Social Work Commons^™

Lived Experiences Of Support Among Parents Of Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Laxmi Seth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractReceiving a cancer diagnosis for one’s child is a traumatic experience for any parent. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most prevalent form of leukemia in children. Treatment-related issues can negatively affect quality of life and cause long-term emotional, social, and financial stress for the parents. The world faced the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While professional support was available for the parents caring for their children undergoing ALL treatment during the pandemic, how these parents experienced support, including through social media, was unknown. Investigating parents’ lived experiences of support, including social media support, during COVID-19 pandemic, was the focus of …

North Carolina Cps Social Worker Self-Efficacy With Legal Aspects, Michelle E. Bates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

North Carolina has the infrastructure to investigate the allegations of child abuse and neglect. However, the problem is that during the investigation, not all children have risk and safety evaluated. Assessing for risk and safety determines the child’s immediate or future need for legal interventions. The purpose of this basic qualitative inquiry was to explore CPS social workers’ self-efficacy with legal aspects when completing abuse and neglect investigations in rural counties in North Carolina. Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy was the theoretical framework used to explain the phenomenon in this study. The research questions were: (a) What are the perceptions …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Communication With Health Care Providers For Older Adult Quilters, Mary Peyton Cauthorn Gill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractActive aging plays a pivotal role in countering the effects of multimorbidities and enhancing mental and physical well-being of individuals. Prior research supports the benefits of mindfulness, a key component of active aging, in enhancing older adults’ physical and mental health, but the effect of mindfulness on older adults’ communication with medical social workers and other health care providers has not been studied. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of how older quiltmakers experienced mindfulness and how this affected their communication with their health care providers. The study, which drew from empowerment theory, …

Factors Influencing The Political Activity Of Social Workers: A Comparative Study Among Swiss And United States Social Workers, Tobias Kindler, Jason Ostrander

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Various international and national social work ethical principles call social workers to participate in politics, yet not much research exists in the field of a political social work. Little is known about the actual voluntary political engagement of social workers as well as factors influencing their political activity. Especially, few studies with an international comparison focus have been conducted. Consequently, this study used cross sectional survey design to better understand the factors influencing the political activity of social workers in Switzerland (n = 1242) and in the United States (n = 3033). The results indicate that the political activity of …

Community-Oriented Policing: Building Trust And Collaborative Relationships With The Black Community, Tunice M. Cole

DSW Capstone Projects

Black people die at the hands of police at a disproportionate rate. In the United States, Black citizens are three times more likely to be killed by police than White citizens. This, along with other factors, has caused a lack of trust, legitimacy, and relationships between police and the Black community. Examining this problem from a socio-ecological and social constructivist perspective suggests that the solution encompasses the use of community feedback and experiences to build and develop a model of community-oriented policing that addresses the issues of the community being served.

Product one of this capstone was a systematic literature …

Black Men Need Love Too, Addressing Unaddressed Mental Health In African American Men, D'Quayvion Cloud

DSW Capstone Projects

The objective of this capstone is to analyze and demonstrate the importance of studies on unaddressed mental health among African American males. The major aim is to demonstrate why research, policy, and funding are vital to knowing how to work with this specific clinical group, allowing us to build effective and inclusive programs for these African American males and eliminate the stigma associated with members of this community. Due to unaddressed mental health and a lack of treatment options for our people, research has shown that African American men aged 20 to 24 had the highest suicide rate of any …

Policy Change To Reduce Active Duty Suicide Rates, Michelle Rae Loper

DSW Capstone Projects

There continues to be a dramatic increase in the rates of suicide within the Active-Duty military population. There have been a number of efforts to curb the rates without any prolonged success. Several actions and studies have been conducted on risk factors, prevention efforts, and treatment interventions in an attempt to reduce the rates. This capstone comprises a sequence of academic papers: a systematic literature review, a conceptualization paper, and a practical application paper. This project aims to identify the essential policy components necessary moving forward within the Department of Defense to address this critical issue. The research question leading …

Music As An Instrument For Healing: Exploring Music Therapy For Increasing The Quality Of Life For Geriatric Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd), Travis Adams

DSW Capstone Projects

Military personnel can sometimes be put in dangerous situations that expose them to various types of traumas. Due to the nature of their work, veterans may be at a higher risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a complex and challenging mental health disorder with symptoms that evolve with time. Geriatric veterans with PTSD are a particular population with unique needs that require attention and care. Music therapy is explored as a potential intervention to increase geriatric veterans' quality of life with PTSD.

Product One was a systematic review that examined the effectiveness of music therapy in improving …

Role Expansion Of School Social Workers: An Educational Paradigm Shift, Sara Murrell

DSW Capstone Projects

This capstone product includes three written documents. The purpose of this work was to discover and justify the role expansion of school social workers into school leaders. The first, a systematic literature review examining the roles of school social workers. This document will review the current literature describing which school social work roles promote school social workers as school leaders, and which roles act as barriers for school social workers to become school leaders. The second document is a conceptual paper. This document identifies the need for a paradigm shift in education towards a whole child perspective. This document looks …

An Integrated, Holistic Approach To Supporting The Wellbeing Of The Contemporary Social Services Workforce, Julia Moore

DSW Capstone Projects

Despite nearly 40 years of research regarding the effects of psychological distress among the social services workforce, there remains a lack of congruity among scholars and experts regarding the definition and epidemiology of the distinct constructs, including secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Current literature on these phenomena indicates that a lack of empirical methods for scientifically studying outcomes regarding effective prevention and intervention strategies have stalled efforts to advance the field of secondary trauma and create practical approaches to protecting the workforce serving trauma-exposed clients. This capstone project is focused on understanding the current literature regarding …

Systemic Solutions To Addressing Juvenile Sexual Offending, Alyscia Mayhugh

DSW Capstone Projects

Research on and treatment of juvenile sexual offenders has surged since the 1980s. While research on this social justice issue has expanded over the past four decades, little has been done in the United States to systemically address the recidivism rates of juvenile sexual offenders. The systematic literature review explores existing literature on this topic, with a focus on thematic categories that emerged through data extraction and analysis. The conceptual paper presents a unique idea for addressing juvenile sexual offending systemically, emphasizing the value of utilizing incrementalism and trauma theory to enact changes to existing systems. The final practice application …

An Examination Of Diabetes Prevention Program Translations For Eastern Kentucky, William H. Robinson

DSW Capstone Projects

This capstone project examined translations of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) that have been adapted to improve cultural competency and analyzed the potential application of these adaptations to serve communities in Eastern Kentucky. Findings in the project were synthesized using the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) posited by Bernal et al. (1995) and the RE-AIM framework developed by Glasgow et al. (1999). EVM and RE-AIM have been used in other systematic literature reviews of the DPP and provide a framework for conceptual analysis and practice application of the findings. This project recommends changes in public health policy and social work …

What's The Play? Using Social Learning Theory To Treat Men In Mental Health, Aaron Hemlepp

DSW Capstone Projects

Men have problems when it comes to mental health. Specifically, men are more likely to have a fatality of suicide than other genders and are more likely to have substance abuse problems than other genders. Combine this with societal problems such as the shrinking physical labor market and instability of family systems that have traditionally been seen as “men’s work.” The gender is not adapting to modern social functioning in the way that other genders have been, which means that therapy is not a useful tool for men and their problems. This means that therapy systems need an approach to …

Job Satisfaction And Burnout Among Social Workers Providing Services To Veterans, Toni Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social workers have been documented both experiencing job satisfaction with decreased levels of burnout and suffering from high stress and burnout. The job demands-resources (JDR) model was used to guide this study. The purpose of this study was to examine how social workers working with the veteran population describe how their job satisfaction affects their perceptions of burnout. A basic qualitative study design was employed with a purposeful sample of 12 social work participants drawn from multiple facilities that provide services to veterans. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and were analyzed using a thematic coding process, validation through member …

Coping With Sibling Suicide: The Experiences Of Saint Lucians Of African Descent, Charmaine Hippolyte Emmanuel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe loss of a loved one to death is difficult. However, the loss to suicide entails increased pain and anguish due to the stigma attached to suicide. Sibling loss to suicide is a global concern as individuals can experience complicated grief reactions, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideations. These health concerns can negatively impact the individuals’ health and general well-being in the absence of healthy coping mechanisms. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Saint Lucians of African descent. The participants were 20 to 60 years old and had lost a sibling to …

The Perceptions And Practices Of Child Welfare Caseworkers And Decision-Making Related To Reunification, Sonja D. Ulrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The child welfare system exists to support safe and healthy families. When children cannot remain safely with family, they are removed and often placed with nonrelatives. Only half of all of the children removed from their homes achieve reunification. In the current study, research questions examined the perceptions of caseworkers in determining whether or when a child could reunify with their family of removal, and how the perceptions of the caseworker affected their practice regarding reunification. Using social learning theory as a framework, a caseworker’s decisions were viewed as a balance between their work environment and their personal perceptions. Following …

The Social Worker’S Experience Regarding Social Isolation In Middle Schools, Jeanne Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMiddle school is a time when adolescents struggle with social challenges, self-identity, and self-esteem. Social workers are critical stakeholders to support families in schools; these professionals serve in a unique capacity to assist with attendance, provide medical and behavioralsupport and connect families with resources to mitigate barriers to students’ success. Little is known, however, about the role social workers play in preventing and addressing the social isolation of middle school students. The purpose of this project was to explore the role of the social worker as it relates to preventing and addressing the social isolation of middle school students. Self-determination …

African American Youth Decline To Extend Foster Care Despite Their Needs, Rhonda Flowers-Corpening

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn the United States, African American children are disproportionately placed in foster care and experience a myriad of problems, including physical and emotional abuse. As a result, negative post-discharge outcomes are revealed in existing literature, such as substance abuse, unemployment, homelessness, sexual promiscuity, and mental health issues. The purpose of this generic qualitative inquiry was to explore the foster care experience from the perspective of African American foster care alumni. The goal was to understand why the decision is made not to extend foster care services, despite their ongoing needs for support and lack of preparation for adulthood. Ecological Systems …

Stigma Toward People With Opioid Use Disorder In Southwest Michigan, Kathy A. Carruthers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The opioid epidemic is one of the largest health problems in America. In one Southwest Michigan county, opioid overdose deaths increased from 36 deaths in 2008 to 104 deaths in 2017. In the same county, stigma was identified as the highest-ranked reason people do not seek opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge that social work practitioners have regarding stigma toward people who inject drugs with OUD in Southwest Michigan. The purpose aligned with social work values as people with OUD are marginalized and cannot advocate for themselves. The theoretical framework that guided …

Human Service Professionals’ Perceived Ability To Support Title I Schools During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael Dewayne Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human service professional practitioners (HSPPs) who work in Title I schools help students overcome challenges including absenteeism and behavioral problems and serve as liaisons between the school, family, and student. The pivot to online education during the COVID-19 school shutdowns meant that HSPP services also pivoted. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand how HSPPs perceived their ability to serve Title I students during the pandemic through the lens of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 HSPPs who delivered services to Title I students before and during the pandemic. Participants reported their service delivery …