Social Work Commons^™

A Qualitative Process Evaluation Of A Meal Service Program, Grace Marie Sullivan

Honors Theses

This study serves to evaluate the process of a meal service program, local to Northeast Mississippi, in response to the need to evaluate methods of alleviating food insecurity as it continues to be a growing and evolving issue in the American South. The researcher chose to employ qualitative research methods in order to understand the program guests, volunteers, and board members' perceptions of the program's processes using data from interviews with members of each group, a focus group composed of program guests, and photovoice projects completed by program guests. The researcher used thematic analysis to interpret the data and defined …

Action Research Toward Improved Treatment Services For Substance-Abusing Veterans In Central Texas, Sharla Nicole Peterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military-based social workers working with veterans with substance use disorders face many challenges to providing effective treatment services. Understanding environmental, organizational, and client-based factors that affect the provision of substance abuse treatment to veterans is critical for clinical social work practitioners working with this unique client population. As a clinical social work practice problem, this project explored the challenges of providing effective substance abuse treatment services for veterans, specifically those living in central Texas. The purpose of this project was to improve the clinical acumen and practice of social workers working with veterans with substance use disorders. The research question …

Chronically Homeless Transgender Women Obtaining Social Services From Outreach Workers, Larry Jack Cameron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, homelessness is often connected to traumatic events such as domestic violence, job loss, or post incarceration experiences, frequently resulting in substance use disorders, medical issues, and related mental illnesses. Although researchers have considered how homelessness and social service interventions affect sexual and gender minority youth, they have not adequately studied the causes and effects of homelessness among transgender women. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by exploring the experiences of chronically homeless transgender women. The research question focused on the lived experiences of chronically homeless transgender women who …

Addressing Needs Of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors In The Emergency Department, Claudia F. Schenk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence is a global epidemic and public health concern, including in the United States. The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory, nonexperimental, quantitative study was to determine to what extent intimate partner violence survivors avail themselves of offered resources and interventions in health care settings. The general systems foundation was used for the study's theoretical foundation. The research questions ascertained the proportion of intimate partner violence survivors who accepted mental health, law enforcement, and community outreach resources; the level of comprehensive intervention they received; and the associations, if any, between types of services. Retrospective data were collected from121 medical …

Perceptions Of Leadership And Employee Performance In Child Welfare Agencies, Deatrice Haney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child welfare leaders reflect their organizations' mission and vision and are entrusted to provide support to employees, who in turn provide services to one of the most vulnerable populations, children. Little, however is known about how leaders perceive their roles and responsibilities in terms of providing sufficient supervisory and guidance to child welfare workers in order to support organizational goals. Guided by Houses' path-goal theory, this phenomenological study examined the perceptions of child welfare leaders related to leadership behaviors, strategies to improve administration, work performance, communication, and fostering an inclusive work environment. A sample of 16 participants working as administrators, …

Changing The Rules: A Guide For Youth And Young Adults With Mental Health Conditions Who Want To Change Policy, Nancy Koroloff, Barbara J. Friesen, Nicholas Buekea

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This guide provides information about policy and policy change in mental health and other human services for young adult groups who want to be

directly involved in policy change activities. Some of the many ways that young people can be involved in policy work include serving on advisory committees that consider areas where policy change is needed, participating on groups convened to review contract language about youth-related issues or serving on groups charged with developing rules and regulations to support recent policy change. A number of manuals or handbooks address these important roles, although few of them are specifically focused …

Clinical Social Work With Underserved Persons In Colorado In An Integrated Healthcare Facility, Trisha Sue Goetz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is significant documentation showing that health disparities experienced by underserved persons can be mitigated through the provision of quality integrated healthcare. This research project was grounded in social support theory and how support influences improvements in physical, psychological, and overall health. Social workers in integrated healthcare are in a unique position to be the source of social support for individuals experiencing health disparities, yet there is little research concerning how these social workers are providing services and how they affect health outcomes. This research addressed gaps in the literature concerning social worker roles in order to improve integrated healthcare …

Motivations To Return To A Gang After Severe Physical Victimization, Nora Vlaszof

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Gang violence is a social concern because of the risks of victimization among gang members and their communities. Many gang members have been victims of gang violence, and some choose to remain involved with their gang even after being victimized. Researchers have explored why people join gangs, but less is known regarding the gang-victimization link, which is the focus of this study. Social bond theory guided the study's research question on the motivation of gang members to rejoin their gang after severe physical victimization. A multiple case study design was employed with a purposeful sample of six English-speaking men, …

What Are Effective Strategies For Implementing Trauma-Informed Care In Youth Inpatient Psychiatric And Residential Treatment Settings? A Realist Systematic Review, Stephanie A. Bryson, Emma Gauvin, Ally Jamieson, Melanie Rathgeber, Lorelei Faulkner-Gibson, Sarah Bell, Jennifer Russel, Sharlynne Burke

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Many young people who receive psychiatric care in inpatient or residential settings in North America have experienced various forms of emotional trauma. Moreover, these settings can exacerbate trauma sequelae. Common practices, such as seclusion and restraint, put young people at risk of retraumatization, development of comorbid psychopathology, injury, and even death. In response, psychiatric and residential facilities have embraced trauma-informed care (TIC), an organizational change strategy which aligns service delivery with treatment principles and discrete interventions designed to reduce rates of retraumatization through responsive and non-coercive staff-client interactions. After more than two decades, a number of TIC frameworks and …

Student-Perceived Quality Of Motivational Interviewing Training: A Factor-Analytic Study, Douglas Smith, Melinda Hohman, Stéphanie Wahab, Trevor Manthey

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This study developed and tested a student-report measure of motivational interviewing (MI) teaching quality called the Evaluation of Motivational Interviewing Teaching (EMIT) scale.

Method: Social work students (N = 297) receiving course content on motivational interviewing completed the EMIT, and exploratory factor analysis investigated whether theory-based dimensions of teaching emerged as EMIT subscales, including: interactivity/skill building, MI content coverage, modeling MI during teaching, trainee autonomy violation, and encouraging ongoing training in MI.

Results: Two subscales emerged representing MIconsistent (28 items, α = .92) and MI-inconsistent teaching practices (7 items, α = .73).

Conclusions: Although more …

What Is Peer Support And What Is Not Peer Support?, Mary Beth Welch, Caitlin Baird, Celeste L. Seibel

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This publication provides clarity around the primary functions of the young adult peer support role, and addresses the common misconceptions of young adult peer work.

Oregon Guide To Health Care Partnerships: For Community-Based Organizations And Advocates Supporting Survivors Of Domestic Violence In Health Care Settings, Sarah H. Keefe, Christine Heyen, Anna Rockhill, Ericka Kimball

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Safer Futures is a practice and partnership model that benefits survivors of intimate partner violence. This model demonstrates how community-based, non-clinical domestic and sexual violence (D/SV) intervention advocates can better serve survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in partnership with health care providers. Such partnerships strengthen services for survivors of IPV in various health care settings including, but not limited to, public health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, primary care clinics, and hospitals.

Partnerships between advocates and health care providers improve IPV survivors’ access to health care, advocacy services, resources and support. The model works best when a health care …

Young Adult Narratives Of Sibling Loss And Bereavement During Adolescence, Kelly Lynn Collins-Colosi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Up to 90% of adolescents in the U.S. experience a loss of a family member or friend. However, prior research on loss of a family member has focused predominantly on the adult experience (e.g., loss of a spouse), parental bereavement (loss of a child), or grief counseling as an intervention for dealing with loss. Little is known about the sibling loss experience, particularly from the point of view of the surviving sibling who suffered the loss when they were young. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the narratives of young adults who experienced the loss of …

The Use Of Humor With Families During Pediatric Trauma Intake Assessments, Letitia Batton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traditionally from a positive psychological view, humor is regarded as an adaptive force, a vital aspect of healing, and possibly a beneficial coping tool when faced with traumatic circumstances. Despite these beliefs, little is known about how humor relieves stress with parents in the initial intake assessment when their child has been traumatically injured. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore social workers' use of humor during pediatric trauma assessments. A sample of 6 parents were from pediatric parent trauma support groups to participate in this study, which employed a subject-intensive theoretical framework. Face-to-face interviews and participant observation …

Understanding The Mental Health Needs Of Immigrant Women With A History Of Trauma, Shalunda D. Allen Sherrod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A significant percentage of undocumented immigrants who come to the United States include women suffering from trauma and abuse. In Southwest Texas, many immigrant women begin their stay in the United States, as residents of an immigration Residential Detainment Center (RDC). Social workers in RDCs are challenged to understand their roles and responsibilities in treating the mental health need of these women. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of social workers, in RDCs, regarding their roles and responsibilities in meeting the mental health needs of immigrant women with a history of personal trauma. Using action research …

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking And Social Work Practice, Stephanie E. Chester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) is a social problem affecting children between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. The issues related to DMST present challenges for social work practitioners because they often lack knowledge regarding how to identify and provide specialized services to this population. The purpose of the qualitative study was to collect and analyze data to develop an understanding of how social workers in the northeastern region of the United States identified challenges and thereby improved their practice skills when intervening with this vulnerable population. An epistemological paradigm, with a constructivist perspective employing Nguyen's systems theory, …

Child Neglect, Child Physical Abuse, And Relationships Among 12-Year-Old Girls, Corrine Dale

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child maltreatment, including physical abuse, neglect, emotional, and sexual abuse is a continuing social problem in the United States, resulting in a number of children who experience challenges with family and peer relationships in adolescence. Child neglect is one of the most common forms of abuse however, it is less likely to be investigated or substantiated than is physical abuse. Female child maltreatment in particular results in possible problems for victims with family and peer relationships in early adolescence. In 2015, state agencies reported an estimated 683,000 victims of child maltreatment, with two-thirds of this group representing child neglect victims. …

Social Workers' Perceptions Of A Rural Emergency Mental Health Trauma Service, William L. Getz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have shown that emergency mental health trauma (EMHT) services can significantly reduce the long-term effects of trauma after a disaster. However, rural municipalities may find they do not have the capacity to create such a service, or may not realize that their disaster planning includes no provision for emergency mental health care. Such was the case in a rural island community in the state of Washington, where, in 2014, several residents initiated a discussion that helped to identify the community's lack of EMHT services. This project, framed by action research and based on collaboration theory, sought to advance the …

Exploring Personal And Societal Expectations Of Blind Veterans, Malinda L. Wimbs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More U.S. men and women are returning from military service obligations with physical and mental disabilities which complicate their transition to civilian life. Few researchers, however, have examined the post service experiences of blind veterans and whether they are affected by societal expectations of people living with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain knowledge about the experiences of U.S. veterans who suffered vision loss, and the influence of societal expectations on their lives. Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to explore the personal meanings 8 veterans, who lost their vision during active service, attached to their experiences …

Nonresidential Fathers Parenting Their Children Residing In Shelters: A Phenomenological Study, Karen Denise Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the parenting role of nonresidential fathers of children living in shelters. Special attention was paid to the perceived contributions of these fathers to the overall health and general well-being of their children residing in shelters. Often separations of nonresidential fathers from their children in shelters decreased their contributions to their children's health and well-being. Increased knowledge of these parental roles and contributions can enhance programs and policies to support these fathers in improving the health and well-being of their children. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 demographically diverse nonresidential fathers living in Philadelphia. The …