mixed-income community transformations that emphasize health and wellness in their strategic interventions. The Mixed-Income Strategic Alliance produced these profiles to better understand the health implications of creating thriving and inclusive communities with a socioeconomically and racially diverse population. This site profile, which focuses on Sunnydale and Potrero Hill, was developed through interviews with local stakeholders as well as a review of publicly-available and internal documents.

Intergenerational Caregiver Loss And Successful Aging Opportunity Disruption Of Bulgarian Elderly, Daniel Georg Habermann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Identified by European research as an aging crisis, vulnerabilities in the rural Bulgarian elderly population such as intergenerational caregiver loss, are sociohistorical consequences and barriers to successful aging. This transcultural study investigated the aging crisis in rural Bulgaria to create a contextual definition of successful aging and to address successful aging and the identification of challenges and barriers faced by social workers and elders to support successful aging. Guided by continuity theory in aging and contextualized by overarching ecological systems theory, the research questions examined Bulgarian social workers' perceptions and expectations of successful aging and barriers to it. A collaborative …

Female Victims' Perceptions Of Civil Protection Order Effectiveness In Rural Tennessee, Thomas Warren Tharpe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence is a serious social issue that affects victims across all spectrums of life. While domestic violence crosses all geographical boundaries, researchers have found that women residing in rural areas experience increased severity and more extended periods of abuse than their urban counterparts. Existing literature focusing on rural female domestic violence victims and their subjective perceptions of civil order protection is limited and little is known about abuse victims' satisfaction with civil protection orders in keeping them safe from future incidents of violence. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the effectiveness perceptions of rural female victims …

Law Students' Perspectives On Interdisciplinary Education: A Qualitative Study, Kellie Lockemer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore law school students’ perspectives on interdisciplinary social work education. For this qualitative study, a purposive sample of current law students (n = 11) were invited to participate in a survey to give their perspectives on their current education and thoughts on interdisciplinary education. The results showed that, although the clinic work was helpful, most law students did not think traditional law classes helped prepare them for client interactions. The students also expressed an openness and desire for more trainings on client interactions. This study’s findings suggest a need for interdisciplinary trainings to …

A Systematic Review Of What Barriers And Facilitators Prevent And Enable Physical Healthcare Services Access For Autistic Adults, David Mason, Barry Ingham, Anna Urbanowicz, Cos Michael, Heather Birtles, Marc Woodbury‑Smith, Toni Brown, Ian James, Clare Scarlett, Christina Nicolaidis, Jeremy R. Parr

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Autistic people are more likely to: be diagnosed with a range of physical health conditions (i.e. cardio-vascular disease); experience premature mortality (for most disease categories); and experience barriers to effectively accessing healthcare. This systematic review sought to identify studies that report on barriers and facilitators to physical healthcare access for autistic people. A total of 3111 records were screened and six studies were included: two quantitative, two qualitative, and two mixed-methodology studies. Patient-provider communication, sensory sensitivities, and executive functioning/planning issues emerged as important barriers to healthcare. Recommendations for clinicians and those planning services are discussed.

A Green New Deal For Social Work, Rupaleem Bhuyan, Stéphanie Wahab, Yoosun Park

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this editorial, we consider what climate action would mean for the social work profession. The urgency to address climate change compels social work practitioners, educators, and researchers to embrace a vision of social work that is committed to restoring human well-being and the natural world.

Teaching Race, Racism, And Racial Justice: Pedagogical Principles And Classroom Strategies For Course Instructors, M. Brielle Harbin, Amie Thurber, Joe Bandy

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teaching on topics of race and racism presents unique challenges to leaders in the university classroom setting. Despite an increasing number of instructors bringing a critical analysis of racial in/justice to their curriculum, many report challenges in teaching this content effectively. In this article, we address these challenges. We define common challenges in teaching racial content and articulate four principles for course planning around topics of race, racism, and racial justice. Then, drawing on a systematic review of scholarship examining issues of difference within a diverse range of disciplinary settings, we introduce a set of five pedagogical strategies, and supporting …

Editorial: Public Intellectualism And The Call For Grounded Speculation, Ben Anderson-Nathe, Grant Charles

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

The author discusses the challenge of getting child welfare research to practitioners, families, and the young people whose lives it concerns.

Editorial: Disconnection And Mattering, Grant Charles, Ben Anderson-Nathe

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial. The article offers information on how the disconnection may affect the lives of children and youth and role of mattering to other people in overcoming the loneliness. Topics discussed include information on the empowering child and youth care; discussions on the intentional relationships and connection between children and youth; and the how engagements with young people reduces the loneliness.

Wraparound For Older Youth And Young Adults: Providers’ Views On Whether And How To Adapt Wraparound, Janet S. Walker, Caitlin Baird

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Systems of care are increasingly extending eligibility to young adults up to age 24, often using Wraparound as the model for serving young people with the highest levels of need. Over the last few years, as we interacted with providers through our Wraparound-focused training, coaching and technical assistance, we participated in numerous conversations in which providers talked about how they were adapting their Wraparound practice in order to respond to the unique developmental needs of this population. Throughout these conversations, providers consistently affirmed that Wraparound was a valuable approach for working with older youth and young adults. However, many providers …

Understanding Access To Menstrual Hygiene Products In The Akron Area, Corinne Plas

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to contribute to the understanding of the nature of access to menstrual hygiene products in the Akron area. Questions being researched are “Do Akron area residents need better access to menstrual hygiene products?”, “What is the nature of current access to products in the Akron area?”, “What influences a lack of access to products, if anything?”, and “What kinds of products are preferred and actually used?” The project consists of a 30-question survey, which was taken online by 51 participants. Completed analyses were cross tabulation analyses using Qualtrics and IBM SPSS programs and …

Informal Caregivers' Lived Experiences Caring For A Black Man Receiving Hemodialysis, Tanikka Joy Greene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous quantitative studies have assessed caregiver burden in multiple chronic diseases, but an identified gap and underrepresentation exists in the literature regarding studies using an inductive approach that allow informal caregivers to describe the lived experiences of caring for Black men receiving hemodialysis. The transactional model of stress and coping and the stress process model guided this study. The key research questions centered on the experiences, psychological, physical, and financial limitations associated with caregiving. This phenomenological study used a purposive sample of 15 unpaid primary caregivers over the age of 18 caring for a Black male on hemodialysis from Mecklenburg …

Correctional Social Work Practice With Female Offenders In A Midwestern State, Veronica Labrell Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A women's prison in the midwestern region of the United States experienced an increase of female inmates. Incarcerated women have reported higher rates of substance abuse problems, prior victimization, and mental illness than their male counterparts. Clinical social workers are often the primary service providers in criminal justice settings. The purpose of this action research project was to explore the challenges faced by social workers in a midwestern state when providing clinical treatment services to female offenders. Postmodern feminist theory and pathways theory provided a framework for understanding the factors related to female offending. The practice-focused research question explored the …

Social Work Crisis Interventions With Traumatic Death Survivors In Medical Settings, Sabrina R. Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traumatic death survivors are an at-risk population that could benefit from social work interventions. This action research study explored social work perspectives on crisis practice with traumatic death survivors in acute medical settings. The research questions focused on whether early crisis interventions by social workers would benefit traumatic death survivors, which interventions were recommended in crisis practice with this population, the potential effects of repeated trauma exposure on the social workers providing the crisis interventions, and recommendations to manage this professional exposure to trauma. The purpose of the study was to explore social work perspectives on potential benefits of crisis …

Military Sexual Trauma Survivors' Experiences And Perceptions Of Cognitive Processing Therapy, Sally A. Mead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military sexual trauma (MST) has been associated with poor emotional and psychological well-being, less overall life satisfaction, and poorer health in general as well as higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Department of Veterans Affairs provides treatment for veterans who experienced MST and recommends cognitive processing therapy (CPT) as a preferred treatment modality. Quantitative studies have shown that CPT can decrease symptoms of PTSD; however, a neglected area of study concerns the experiences of veterans who receive CPT for MST-related PTSD. In this generic qualitative study, the perceptions and experiences of female veterans who were survivors of MST …

Participatory Action Research And Co-Researching As A Tool For Situating Youth Knowledge At The Centre Of Research, Staci B. Martin, Jessica H. Burbach, Lulis Lares Benitez, Irisa Ramiz

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Too often youth from vulnerable communities see themselves talked about in academic research, but are rarely involved as co-researchers or co-authors of research. The purpose of this article is to share our reflections on engaging youth, their experiences and their perspectives on the multi-levels of impact of participatory action research methodologies, such as community-based action research or youth participatory action research. This article discusses more broadly how our participatory methodologies have impacted our co-researchers and ourselves. In it, we provide additional details about our past research projects, as well as theorizing those details in terms of how critical theory serves …

Editorial: We Can Do Better Than "Adolescence", Ben Anderson-Nathe, Grant Charles

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial. The author discusses the concept of adolescence and its acceptance as a biological imperative, a developmental mandate, and an explanation for young people's behavior. Topics discussed include the shift of the fundamentals of labor from largely agrarian to predominantly industrial forms, the 1904 naming of adolescence as a distinct life stage in the human experience, and adolescence as the default starting point for most adult interactions with youth in the academic and practice literatures.

Editorial: Stories Still Untold, Grant Charles, Ben Anderson-Nathe

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Editorial. The article offers information on the human history is a narrative of the powerful pushing the less powerful down and trying to keep them there. Topics discussed include without sufficient attention to history, to current circumstance, to all the points of intersection that we do not yet see, any single course of action reflects a limited and incomplete narrative; and mentions it is easier to think that there are victims and perpetrators than to admit that some among us are both.

Emerging Strategies For Engaging Young People In Systems Of Care, Research And Training Center For Pathways To Positive Futures, Portland State University

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Systems of care are increasingly serving older youth and young adults up to age 24, and in our research and training work with providers, we hear about the challenges of engaging young people in typical services. Many providers are responding to the unique developmental needs of this population by adapting the design and delivery of their services to better engage and retain young people in system of care supports. Overall, strategies include expansion of drop-in center programming, adaptations to practice models like Wraparound, and new outreach efforts using social media and other technologies. Our purpose here is to share some …

Quality Of Life And Stigma Among People Living With Hiv/Aids In Iran, Mohammad Ebrahimi Kalan, Jian Han, Ziyad Ben Taleb, Kristopher P. Fennie, Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi, Maryam Dastoorpoor, Nima Hajhashemi, Mitra Naseh, Shahnaz Rimaz

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Stigma against HIV profoundly affects the quality of life (QOL) of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). We aimed to assess the factors associated with QOL in PLWHA in Iran, specifically HIV-related stigma, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Methods: Two hundred PLWHA participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected using sociodemographic, stigma, and WHO-QOL-BREF questionnaires. Correlations, ANOVAs, and Student’s t-distribution tests were performed as bivariate analyses. We employed stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to explore the main factors associated with QOL domains.

Results: Six domains of QOL were negatively correlated with three domains of stigma (p < 0.001 for all). Stepwise multiple linear regression revealed that, after adjusting for con-founders, lack of healthcare insurance, having no basic knowledge of HIV/AIDs prior to diagnosis, low monthly income of participants and family, and stigma (blaming and distancing, discrimination, and fear) were associated with low mean score of different domains of QOL.

Conclusion …

Assessing The Relational Nature Of Child Physical Abuse And Neglect Among 12-Year-Old Girls, Corrine Ann Dale

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Child maltreatment is a historical and current problem in the United States. Children are exposed to physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse in alarming numbers. In 2014, state agencies found an estimated 702,000 victims of child maltreatment. With two thirds of this group representing child neglect victims, research studies and effective interventions are needed for this group in particular. This study examined the relational nature of child neglect versus child physical abuse. The sample population consisted of 68 girls aged 12 years old at the Midwest site of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect research project. The secondary …

Trauma Social Workers' Perspectives On The Response Of Rural Social Work Agencies To Vicarious Trauma, Tiffany Ann Hardman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers are susceptible to the potential negative impacts of vicarious trauma. Perspectives of trauma social workers on the responsiveness of rural social work agencies to vicarious trauma have not been explored even though the trauma-informed care model has been available since 2006 and outlines best practice in all settings of trauma social work. Considering the risk factors and negative effects vicarious trauma has on social workers, an increased understanding of the perspectives of social workers on how rural social work agencies are responding to vicarious trauma was needed. The purpose of this study was to explore this response through …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Work Climate, The Utilization Of Support Resources, And Compassion Fatigue Level In Child Protective Investigators, Shannon Holliker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impact of child maltreatment is far reaching, affecting the abused child, the family system, and the professionals tasked with providing support during the moments of crisis. As child protective investigators (CPIs) provide care and support to others, they are at high risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress and/or burnout, both aspects of compassion fatigue. Researchers suggest that work climate, utilization of resources, and worker characteristics can impact CPI compassion-fatigue level. Drawing on extant literature, this study examined three research questions and seven hypotheses aiming to explore the relationship between work climate, resource utilization, CPI characteristics, and CPI compassion-fatigue level. …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Peer Support Group Guidebook, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

This guide is intended for CFSS workers or supervisors facilitating a Peer Support Group (PSG) session. The PSG is part of CFS Strong, beginning in January 2020. CFS Strong is designed to address the cumulative effects of secondary traumatic stress (STS) that is part of the day-to-day work of CFSS. CFS Strong includes: (1) an adaptation of Resilience Alliance (RA) to teach skills and strategies to manage STS and build team cohesion, (2) Restoring Resiliency Response (RRR) to allow workers to debrief after an acute traumatic event, and (3) PSGs to reinforce the skills taught in RA and provide a …

Efficacy Of A Va Residential Treatment Program For Co-Occurring Disorders, Kathrin Hohenstern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders among the veteran population can impact numerous aspects of a veteran's life, including self-esteem, relationships, employment, and legal issues. The Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH RRTP) at the Saint Cloud, Minnesota VA Healthcare System is a program that provides residential treatment for this population. Identifying practical and beneficial treatment methods promotes better coping mechanisms for veterans and impacts social change by providing timely and cost-efficient care for veterans, while also leading the way for overall changes and improvements in other VA residential treatment programs. This study identified how …

Women's Empowerment By Group Sewing Training: A Microfinance Study In El Salvador, Sharleen Andrews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study explored the lived experiences of 8 participants in a microfinance sewing program in El Salvador. Numerous studies focused on empowering women by employing microfinance projects or programs in many countries; however, a lack of empirical data exists regarding Salvadoran women's perceptions about how a sewing program with teamwork affects women's empowerment. The purpose of this case study was to understand the women's personal stories, their obstacles as well as any factors they saw as empowering them. Guided by a constructionist framework, a sample of 8 participants: 5 who were sewing students and 3 who were employees, who …

Homelessness Count Methodologies Literature Review, Jennifer Lee-Anderson

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This literature review on homeless count methods provides a brief history of homelessness in the U.S., an account of count efforts, and an overview of methods used. It illustrates that no method is capable of providing a comprehensive count of the homeless, and all methods have inherent disadvantages that often rely upon flawed assumptions. The practical impact of these counts on policy is substantial. Therefore, this review should encourage discussion as to what data communities need for policy and program development and implementation, and whether homeless counts actually fulfill this need.

Sexual Healing: How Racialized Black Males Use Sex To Cope With Stress, Loss And Separation, Allen Lipscomb

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While the behaviors of Black males are widely studied and often pathologized, their internal, subjective experiences are frequently absent from contemporary research. Utilizing a qualitative research methodology, this study explores the lived experiences of Black males, focusing on sexuality as a coping strategy within the context of loss, separation and stress. A non-clinical sample of 33 Black male participants was identified using snowball and purposeful sampling via social media and word-of-mouth. The findings provide considerable insight regarding the needs of Black men navigating the vicissitudes of loss and stress. In addition, the data endorses deconstruction of the Black male masculine …

Multiplicative Advantages Of Hispanic Men Living In Hispanic Enclaves: Intersectionality In Colon Cancer Care, Keren M. Escobar, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin M. Gorey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examined Hispanic enclave paradoxical effects on cancer care among socioeconomically vulnerable people in pre-Obamacare California. We conducted a secondary analysis of a historical cohort of 511 Hispanic and 1,753 non-Hispanic white people with colon cancer. Hispanic enclaves were neighborhoods where 40% or more of the residents were Hispanic, mostly first-generation Mexican American immigrants. An interaction of ethnicity, gender and Hispanic enclave status was observed such that the protective effects of living in a Hispanic enclave were larger for Hispanic men, particularly married Hispanic men, than women. Risks were also exposed among other study groups: the poor, the inadequately insured, …

Unwed Motherhood, Adoption Reunion And Stigmatized Social Identities, Karen R. March

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Abstract

Data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 33 reunited birth mothers show they had been stigmatized for their unwed motherhood and hid this identity to protect self from social censure. The public exposure created by reunion contact with their adult placed children required new ways to manage this stigma trait. The women engaged in a process of identity talk supported by their understanding of altered perceptions of female sexuality and a “no choice” discourse that drew upon historical changes in the social position of unwed mothers. This identity talk increased their self-efficacy by providing stronger control over their presentation of …