El 21 de septiembre se conmemora el Día Mundial de la Concienciación de la Enfermedad del Alzheimer. Durante cuatro años nos hemos solidarizado a través de la celebración del Simposio de Alzheimer: una mirada desde la academia. En el Primer Simposio (2018) bajo el lema “Dos mundos un solo camino hacia la inclusión” se realizó un panel introductorio y se presentó la película ¿Quién eres tú?, con un panel interdisciplinario que incluyo al autor de la película. Hubo una asistencia de 455 personas. En el Segundo Simposio (2019) hubo una asistencia de 340 personas. Se realizó una plenaria, 7 talleres concurrentes y se presentó la película Desandando la Vida, hubo un panel de cuidadores que incluyó al autor de esta. La hoja de evaluación fue completada en línea por 60 personas, la cual incluyo 15 preguntas cerradas y una abierta. El 96.7 % le resulto interesante la presentación de apertura, de las siete sesiones concurrentes el 32.2 % asistió al tema de asuntos legales, seguido por el 27.1% que asistió al tema del abordaje desde el trabajo social, el 88.3 % contesto que la película le permitió entender mejor las vivencias de los cuidadores, el 86.4 % indico que el panel de cuidadores le permitió sentir empatía y el 96.7 % contesto que la actividad fue una oportunidad de aprendizaje y de desarrollo profesional. Se concluye que la actividad cumplió con los objetivos trazados. Debido a la Pandemia del COVID 19 el Tercer Simposio (2021) fue virtual, al cual asistieron 150 personas. Hubo una conferencia de apertura, cuatro conferencias concurrentes y un conversatorio por el Comité de “Un café por el Alzheimer”. En el Cuarto Simposio (2022) bajo el lema “Rompiendo las barreras del estigma y aumentando la calidad de vida” asitieron 130 personas. Se realizaron dos conferencias de apertura y 12 sesiones concurrentes.
Históricamente hemos tendido puentes con diversidad y desde la diversidad hacia una cultura de respeto; mi obra sintetiza con simpleza el contexto geográfico en que nos congregamos y la labor que hacemos día a día al propiciar, crear conexiones en el tiempo real. Esta acuarela intencionada revela como el agua y el color se consuman en armonía para manifestar desde el lenguaje visual ; lo que nos convoca en este encuentro.
Keywords (separate with commas)
#BRIDGES# DIVERSITY#BUILD#SW#PANAMA#SWPANAMA2023
#0321 |
Building bridges towards diversity
Tannya Rojas1
1 - Colegio de Trabajadores Sociales de Costa Rica.
Históricamente hemos tendido puentes con diversidad y desde la diversidad hacia una cultura de respeto; mi obra sintetiza con simpleza el contexto geográfico en que nos congregamos y la labor que hacemos día a día al propiciar, crear conexiones en el tiempo real. Esta acuarela intencionada revela como el agua y el color se consuman en armonía para manifestar desde el lenguaje visual ; lo que nos convoca en este encuentro.
Keywords (separate with commas)
BRIDGES # BULDING BRIDGES # SW PANAMA 2024
#0413 |
We respect diversity
Tannya Rojas1
1 - Colegio de Trabajadores Sociales de Costa Rica.
Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar los espacios de participación y acción social en los territorios en el contexto de Curitiba y de la Región Metropolitana, en el estado de Paraná, Brasil, presentando un análisis de cuáles son las acciones colectivas propuestas en el contexto de la defensa del Derecho a la Ciudad y de la Reforma Urbana. En el contexto brasileño, la democracia participativa se expresa a través de una multiplicidad de ámbitos participativos. La concepción inicial de esta propuesta se basa en los principios de la democratización del país y en los preceptos legales de que "el poder emana del pueblo", en los que los espacios de participación y control social serían instancias de participación capaces de democratizar la toma de decisiones e identificar las demandas de la población. Uno de los principios del Derecho a la Ciudad es la defensa de la gestión democrática. Este principio parte de la premisa de fortalecer la construcción del "derecho a la participación", que es efectivo y permite mejorar la democracia de manera radical, así como fortalecer la cultura de la participación, incluyendo a la población en los procesos de toma de decisiones y definición de políticas públicas De esta forma, la investigación aborda la cuestión del Derecho a la Ciudad y al territorio, con énfasis en la gestión democrática. Se realizó un estudio bibliográfico y documental para analizar las experiencias locales de Curitiba y de la Región Metropolitana en la participación de las organizaciones populares. También muestra que, para acceder a una vivienda digna, se organizan formas colectivas de movilización para conquistar derechos y reivindicar una vivienda social. Los resultados de esta investigación muestran los límites y desafíos de la participación popular y cómo las organizaciones colectivas y los movimientos sociales materializan la gestión democrática en el contexto local.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Derecho a la ciudad. Territorios. Organización Colectiva. Participación popular.
#1519 |
Ongoing Education and Ethics in Advisory and Consulting: A Commitment to Equality
Ongoing Education plays a crucial role in training professionals in various fields, from preparatory courses for exams to advisory and consulting services. However, the challenge arises when professional ethics collide with the need to meet the ever-evolving demands of society.\ Advisory and consulting are actions aimed at promoting changes in reality, being conducted by highly qualified professionals who are constantly updated and capable of presenting clear solutions. The advisor does not act directly but provides paths and strategies to the teams they advise, which have the autonomy to adopt their recommendations or not. Therefore, professional ethics and continuous updating are essential.\ Law No. 8.662/93 identifies advisory and consulting as the exclusive competencies of Social Workers. However, these activities are not exclusive to the profession. Initiating an advisory/consulting process requires in-depth knowledge of the reality of the services that have requested them. This necessitates continuous training, as the legitimacy of the consultant comes from their intellectual capacity and the clarity of their proposals.\ It is imperative to break away from piecemeal and clientelistic assistance and work towards an Assistance Social policy committed to the rights of citizens. The Social Worker, as an advisor/consultant, plays a fundamental role in this process. Quality ongoing education is essential to provide proposals that meet the demands of users and ensure their rights.\ Current challenges, marked by the dismantling of social policies, underscore the need for ongoing education in the professional field. This is essential to make social rights of users viable and to promote reflection, the expansion of theoretical-practical knowledge, and the consolidation of professional practices. Ongoing Education becomes a valuable tool for the realization of more just and equitable social policies, addressing the ever-evolving needs of society while remaining aligned with the ethical principles that should guide the actions of Social Work professionals.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Ongoing Education, Advisory, Consulting, Professional Ethics, Inequality, Social Work, Training, Professional Updating, Social Rights, Social Assistance Policy.
#1591 |
Exhibition by the artist Lúcio Mustafá
Alexandra Mustafá1
1 - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE - Brasil.
Lúcio Mustafá, in addition to being the husband of professor Alexandra Mustafá, Member at Large of the IASSW, is an artist who has participated in social movements demanding respect for human rights and defense of the most vulnerable, since his youth, having been a disciple of Father Larry Rosebaugh, who lived among the beggars of the city of Recife, Brazil, for many years.Then, Lúcio held a series of local, national and international exhibitions (See artistic curriculum in Attachment IV and V), also giving several conferences on the social function of art and the theory of the formation of the artist and the work of art . With the departure of her colleague Alexandra Mustafá for her doctorate in Rome (1994 to 1999), Lúcio, who accompanied her, became a Bachelor of Classical and Christian Letters at the Institutum Altioris Latinitatis Romae and took the opportunity to deepen her artistic theory and practice.\ In Brazil, at the beginning of the 21st century, Lúcio structures autonomous conceptions, regarding the essence of art, its social, pedagogical, existential and socioeconomic function, and becomes a bachelor and graduate in philosophy from the Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE. \ For the Panama Conference, given that he is also an important collaborator of Professor Alexandra Mustafá in her national and international activities, Lúcio is proposing an exhibition of drawn portraits of important social workers from around the world. This display can take place in the hall where the Conference is taking place, as these are light pieces that do not require the use of anything that could damage the physical structure of the walls. The set of parts can easily be exposed in an alternative and innocuous way.
Keywords (separate with commas)
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_08
Ethno-Cultural, Religious, And National Diversity
#0161 |
Organization Guidelines for Spiritually Informed Care
This presentation will present a new model for Spiritually Informed Care (SIC), which was developed out of a study aimed at understanding how organizations can respond to those who have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA). SIC integrates spirituality and the principles of trauma-informed care (TIC), while seeking to provide a holistic approach to those who have experienced CSA. The study included participants (n=76) who took part in an international symposium focused on this topic and responded to an online survey with open-ended questions. Researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the qualitative data from which three themes emerged: negative impacts, direct response, and institutional changes. Participants emphasized the need for providers to understand CSA’s negative impacts to faith and the unique harm this does by disrupting connection to what would otherwise be a spiritual resource for healing. They described a range of direct responses needed tailored toward addressing spirituality. Lastly, several participants called for broad institutional reforms from religious institutions. The SIC model emerged based on these findings, which indicated the need for organizations to go beyond TIC and also approach spirituality with care, particularly for those who experienced faith-related harms. This presentation will include concrete examples for how social workers across multiple levels of practice can use SIC within their organizations to provide optimal care for all of their clients, regardless of their faith backgrounds, including those without a faith tradition. This presentation is directly connected to the subtheme of the conference related to social work development in mental health and spirituality. Its unique combination blends these larger subthemes and can be applied to various contexts across social work practice settings.
Keywords (separate with commas)
child sexual abuse, spirituality, mental health, organizations
#0704 |
Art as a Method to Engage a Community on Sensitive Topics: Reducing the Stigma of Suicide Deaths in the Latino Population
In the Latino population, there has been a 50% increase since 2000 for adolescent males and a 56% increase among adolescent females attempting suicide (Villatoro et al, 2014). Research indicates that cultural norms such as familismo, machismo, maranismo, la vergüencia, el que dirán, and respeto, can act as obstacles for some families to look for help outside the family (Hsu et al., 2013).\ \ Not talking about the tragedy, discouraging family members from seeking support, and lack of ability to cope with negative life events are predictors of suicide risk in Hispanics (Chang et al., 2010). The presentation will feature data and a film written from the qualitative interviews held with Latino survivors of suicide loss (SOSL). The interviews provided the basis for the development of a cinematic approach to increasing understanding and awareness of the traumatic process of dying by suicide. Using themes from the interview, a 12-minute film.\ Art has a way of captivating an audience and spark conversations on sensitive topics. Films can help spread awareness of mental health, suicide, and emotional pain. Conversations on emotional pain may be a challenge in some cultures. The Narrative Engagement Framework can draw an audience in with sensitive topics (Miller \& Hecht, 2014). The characters' story of pain, suffering, and loss sheds light on societal and cultural views of healing. \ It may also help to increase awareness of personal biases and beliefs. Objectives:Art and the Narrative Engagement Framework can captivate an audience and start conversations about stigma and cultural norms that hinder the healing journey for Latino Survivors of Suicide Loss (SOSL). Be able to analyze how film may aid in culturally shifting responses to prevent further trauma for bereaved survivors.Films can raise awareness of unconscious behavior affecting individuals, families, and communities. Create culturally sensitive therapies for Latino Survivors of Suicide Loss.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Culture, Traumatic Grief, Art, Sensitive Topics, Begin the Conversation, Healing, Latino population.\
#1251 |
Respecting Diversity and Centering Social Justice in Social Work Curriculum: Lessons Learned in Canadian Social Work Education
Although social justice is recognized as a core value shaping the curricula of social work programs, translating social justice values into teachable social work education content requires thoughtful curriculum planning . Scholars note an ongoing tension between developing professional social workers through evidence-based, competence skill training versus promoting social justice-oriented social workers through activism, advocacy, and policy development.\ Furthermore, discussing\ what to teach for social justice education amidst changing priorities and how to teach social justice-related content has been an ongoing pedagogical challenge in social work education. It is invaluable for social work educators to have more information about lessons learned from teaching experiences in translating social justice values and principles into teachable curricula.\ This presentation aims to explore social justice and diversity education in Canadian schools of social work.\ Using an online survey,\ we invited\ faculty members\ to share their teaching experiences in social justice courses. Participants included 24 faculty members who have taught either undergraduate or graduate students in accredited social work schools across Canada. \ Findings revealed various characteristics of social justice and diversity courses, and main themes around challenges and supports in teaching social justice and diversity courses. Three challenges include: (1) insufficient time to cover social justice and diversity topics with enough breadth and depth; (2) addressing students’ affects and preconceived ideas; and (3) Increased burden for faculty members identifying as Black, Indigenous, and people of colour teaching social justice focused courses. Participants described three areas that need to be strengthened to teach social justice and diversity courses including (1) integrating social justice content across all micro and macro courses, as well as practicum; (2) creating a space and culture of community of practice (CoP) for social justice education and ongoing faculty training; and (3) institutionalizing social justice education for the professional accreditation of social work education.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social justice education as social action, pedagogical challenges and rewards, Canadian social work education\
15:05 - 16:05
Area_08
Ethno-Cultural, Religious, And National Diversity
#0838 |
Lessons Learned: Expanding International Social Work Practice through Social Work EducationCollaborations
Social work’s (SW’s) presence continues to grow internationally, as evidenced by the increasingnumber of international conferences and organizations, and the rising number of collaborationsand partnerships between universities from different countries. While these opportunities haveincreased among educators and researchers, graduate students in particular have had feweropportunities to engage in such international collaborations. In response, during the summer of2023, our university initiated an inaugural course in Rome Italy, in which SW graduate studentsfrom three countries (Czech Republic, Italy, and United States) participated in a course focusedon International Responses to Trauma. Through this course, students learned from their fellowstudents, faculty, and SW practitioners from all three countries regarding how each countrydefines and responds to trauma from a SW perspective. In addition to the group learning, thestudents identified and researched a social issue related to trauma within their own country, andpresented to the larger group a program to address that issue. Through this experience,students and faculty members engaged in learning about diversity and psychosocial responsesin disaster situations (Theme 10) and also learned to appreciate and learn about ethno-cultural,religious, and national diversities (Theme 8). While study abroad programs exist at many SWprograms, this course presented a unique opportunity for all to truly engage in an internationalexperience, as they lived, socialized, and learned together during the course. In thispresentation, we will provide lessons learned for how other universities might createpartnerships aimed at developing a similar experience for their students to increase theirexposure to international learning opportunities. Such opportunities will serve to strengthen ourprofession, both within our own countries and internationally, as we help future social workersearly in their careers to think and respond globally to the social challenges that they will face inthe future.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work education, international social work, international collaboration,
#0861 |
Strengths and challenges of increasing numbers of overseas students in social work programmes in the United Kingdom: reflections from the Joint University Council International Committee
Vicky Sharley
1
;
Janet Walker2
1 - University of Bristol.2 - University of Lincoln.
This abstract aligns with the conference’s sub-themes: Ethno-cultural, Religious and National Diversities8, and Social Service Workers’ Working Conditions16.\\ The\\ Joint University Council (JUC) International Sub-Committee (IC) works closely with the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW), and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). The purpose of JUC IC is to identify international trends and priorities in social work education and the profession, focusing on promoting the internationalisation of the social work curriculum in the United Kingdom (JUC, 2023).Whilst the challenges of working conditions16 for international social work practitioners are becoming well-documented (Ravalier et al., 2022) the preceding challenges for education providers supporting students from overseas has received much less consideration. The benefits of cultural, ethnic and religious diversity8\\ in social work education are certain (Panagiotis, 2020;\\ Azzopardi and McNeill, 2016;)\\ with literature giving particular emphasis to the value of international elective practicum (Smith \\& Sharley, 2016). This paper focuses upon understanding the challenges of supporting overseas students in UK-based social work qualifying programmes. It presents key themes identified within a workshop comprised selected members of the International Sub-Committee in 2023. Academics affiliated with Universities that \\ observed a significant rise in the proportion of international students enrolled upon their programmes in the last 3 years, and who all hold membership to the IC. \\ Identified themes include challenges experienced in relation to admissions, teaching and learning pedagogy, practice placements, assessment, and pastoral support.Reflections from the workshop will be shared with the conference to promote broader dialogue on this important and emergent trend of increasing overseas applicants in university-based social work programmes. Implications for both the internationalisation of the social work curriculum in Higher Education, and wider implications for international practitioners entering the profession in the UK will be examined.
Keywords (separate with commas)
International Social Work, Higher Education, Social Work Education, Overseas Students, Challenges, Cultural Diversity
#0943 |
Race Affinity Groups in Social Work Education: The Power of Diversity and Caucusing to Advance Social Action
This is a 30 minute workshop.\\ People of Color are the global majority, and it is time that the US moved from teaching social work as if whiteness is the norm. In the US, the social work profession is overwhelmingly white. Studies have shown and what we have found is that White students aren’t gaining skills to become and behave in less-racist ways and BIPOC students aren’t building their critical consciousness or skills either. The social work curriculum is white-centered and depends on the few students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to tell and relive their individual stories of racial trauma so that white students will better understand their individual positionality and the harm that comes from the system of white supremacy. \\ Using racial caucus groups (also known as affinity groups) in which students meet and work through content and practice skills with students from their own racial/ethnic group allows all students to grow while lessening the harm to BIPOC students. We must implement bold teaching approaches like racial caucus groups so that we can have brave conversations in the classroom about theoretical and historical perspectives on racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination; enhance culturally competent social work practice; and develop and commit to social action strategies. In this workshop, participants will learn: 1) how to set up racial caucus groups, 2) why they are impactful, 3) lessons we learned from using the strategy, and 4) the challenges we face in using racial caucus groups in the current US political environment.\\
Keywords (separate with commas)
white supremacy, social work education, university, race, affinity group, caucus group, critical consciousness, privilege, trauma, skill development, teaching, social action, emancipatory approach, USA
16:10 - 17:10
Area_08
Ethno-Cultural, Religious, And National Diversity
#0143 |
Virtual Treatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic for Ultra-Orthodox Young Women with Eating Disorders
Background: With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need arose to maintain treatment continuity for religious Jewish Ultra-Orthodox young women with eating disorders (EDs). This need leading to the development of home-based online treatment channels, previously unfamiliar and unaccepted in this population. Aims: To investigate our online home-based treatment model implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic Method: We briefly review the literature on 1. The Jewish Israeli Ultra-Orthodox culture; 2. Young women in Ultra-Orthodox society; and 3. EDs in Jewish Israeli Ultra-Orthodox women. We then present the inpatient ED department for Ultra-Orthodox young women and describe the online treatment model adapted to this population during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight the difficulties, dilemmas, and advantages of our online model with the description of three patients. Findings: Online therapy can serve as a barrier to treatment in some cases, due to physical (lack of suitable online devices except phones), familial (over-crowded families), and religious circumstances, as well as because of the patient's reluctance to take part in this treatment. In other cases, virtual home-based treatment can lead to a positive change. This may be the case in patients who find the distancing online model suitable for them, and in parents who are committed to treatment, using their greater physical and emotional presence at home during the COVID-19 pandemic for the good of their ill daughters.Discussion: This paper highlights the difficulties and possibilities inherent in a virtual home-based treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic for Ultra-Orthodox young women previously hospitalized because of an ED. This model can be effective for some patients and families if undertaken by a multidisciplinary team that is not only knowledgeable about the treatment of EDs and the use of online strategies but also knowledgeable and culturally sensitive to the specific needs and codes of Ultra-Orthodox populations.
Social capital literature makes it abundantly clear that international migrants benefit from relationships with people outside of their own ethnic group. Inter-ethnic relationships can provide newcomers with new sources of information, help them access different resources (e.g. housing, employment) than those available in their own communities, and increase their sense of inclusion and belonging in their new home. Community organizations in the settlement sector play a central role in the integration of newcomers in Canada. Every year, these organizations receive and support immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds. However, little research has explored the inter-ethnic relationships that are established within the settlement sector. Through a pan-Canadian study, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal with practitioners (n=40) and service users (n=40) in the settlement sector. The nature of the results is twofold: 1) this research permitted to describe the nature of the inter-ethnic relationships taking place in the establishment sector and 2) the impact of those relationships on the integration of immigrants was assessed. Furthermore, this research explores how policy differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada impact inter-ethnic relationships in the settlement sector. Understanding the nature of these relationships and how they are tied to policy can allow us to understand better what contributes to the integration of immigrants, and therefore guide practices and policies, in Canada and in other destination countries.
Keywords (separate with commas)
migration, inter-ethnic relationships, settlement sector, community organizations, social integration, immigration policies
#0731 |
Exploring Intersections of Age, Gender, Immigration, Ethnicity and Widowhood among Older Chinese Immigrants in Canada
The population of older adults in\ Canadian society is ageing and becoming more ethnically diverse. Some scholars have explored the lived experiences of older immigrants in Western societies, however, studies on widowhood experiences among older immigrants are extremely limited. Adopting an intersectionality framework, this study seeks to address this gap by examining\ the influences of age, gender, immigrant status, ethnicity on the lived experience of widowed older Chinese immigrants in Calgary, Canada.\ Data were collected from 12 in-depth qualitative interviews and thematically analyzed. Older Chinese immigrants’ widowhood experiences were located within intersections of multiple identities. Findings suggest that an intersectionality perspective could be used to better inform the development of social work practice and policy making for older immigrants.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
widowhood, older adult, Chinese immigrant, lived experience, spousal bereavement, intersectionality\
#0864 |
Institutional Child Sexual Abuse and barriers to change within closed communities, a case study of Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Australia
To date, there has been limited scholarly analysis of manifestations of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) within Jewish, Ultra-orthodox communities. The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-2017) (RCIRCSA) provided a valuable examination of two ultra-orthodox organisations in Australia, \ and additionally issued a set of child safety recommendations for application. \ RCIRCSA recommendations and broader community observations addressed the need to support, (rather than discourage) disclosures, improve reporting to authorities, and provide greater survivor support as opposed to siding with individuals against whom allegations had been laid. The dilemma of institutional and communal reputational prioritization was also noted.Further highlighting cultural concerns in management of incidents of ICSA, was the recent, extended high-profile case of Malka Leifer, principal at the ultra-orthodox Adass Jewish school in Melbourne. Recently found guilty on a series of charges of sexually abusing two former students, Leifer was assisted to flee to Israel in 2008 by members of the communal leadership as they became aware of a series of allegations made against her, prior to reporting their concerns to police, thus enabling her to avoid extradition and facing the courts, prior to 2021.The paper addresses:- Ultra-orthodox cultural leadership practices that have failed to protect children, in particular practices that have acted as barriers to disclosure of sexual abuse;- Performance of mainstream Australian, Jewish leadership in addressing child safety within these communities;- Likely commonalities with other comparable faith-based communities; and\ - Acknowledgement of the existence of child safety inadequacies in more contemporary times, in mainstream Jewish institutions and their leadership performance.This paper presents as part of a study addressing:- Institutional Child Sexual Abuse and Jewish Communal Leadership; and- Improved policy, practice and tailored community education to promote child safety within Jewish communities.
Australians have more than 300 different cultural origins, speak more than 300 languages from nearly 200 nations, and practice more than 100 religions. Islam is the second largest religion comprising 2.6% of the population. Most Muslims are immigrants or diaspora of South Asia, or descendants. Muslims strong sense of obligation to Islam informs their ways of life, but it is mostly invisible in Australia's mainstream policy, health, and welfare services. Our study assessed the subjective quality of life of adults from a Muslim community affiliated with the Adelaide Mosque in metropolitan South Australia. Using a mixed-methods research design, data were collected via a cross-sectional survey incorporating the Multicultural Quality of Life Index (MQLI) and qualitative group interviews. The survey (n = 98) found that women had a lower quality of life than men, and married participants had a better quality of life than non-married participants. In two focus groups, participants (n = 18) reported feeling overwhelmed and isolated, primarily related to a lack of ‘Muslim-friendly’ health, welfare, and social support services. Greater opportunities for religiously informed services that respect Muslim religiosity and performative ways of life would benefit the community studied, in particular the women. While findings from our study are not representative of all Muslim perspectives in Australia, they reveal a dialogic interchange between gender differences and matrimonial status and cultural variances that may exist in the concept of well-being. While such religious considerations are needed in multicultural practice, in both discrete and mainstream service, respect for religiosity in Australia’s health, welfare, and sociopolitical systems fall far behind many other nations. Much more needs to be done, since the delivery of religiously appropriate services is crucial for the multicultural quality of life of Muslims, and for the achievement of truly multicultural and inclusive nations.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Australia, Muslim, multicultural, quality of life, well-being
#1066 |
Researcher-practitioner partnership for culturally appropriate intimate partner violence prevention programs in immigrant communities
Intervention strategies cannot be universally applied to all groups or communities due to the inherent diversity in contexts and needs. Immigrant survivors facing intimate partner violence (IPV) encounter numerous language and cultural barriers when seeking help; thus, they turn to faith leaders for help. However, these faith leaders, who are also immigrants themselves, frequently lack training in IPV prevention. Additionally, attempts by community organizations to engage with them have yielded limited success.To tackle these challenges, Religious Leaders for Healthy Families (RLHF) was established. RLHF provided training to immigrant pastors on IPV prevention through virtual case simulations and workshops and facilitated their connection with community organizations for IPV intervention in Asian communities. RLHF was evaluated through a randomized controlled trial focused on the Korean American community in Chicago and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas.The researchers partnered with two Asian American survivor-serving community organizations for the project. To ensure the seamless involvement of partner organizations without burdening them, each organization hired a project coordinator funded by the grant. A bi-weekly online meeting facilitated collaboration between the researcher/practitioner team, enabling joint decision-making on scientific methodology, program development, survey construction, data collection procedures, planned analyses, report creation, and scientific presentations.Over five years, this partnership significantly improved the researchers’ capacity to develop culturally appropriate programs. Notably, 102 Korean faith leaders received training in IPV prevention and intervention. This initiative also forged a robust collaboration between community partners and faith leaders, opening\ new doors to IPV prevention and reshaping the perspectives of Korean faith leaders who have a greater appreciation for the agencies' assistance.The project exemplifies a successful program that incorporated community voices, leading to tangible benefits for community partners and fostering enduring positive outcomes within the community.
Keywords (separate with commas)
domestic violence, immigrant survivors, religious leaders, community-university collaboration, community-engaged research
#1076 |
Centering Black experiences: Treatment of Mental illness in Montreal's Afro-Caribbean community
Black people in Western countries are overrepresented within mandatory mental health services and underrepresented in voluntary services. This discrepancy between psychological distress and service seeking behavior raises concerns about the potential impact of racial stereotypes and ethnocentric practices contributing to discriminatory interventions within social services.\ The objective of this research is to provide a better understanding of how social representations of mental illness influence help-seeking behavior and treatment perspectives within the Black community, to center Black experiences, and consequently help develop services that are more appropriate to the specific needs of Afro-descendants.\ This study is based on eight adult participants, living in Montreal, of Afro-Caribbean descent, with a mental illness and a treatment plan. The narrative approach allows for participants\ to contextualize their illness in their own words; a space too often denied to Black communities, especially when it does not comply with the dominant narrative.Findings show that the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and migration influences the experience of psychological distress within the Afro-Caribbean community, as they fear racial discrimination within a predominantly white social service setting. Furthermore, the social representations of mental health combining biomedical, traditional, and spiritual perspectives influences help-seeking behaviors. Discrepancies between a Western model of psychological distress, focused solely on a biomedical perspective of treatment and an Afro-Caribbean perspective that takes a holistic approach are highlighter; this aligns with research on Black mental health in the US and the UK. \ Finally, the Eurocentric lens that surrounds the normative framework of service offerings, including diagnostic and treatment guidelines, only continues to maintain inequity in access to services. These findings speak to the transnational experiences of racism in Black communities, and its impact on mental health services and possibility for recovery, making it imperative to reconsider mental health service delivery in Black communities on a global scale.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Afro-Caribbean, racism, mental health services, help-seeking behavior\
#1077 |
Examining and Addressing Socioculturally Rooted Gender Beliefs and Norms via Interactive Theatre
As part of an ongoing larger university-community partnership, we applied methods of interactive theatre to inform the development of socioculturally responsive domestic violence prevention programs. This study examines the gender beliefs and norms expressed by local community members.At an event in a local South Asian community in midwestern USA, trained peer educators performed a skit in which the husband makes a gesture to physically strike his wife. The same skit was performed again applying the methods of Forum Theatre. The audience were then invited to intervene in the scene as bystanders, such as friends or family, which was videorecorded. Using a ground theory approach, supplemented by visual analysis techniques, we conducted inductive coding to analyze community members’ responses to an enacted theatrical performance.Community members’ actions reflected the complexity of varying norms and beliefs about gender roles and relations. Although many confronted the husband, most of them (inadvertently or not) reinforced the centrality of women as caregivers of children in the family. Most community members chose to intervene by interacting with the couple together, interpreting the enacted scene as a conflict to be resolved between the two parties. On the other hand, some community members’ actions reflected a perception that the conflict was a reflection of a gendered power differential between the husband and wife.\ The complexity of gender norms and values reflected in community members’ actions calls for sociocultural tailoring; future social work research and prevention programs must attend to the rich, within-group variations in community members’ attitudes and beliefs.\ Methodologically, this study also points out the effectiveness of using interactive theatre to examine embodied knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes shaped by sociocultural and structural arrangements in their particular community.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Community-based participatory action research, Arts-based approach, Gender-based violence, Qualitative analysis, grounded Theory, Sociocultually responsive research and practice
SS - ENG 07
11:30 - 12:00
Poster Presentation
2 - Ética en el Trabajo Social y Desarrollo Social
#0476 |
Social worker intervention for urgent care hospitalization for elderly individuals living alone.– reconstruct relationship with estranged relatives become a key person. –
(introduction) Japan is one of the most superaging countries in the world, and the number of elderly individuals living alone (EILA) is increasing. EILA tend to have an issue regarding a guarantor (required to be appointed at the time of hospital admission) especially on urgent care admission. During in-processing for hospital admission, staff attempt to identify and contact estranged relatives, who then become key persons (KPs), to prepare for the patient’s life after discharge. We attempted to establish a significance of social worker to facilitate the participation of estranged KP in the elderly individual’s support and maintain a mutual relationship after the patient’s discharge from the hospital. (Method) We validated two cases of estranged relatives who became KPs when EILA were hospitalized for urgent care. We retrospectively analyzed consultation records of interactions between social workers (SWs) and KPs to clarify desirable supports for relatives of EILA. (Results) The following 4 points were observed in common in 2 cases; (1) the SW had to spend longer time with KP; (2) the number of hospitalization days increased significantly compared to the average length of hospital stay; (3) estranged relatives felt confusion and difficulty when they were asked to be a KP to make decisions regarding patient’s treatments or life after discharge even though they had been distant each other; (4) neighbors had noticed some abnormalities with the patients prior to hospitalization.(Conclusions) SWs intervened to enable KPs to recognize "meaning" and "value" in their support. SWs may be able to "reconstruct" the relationship between KPs and patients by adopting a narrative approach based on social constructivism with an emphasis on interviewing in-person with KPs. SWs can contribute to the well-being between society and individual life by using their expertise and knowledge in their respective countries and regions.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work practice,Reconstruct relationship,Social constructivism.
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
5 - Políticas sociales y legislación inclusivas.
#0518 |
Enhancing services of LGBTQIAP+ Affirming Clinicians on College Campuses: Confronting Challenges and Strengthening Supports
Nicole Forrisi1
;
Meredith Powers
2
1 - UNC Greensboro and North Carolina A&T.2 - UNC Greensboro.
While university campuses are continuously becoming more welcoming spaces for LGBTQIAP+ students, services offered in support for LGBTQIAP+ students are still limited. There is numerous research that shows that there are significantly higher rates of mental health diagnosis including chronic suicidal ideation associated with students who identify as LGBTQIAP+. The correlation of mental health diagnosis and identity is attributed to factors including lack of familial support, society’s discrimination to the LGBTQIAP+ community, socio-political targeting towards the community, and lack of representation in the macro, mezzo, and micro realms. University counseling centers market their services as LGBTQIAP+ affirming, but there is little research showing the efficacy of services nor the retention rates of students in services when there is a lack of identity representation from providers. My research would serve to provide the necessary data when informing search committees for hiring staff counselors, staff social workers, and staff psychologists at university counseling centers in efforts to be more congruent with the needs of the LGBTQIAP+ student population. The purpose of the study is to investigate if the lack of clinical representation for LGBTQIAP+ students affects the outcome of treatment in university counseling centers. Through this investigation, further determinations can be made when making policies for recruiting and hiring clinical staff at college counseling centers, while also providing adequate ongoing professional development to ensure affirming care.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Collegiate mental health, LGBTQIAP+ representation, equity in healthcare, policy and legislation
#0796 |
Comparative Overview of Immigrant Experiences Under the Biden and Trump Administrations
Abha Rai1
;
Mary Held
2
;
Ishita Kapur
3
;
Emmalee Osborne
4
1 - Loyola University Chicago.2 - The University of Tennessee Knoxville-Nashville campus.3 - The University of Tennessee Knoxville.4 - Loyola university chicago.
\ \ SummaryImmigrants constitute 15% of the U.S. population. Immigrant experiences are influenced by a multitude of factors, including federal policies, which shift with changing administrations. Yet, little is known about the comparative experiences of immigrants under the two most recent presidents, both of whom maintained a heavy focus on immigration. The study we present is the first one to make this comparison. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 1st\ and 2nd\ generation immigrants under both the Trump (n=490) and Biden (n=306) administrations. Sampling for each survey included non-probability quota and convenience techniques. Survey questions inquired about immigration-policy stress, discrimination, resilience and border stress. For\ policy-related\ stress, race/ethnicity significantly correlated with policy-related stress under Trump, with White participants having lower scores compared to Black. Women were also found to have less policy-related stress under Trump. For\ discrimination, White participants reported less perceived discrimination compared to Black/African American participants. Women reported lower perceived discrimination compared to men under both Trump and Biden though race/ethnicity was not significant under Biden. In terms of\ resilience,\ White participants had higher scores compared to Black/African American participants, though race/ethnicity was not significant under Biden. Finally,\ border stress\ was lower among women than men under both Trump and Biden. For race/ethnicity, White participants had lower border stress than Black/African American participants under Trump. Findings expand upon previous literature that highlights stress associated with exclusionary immigration policies, which were more prevalent under the Trump administration. Social workers should engage in policy advocacy to reduce the burden placed on immigrants of color in exclusionary policy contexts. They can influence positive attitudes among Americans to allow for more social harmony and acceptance of immigrants in the U.S. To support immigrant integration, the study team intends to develop an awareness intervention for social workers engaging with immigrants.
Keywords (separate with commas)
immigrants, policy, exclusionary, social workers\
#0990 |
HEALTH POLICY FOR HIV AND AIDS IN BRAZIL: Confronting neoliberal and conservative positions
Ana Cristina Vieira1
;
Raquel Soares
1
;
Evandro Barbosa Filho
2
;
Taciana Maria Silva
3
1 - Federal University of Pernambuco.2 - State University of Western Paraná.3 - Pernambuco Cancer Hospital.
Brazil has a public health system with universal access, free of charge, which articulates the federal, state and municipal levels of health, with a guarantee of comprehensiveness – both primary care actions and high complexity – the Unified Health System (SUS). People with HIV and AIDS have access to testing, follow-up, antiretrovirals through the public network. The HIV epidemic is currently growing among black people (60.9%), young gay men and transgender people (45.9% increase in cases in the 15-19 age group) and those with less schooling (up to 9 years). People with HIV and AIDS suffer discrimination, have difficulties accessing formal jobs, in a country of great inequalities – the 11th most unequal in the world. In the last six years, under right-wing governments, neoliberal austerity measures have led to large cuts in health system resources, impacting existing services. In addition, neoconservative positions hampered the development of preventive actions that discuss issues of sexuality, considered exclusively within the family scope, with setbacks in sexual and reproductive rights. A new government began in 2023, in a center-left coalition that needs to face the setbacks related to neoconservatism and, mainly, guarantee funding for the SUS, developing prevention and monitoring actions for people infected with HIV, in order to reach the goal of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to end AIDS by 2030 - ensure 95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 95% of people who know their HIV status are receiving antiretroviral therapy; and 95% of people on treatment have a suppressed viral load. Among the first measures taken by the new government are the recreation of the Department of HIV/AIDS in the Ministry of Health, the repeal of conservative measures that made it difficult to discuss sexual rights, the guarantee of resources for health, pointing to better possibilities.
Keywords (separate with commas)
HIV/AIDS, health policy, neoliberal and neoconservative government.\
#1176 |
WORKERS' HEALTH, (IN)ABILITY TO WORK AND SOCIAL SECURITY
Evelyn Carneiro1
;
Dolores Sanches Wunsch
2
1 - Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social.2 - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
This study addresses the issues of workers' health and inability to work. The focus of the study is the Social Security policy, through the National Social Security Institute (INSS) Professional Rehabilitation service, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. The theoretical construction is based on historical and dialectical materialism. The methodology was developed through bibliographic, documentary, and field research. The documentary research scope consisted of 294 subjects who entered Professional Rehabilitation and were rehabilitated between 2015 and 2019. The field research had a 4 workers sample (3 men and 1 woman), drawn from the research scope. Based on the data collected and the bibliographic research, it is indicated the concept of health in the capitalist means of production and the concept of workers' health. Contradictions regarding the inability to work are presented through the broader concept of the health-disease process. The documentary research showed that of the 294 workers assisted: 54.8% were male and 45.2% female; 50% were linked to the manufacturing industry, and 49% had as the main reason for work leave the incapacity caused by musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases. To render this analysis, we present the interviewees' perceptions, which emerged from the field research, of the meaning of health, ability, and inability. It is concluded it is essential to understand the historical totality in the health-disease process, inability, and possibilities of return to work. We also concluded Social Security is a core foundation of social protection and that the occupational space of social workers in this policy is a vital professional field for workers' health defense.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Professional Rehabilitation; Social Security; Worker’s Health; (In)ability to work.
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0474 |
Migratin Mothers from children with disabilities in Germany. The role of the local infrastructur and from virtual communities of care.
Bárbara Zimmermann1
1 - Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst (HAWK) - College for applied sciences and arts in Holzminden, Germany.
Motherhood in the context of migration and with a child with disability has been rarely researched. How do mothers of children with disabilities organize their everyday lives when they are migrants, often do not speak the spoken language of the new country and are not familiar with the local support system due to their socialization in other countries? Do they have access to social assistance and know how to reach it? Can digital communication, through its fluid, informal and accessible character, be a support and the space of protagonism for migrant mothers? Or up to where does digitality no longer reach? What role do local infrastructures play in their routines and to which services can they access? This is what I am dealing with in my dissertation and will present in my poster presentation.As a migrant and mother of a child with disabilities, I am an activist in the social movement of parents with disabled children in Germany. My path from practice to research allows field access to a group that is usually not publicly visible. At the same time, this requires methodological and methodological openness and reflexivity in and after the empirical phase through the feedback of what I see in the field. The research was intended to be highly participatory, which became difficult to implement given the heavy burden on mothers. As a solution to this, individual interviews were conducted in the first empirical phase, and asynchronous online focus groups with a second group of migrant women will be implemented in the next step. In my poster I will present partial results from my emperical research and show important dynamics in the realities from my sampling.
Keywords (separate with commas)
child with disability, motherhood, migrant mother, migration, disability, critical disability studies, care studies, gender studies, social justice, interculturality, Germany, care work, social work
#0602 |
A Critical Feminist Policy Evaluation of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Programs
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 was enacted in 2000 to promote a gender perspective to peacemaking. Various efforts to appraise women, peace, and security (WPS) programs have focused heavily on evaluating the ways in which these WPS programs increase women’s representation and participation in official peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts. What seems to be missing in on-going efforts to evaluate WPS programs is the posing of critical questions about the root causes of conflict. Few studies, if any, analyze how forms of structural oppression, patriarchy, misogyny, and militarized masculinity lead to violence and armed conflict.This presentation focuses on a re-tooled policy analysis framework for WPS policies and programs incorporating an intersectional and critical feminist perspective (Hermoso & Luca Sugawara, 2016). This intersectional and critical feminist policy analysis model of WPS programs explicitly connects peacebuilding with efforts to achieve gender justice. Kirk and Okazawa-Rey (2013, 2019) define intersectional feminism as a philosophy of liberation from gender oppression and gender-based discrimination informed by an awareness of the inter-relatedness of different systems of oppression. Evaluating WPS policies and programs from the prism of critical and intersectional feminism allows for a more multi-dimensional analysis of violence and conflict.Building on Razon-Abad and Miller’s (1997) policy evaluation model, this critical and intersectional feminist policy evaluation framework defines policy success in terms of three elements: policy gains, civil society gains, and democracy gains. Policy gains are evaluated in terms of WPS programs’ efforts in realizing gender justice. Civil society gains manifest in stronger peace constituencies with meaningful participation of women and femmes civil society organizations, and gender justice in the public and private spheres. Democracy gains mean broadening of political space for women, femmes, transgender, and non-binary communities to participate in public life. Implications for connecting gender justice to current peacebuilding programs will be explored.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th 2022, led to a massive disruption in the lives of Ukrainian people who decided to flee the country. It is estimated that more than 17 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, while over 6 million Ukrainian refugees are recorded globally. Romania received more than 3 million Ukrainian refugees (more than 140,000 registering for assistance), majority women and childrenThe research was carried out by the Association of Schools of Social Work from Romania in the period October-December 2022 in the framework of the program developed by CARE International and Sera Foundation. It comprised 20 focus groups (n=141, out of which 76 women, 26 adolescent girls and 21 adolescent boys, 12 men, 6 Roma men), interviews with ten humanitarian aid experts and seven life stories. Data revealed a series of gender relevant aspects concerning (i) the institutional governmental and nongovernmental mechanism put in place in support for refugees and, on the other hand, (ii) the perception of the refugees themselves about their needs, problems and support received.Romania, with limited prior experience in the area of humanitarian assistance, struggled with the flow of refugees and confronted with shortage of human and financial resources succeeded in putting into action a support strategy that is highly appreciated by the beneficiaries. Ukrainian refugees mainly appreciate the housing programme, the efforts for food and clothes supply provided by the Government and local and international organizations, the safe general social environment and the kindness of Romanians in general. The study showed that there is a need to strengthen gender mainstreaming of the whole response and\ a need to improve services and assistance in terms of gender-sensitivity - services for women and girls, youth, and children, including GBV services.
Keywords (separate with commas)
refugees, Ukraine, gender, access to services, Romania
#1257 |
Applying a Trauma-Informed Policy Analysis Framework to Programs Addressing Gender-based Violence
Gender and sexualized violence are global public health issues. The World Health Organization (2018) estimates that 736 million women (or one in seven) experience sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their lives. Gender-based violence disproportionately affects poor and low-income women (UN Women, n.d.). According to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (2020), seven out of ten trafficking victims are women and girls. Less than forty percent of women who experience gender-based violence seek out help (United Nations Economic and Social Affairs, 2015).\ \ \ At least 158 countries have enacted laws addressing domestic violence (UN Women, n.d.). While the enactment of such policies and measures is an important step, among many, to end sexual and gender-based violence, it is also equally important to evaluate the efficacy of these policies and programs in achieving this goal.\ \ \ Building on the work of Murshid and Bowen (2018), this paper will present a trauma-informed policy analysis framework for evaluating sexual and gender-based policies and programs. A trauma-informed perspective recognizes the trauma histories and experiences of individuals and communities and how these impact on current challenges they experience. Fallot and Harris (2006) cite the basic principles of trauma-informed practice including safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and intersectionality.\ This paper will present an appraisal of existing gender-based violence policies and programs and the extent to which they uphold these six principles. Trauma-informed policies contextualize responses to gender-based violence to the localities of survivors/victims and foster collaborative social action.\ \ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
gender-based violence, trauma-informed, policy analysis, violence against women
15:05 - 16:05
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0194 |
HIV Stress Exchange: Queer men, intergenerational stress, and intimacy amidst the time of HIV
Background: HIV remains a principal inequity for queer men across the U.S. Artificially, gay men are divided in pre/post AIDS cohorts. Medical advances have cultivated a confusing discourse: on one hand, HIV is a “chronic condition”, which occludes psychosocial context; parallel, multiple technologies exist to “not get” HIV, which over individualizes responsibility and belies inequities. Still, HIV-related stress persists amongst queer men, and regarding HIV as discourse has not been well-represented in prevention and care.Methods: This empirical study seeks to build an HIV-informed model of theory and practice, entitled HIV Stress Exchange. A Queer Discourse Study was conducted on 20 in-depth interviews with younger and elder gay/queer men of all HIV statuses. Parallel, a Social Semiotic Analysis was conducted on 123 material resources (e.g., photos) collected from the men.Results: In all, this data gave voice to the ways HIV is given life in discourse and what meanings it holds in embodied identities, lives, and relationships. Five themes materialized across the interviews and material resources: HIV as “in-/validated”, “un-/voiced”, “un-/intelligible”, holding “intimacy/-ies”, and being “PrEP/-ared”.Conclusion: Based on the findings, the conceptual model for HIV Stress Exchange is presented along with an HIV-informed model for LGBTQ+-affirmative practice. These results provide context for what it means to live long-term under this age of HIV, whether or not infected -- and contributes a social theory for the intergenerational transmission of HIV as social discourse, as these most often unvoiced experiences of living long-term are unintelligible but find traction in everyday communication.
Keywords (separate with commas)
HIV, AIDS, Queer, gay, men who have sex with men, trauma, intergenerational stress, communication
#0622 |
Violence against goy youths in a poor town in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Violence against gay people in Brazil is widespread. \ It is particularly detrimental when directed towards gay youth as it compromises their possibilities of a full personal development, especially their formal education. In this paper we present data collected from in-depth interviews conducted with gay adolescents attendind a high school located in a poor town in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. The students reported several situations of moral and sexual harassement perpetrated by their peer students but also by the school staff. They also reported that the school administrtation remained silent upon the presentation of their grievances. Lack of debates in school about sexual orientatiion and gender identity was also reported and related with the high degree of homophobic violence. The research findings show, moreover, clear signs of resilience among the victimized students as they are managing, in one way or another, to get their high school diplomas. Social workers should pay more attention to homophobia in schools in order to contribute to a more egalitarian school enviroment as they have a voice and influence in many schools and school districts policies.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Homophobia, Education, Youth
#0717 |
Strengthening Social Work Skills and Competency through Exposure to Diversity
Robin Gearing1
;
Micki Washburn
2
;
Shahnaz Savani
3
;
Caitlyn Mytelka
1
;
Christian Carr
1
;
Andrew Robinson
1
;
Danny Clark
1
;
Susan Robbins
1
1 - University of Houston.2 - University of Texas at Arlington.3 - University of Houston/Downtown.
The experiences, values, and identities of social work students all have an impact on their ability to competently provide services to diverse client populations. Thus, the opportunity to participate in learning experiences that facilitate the development of skills to collaborate with and empower vulnerable populations is essential to the process of competency-based social work education. Providing vulnerable populations with judgment-free accessible services focused on self-determination is a critical component of competent social work practice. This is particularly true when working with groups who have historically been marginalized due to their ethnicity, race, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, or experience of mental illness. We will present on a cross sectional online survey design was employed to explore if student demographic characteristics, prior international travel experience, or participation in a structured learning abroad program were associated with levels of Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-defined social work practice competencies, racial attitudes, or attitudes toward individuals experiencing mental health concerns. A culturally diverse sample of 114 MSW students at a large, southern public urban university in the United States completed the survey. Results indicate that multilingual students and students with prior international travel experience self-reported lower levels of policy skill development and lower overall competency development. In addition, age and race were associated with students’ attitudes towards those experiencing mental health concerns, with younger and/or White students reporting more positive attitudes and lower stigma toward those with mental health concerns. No association was found between student demographic characteristics, learning abroad participation, prior international travel and racial attitudes. Implications for social work education, practice, and research are offered.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
learning abroad, social work education, diversity, gender, mental health stigma, racial attitudes
#0733 |
Teaching While Black: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Faculty in Schools of Social Work
AbstractRacial microaggression continues to inch its way into the fabric of American society and academia is not immune. The literature provided a noteworthy picture of the impact racial microaggression has had on faculty in education, psychology, sociology, and the STEM programs. This dissertation utilized an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and Thematic Analysis in order to understand the lived experiences of Black faculty in schools of social work across the United States.\ This study comprised of interviewing thirteen Black faculty who are currently professors at schools of social work in the South, Southeast, Northeast and Midwest. Each participant was asked nine semi-structured questions and fourteen demographic questions to better understand their experiences with racial microaggressions while working as a faculty member. Taking a IPA approach to each interview, the researcher gathered information through the lens of critical race theory and intersectionality.\ There were five overall themes that materialized during the analysis stage of this study: Themes of Behavior, Themes of Emotion, Themes of Coping, Themes of Avoidance, and Themes of Performative. The first three themes address the types of microaggressions inflicted on Black faculty, Black’s reaction to the microaggression, and how Black faculty cope with microaggressions. The last two themes address the perception of how schools of social work and universities address microaggressions that impact Black faculty in schools of social work.\ \ \ Keywords: Racial microaggression, interpretative phenomenological analysis, critical race theory, intersectionality, lived experiences, Black faculty, BIPOC, stereotyped, social work, and coping\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Keywords: Racial microaggression, interpretative phenomenological analysis, critical race theory, intersectionality, lived experiences, Black faculty, BIPOC, stereotyped, social work, and coping\
16:10 - 17:10
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0118 |
Leadership Pathways: Black Women in Rural Non-profit Organizations, Developing an Intergenerational and Mentoring Model Centered on Black Women’s Collective Identity
Aim: Black women have to overcome social and structural obstacles while advancing in their careers. They unjustly need additional attributes to navigate predominantly White environments that perceive Black women’s roles and responsibilities differently. This can be challenging when rising to leadership in rural organizations. Identifying discriminatory practices in social service organizations and the strategies that Black women use to rise to leadership positions could provide insight into finding empowerment strategies for professionals and pre-professionals alike. Our research attempts to understand experiences of Black women leaders in rural non-profit organizations using qualitative methods of inquiry and analysis. Objectives: We will present research that analyzes the lived experiences of Black women in the Southern rural U.S. who hold leadership positions, exploring their roles, expectations, and hardships, in order to answer the question, what are the expectations and hardships that Black Women experience in leadership roles? Outcomes: Our findings indicate Black women leaders in rural non-profit human service organizations face intersectional barriers related to both gender and age. These barriers result in discrimination and socially unjust workplaces that impact their leadership roles, their families, and their communities. Additionally, our study shows mentorship, commitment, and a strong faith-based support system help each participant build resilience throughout their careers in a service-driven leadership ideology grounded in faith, family, community support and collective Black identity. We will also explore the implications of these findings for creating human service organizations which empower minoritized women through mentoring programs, professional education, support, and building leadership networks. These should be done through training that encompasses collective identities of Black women, their rich social histories, faith, and family. Finally, we discuss how this research can assist human service agencies in building nondiscriminatory policies and practices that hinder leadership trajectories for minoritized women.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Black women, leadership, human service organizations, resilience, lived-experiences, challenges
#0128 |
The Impact of Family Development on Women's Attainment of Leadership Roles
Lauren Ivy Sieja1
;
Jose Carbajal
1
1 - Stephen F Austin State University School of Social Work.
The leadership ladder is geared towards workers with no family responsibilities; however, this issue predominantly affects pregnant individuals and those who have recently given birth. Once the baby is born, families must choose the quality of care and education for their child, which often leads to a decrease in women's earnings during the child-rearing years. Furthermore, the work schedule is structured in such a way that it does not allow for adequate family time or the ability to fulfill dual responsibilities, as the workplace is inflexible and highly demanding. Therefore, the cost of having a family and working can exceed possible lifetime earnings and opportunities to ascend to a leadership position. As a result, women who have children can be hindered from obtaining a leadership position. In this study, we use qualitative secondary data from 34 women who rose to leadership positions. We analyze the data to determine how family development impacted their rise to leadership. The study implications suggest that family development depends on support systems, as relocation for a high salary was a major deterrent due to their children.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Women, Women in Leadership, Family Development, Leadership, Career Advancement, Motherhood
#0652 |
Self-reported health and wellbeing outcomes of pregnant young people in State care following engagement with trauma responsive service, My Place in South Australia.
Michelle Jones1
;
Tina Brodie
2
;
Helen McLaren
3
;
Jasmine Bishop
3
;
Kate Travers
4
;
Jane Regan
4
;
Laura Edney
3
1 - University of South Australia.2 - SAHMRI.3 - Flinders University.4 - Yarrow Place, SA Health.
The voices of young people in State care who are pregnant or at risk of having their child removed are rarely heard. The young people are vulnerable and all have a history of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were held with nine young people about their experiences using services from My Place, a trauma responsive therapeutic and health care service. The research found that the pregnancy outcomes varied for each young person and may have resulted in termination, parenting, and/or infant removal. The young people involved in the study self-reported the following outcomes: improved coping strategies, stabilised mental health, better relationships, healthier decision-making, connections, or reconnections to culture, learning parenting and life skills, greater access to health services, improved trust in services and decreased substance use. The young people reported that My Place program provided gentle and kind care which contributed to meaningful productive change in their lives.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Children and young people, child protection, pregnancy, infant removal, self-report outcomes, women, health, wellbeing, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
#1181 |
Are we as diverse as those we teach? Gender expression and diversity knowledge amongst Social Work Educators
\ Often, we, social workers, come into situations with minimal background information. We take with us our educational knowledge and our practicum experiences. In school, we learn how and when to apply various theories, modalities, and techniques. This application consists of understanding the biological, cultural, political, financial, and historical attributes that may be influencing the situation(s) impacting our clients. For this educational process to be effective, there is an expectation that our instructors have cutting-edge knowledge and/or experiences that will help shape our practice skills. For some educators, the consideration of gender expression and gender diversity may be new. Also new for these educators may be the national and international polices and cultural practices that confound gender expression.\ This workshop has two prongs. The first prong considers how a lack of gender expression and gender diversity knowledge may hinder educators when preparing practitioners. Considered is how the lack of knowledge for gender diversity may stifle students’ application of social work values to gender expressing and gender diverse client populations.\ \ The second prong of this workshop explores how one’s own gender expression impacts the teaching process. Highlighted are how external artifacts (clothes, jewelry, etc.) sometimes may misidentify one’s gender identity. Examined will be if, how, and when to use one’s personal gender story to support the educational process. Considered in this workshop is how the international expression and acceptance of gender identity varies. Also, instructors’ personal responsibility to students when discussing their own gender identity.\ Finally, emphasis will be placed on the importance of instructors educating our future social work practitioners, educators, and leaders to have a grasp of how national and international policies impact gender identity along with gender expression. These future social workers must be reminded of social work’s tenet of working with all who need our assistance.
Keywords (separate with commas)
gender, diversity, gender expression
17:10 - 18:10
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0683 |
Prof Elizabeth Ivy Smit hereby wish to participate in the upcoming conference. I hereby submit an abstract for approval.
Gender-based violence is a social ill experienced by different cultures and social groups across the globe.\ Literature shows that the majority of gender-based violence perpetrators are men. This study was aimed at developing social work programme addressing gender-based violence perpetrated by men. Both Ecological and psychodynamic theories were utilised in identifying factors contributing to GBV and the behaviour modification and empowerment approach helped in conceptualising intervention for men as perpetrators of GBV.\ Intervention research was used for its contribution to Mezzo level of social work intervention through a developmental education group work programme. Utilizing a qualitative approach and phenomenological design, data collected from thirty-seven participants comprising ten men and ten social workers through individual telephone interviews to explore more on factors that contribute to GBV. Collected data was used to develop the programme manual. Ten men were divided into two groups; the first group of five men was enrolled in the programme facilitated by the researcher through telephone conference call. The second group of five men was facilitated by two social workers through telephone conference call.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Gender, violence, men, women, programme, social work
Write here the title of the Symposium and the name of who coordinates it:
SWSD-Panama Conference
#1057 |
Risk and resilience in a time of crisis: A model of the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth participating in a virtual group intervention during COVID-19
LGBTQ+ youth experience significant mental health challenges, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study empirically explores the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth during COVID-19 and their participation in AFFIRM Online, a digital affirmative group CBT intervention designed and implemented by social workers in Ontario, Canada. Participants were recruited through digital advertisements and the study received ethics approval. The eight-session intervention was delivered in age-appropriate group cohorts by trained social work co-facilitators. The participants were aged 14-29 (M\\ = 19.23 years, SD\\ = 4.44 years) and represented multiple identity intersections (e.g. pansexual, newcomer, racialized). \\ Thematic analysis of longitudinal qualitative questionnaires (over 49,000 words of text) explored the experiences of 184 LGBTQ+ youth and was mapped to waves 1-5 of the pandemic. Three major themes emerged: (a) Connecting with the Community During Lockdown; (b) Fostering Calm in Chaos; and (c) Developing Hope and Coping Skills for a ‘Post-COVID’ Future. A visual model of the themes and sixteen subthemes that capture stressors and strengths will be shared. The findings demonstrate how digital interventions can support help LGBTQ+ youth develop coping skills that support resilience during a significant crisis of mental health. Key research and practice strategies will be shared.
Keywords (separate with commas)
LGBTQ+ youth, COVID-19, Digital interventions, groups, affirming practice
Introduction:Despite the considerable expansion of comparative analyzes in social work research, especially in the last two decades or so, alongside the internationalization of the social work profession and the growing importance and recognition of transnational organizations such as the IFSW and the IASSW, international and comparative social work research in and about Latin America does not seem to have drawn as much attention over the years. Despite the rich historical and cultural experiences of Latin American countries with social protection and the social work profession alike, knowledge about Latin American contributions to the development of social work as a global discipline and field of practice remains limited, especially in the social work literature published in English. Objectives: Therefore, the main goal of this research was to introduce and explore the benefits of advancing international and comparative social work research in and about the region of Latin America. A discussion on potential themes for a new research agenda is brought forward, aiming to advance the position of Latin American social work scholarship on the global stage by adopting a decolonial approach to social work scholarship. Methods: This research employs a qualitative design and a conceptual-exploratory nature. Using critical research methodologies, this work challenges the global North’s monopoly over knowledge production and it does so by revealing unequal structures within the global hierarchy of knowledge. Findings: Latin American social work theory can only gain global recognition by challenging the longstanding monopoly of the West over what is valid knowledge, in this case, what is considered ‘valid social work knowledge’. This research proposes that social work's exclusionary epistemic structure must be challenged in order to create effective roadmaps for diversity and epistemic justice within the global social work profession.
Keywords (separate with commas)
decoloniality, international, social work, Latin America, knowledge, research agenda
#0164 |
Using Art Therapy with Women in Afghanistan
Dr. Angelea Panos
1
;
Dr. Patrick Panos2
1 - Utah Valley University.2 - University of Utah.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the major health and human rights issues of our time, affecting one in three women worldwide. Despite IPV’s prevalence, limited research investigates the healing process for survivors or the efficacy of group art therapy (GAT). This study is grounded by a person-centered approach to art therapy and an interpretive method, highlighting the contextualized nature of reality. This study explored afghan female IPV survivors’ experiences of Group Art Therapy (GAT). The study involved interviews and an arts-based research component with ten participants who completed a 12-week GAT program. Researchers utilized thematic analysis, a method of uncovering key themes across the interviews, to learn how participants experienced the GAT program. The utilization of the creative arts for the treatment of mental disorders first appeared more than 50 years ago, but the last three decades have witnessed the growth of a literature describing its potential effectiveness. However, little attention has been given to art therapy delivered as part of a group therapy process for IPV adult female survivors. Research conducted with child art therapy is prolific, however, in art therapy with adults they are often intimated to create something honestly expressive. Instead they often strive for competence and are discouraged by their products. Group art therapy to enhance mental health must involve good group techniques to create safety and a therapeutic relationship but also strive to allow diverse levels of performance of expression, with no emphasis placed on quality, rather emphasizing the goal of free expression. In this study, Afghan women, oppressed by the Taliban met secretly and used art to support themselves through their grief and trauma.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Art therapy, Afghan Women, Trauma, Grief, Creative expression
#0506 |
Reconsidering social work education in Namibia: Past, present, and future
Our presentation seeks to provide insight into past events and current developments surrounding social work and social work education in Namibia. Our presentation covers three areas: First is a deep dive into Namibia's history, touching upon colonization, liberation struggles, and its present-day social welfare system post-independence. The second part of our presentation examines pre-independence versus post-independence scenarios for social work education with particular attention on the University of Namibia's Social Work program, as well as the challenges posed by establishing an indigenized curriculum in the program. Finally, we close with a discussion on curriculum review - concentrating primarily on how it can be adapted through localization within a developmental approach suitable for local understanding while incorporating conversations around indigenous helping processes. All these factors are underpinned by a proposed conceptual framework that synergizes with the Global Agenda for Social Work & Social Development and the Namibia National Development Plan 5 (NDP5) towards integrating Western & indigenous approaches specific to social work education and developmental welfare goals.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work education, Namibia, Global Agenda for Social Work
#0953 |
Expanding The Liberation Repertoire of Clinical Social Workers in the United States
Gabriel Robles1
;
Maria Guevara Carpio
1
;
Elsa Candelario
1
The urgent calls from Black, Indigenous, and/or Latine/x (BIL) social workers have persistently highlighted the potential harm inflicted upon communities of color through clinical social work practice. The vast majority of social work education is on cultural humility and cultural competence. Although both are beneficial practices to follow when working with communities from diverse cultures, they have limitations; further, other undervalued approaches go beyond these practices and move toward liberation. Thus, highlighting the need for psychotherapy techniques and approaches that directly or indirectly challenge sociopolitical oppression and coloniality systems. Encouraging clinicians to critically analyze hierarchies and understand the forces of power, privilege, and oppression can foster disruption and challenge coloniality, aiming for liberation. One approach often overlooked in clinical social work education is the use of Liberation Psychology to guide both clinical practice and the classroom. This approach promotes critical consciousness through dialogue, reflection, and praxis, offering a valuable tool for advancing social work education. This manuscript presents psychotherapeutic techniques and approaches to advocate for greater inclusion of liberatory practices within clinical social work education.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Clinical social workers, social work, liberation psychology, critical consciousness, clinical practice, communities of color, Latine/x communities, psychotherapies, and coloniality systems
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
9 - Género y Diversidad
#0414 |
Trabajo Social: Una práctica profesional feminista
Eunice M.1
1 - Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras.
La presentación Perspectiva de Género: Feminismos y Trabajo Social es un trabajo realizado en el curso Análisis de las Teorías del Comportamiento Humano en el área de Maestría de la Escuela Graduada Beatriz Lasalle de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras. Su propósito es acercarnos a la historia del movimiento feminista, comprender conceptos básicos relacionados al género, sexo, feminismo, patriarcado, diversidad, interseccionalidad, violencia de género, entre otros, conocer los postulados generales de la teoría feminista y aplicación al Trabajo Social. Como profesión centrada en los derechos humanos, la justicia social, la equidad y la diversidad, tenemos un compromiso ético-político con promover prácticas antiopresivas, liberadoras y transformadoras que aporten a la erradicación de las desigualdades sociales, particularmente de las mujeres. Es por esto que, este trabajo además de ser uno académico, es una propuesta al Trabajo Social puertorriqueño y latinoamericano para abrazar teorías, perspectivas y modelos feministas que nos apoyen a llevar a cabo un quehacer profesional crítico, inclusivo y antiopresivo.
The Winthrop Rocha Project is a long-standing partnership among a university, a local NGO, and community partners in a rural area of Nicaragua. Since 2007, interdisciplinary, social development teams of faculty and students have traveled to rural communities in the Department of Matagalpa and worked alongside local partners on innovative projects specifically aimed at the empowerment of women and children. All social development projects have been driven by the community and milestones have included the following: development of a primary school, implementation of community gardens and nutrition workshops, construction of community latrines and a gravitational water system, and implementation of a micro-enterprise goat project. The Winthrop Rocha Project had begun expansion into two, new communities at the beginning of 2020. While the onset of the pandemic shifted priorities, trust and relationship-building spanning over a decade provided the foundation for the continued longevity of the Winthrop Rocha Project . Through the lens of empowerment, this presentation will focus on the importance of confianza in developing and sustaining social development projects that withstand social change.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Women, Nicaragua, empowerment, confianza, social development
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0930 |
Women in Institutions of Higher Education (IHE): A Critical Narrative
Pamela Singla1
1 - Department of Social Work, University of Delhi.
Quoting Robert Coheen (1969) in his book ‘The Human Nature of a University’\ he writes, “Universities are increasingly in the news today, not only because of student unrest and enlarging campus populations, but also because the role of universities as centers of teaching and research has been getting more pervasive.” This statement holds very true for most of the Universities around the world, including Delhi, India. India has recently introduced the New National Education Policy, 2020.\ Delhi has many prominent central, state, and deemed universities. A huge number of young people including women are enrolled in these universities. It is commonly understood that universities are typically public spaces based on the ideals of universal access and equality. Within the campuses, students and teachers interact freely thus enabling critical thinking and intellectualism. However, if the presence of women students is constantly marked by fear of unforeseen violence then the universities would fail in their discharge of the very important function for which they have been established. It is in this context that the question of violence against women in universities assumes importance. The landmark Saksham report (2013) has demonstrated that women students felt that universities do not take them seriously. Sexual harassment on college campuses has been overlooked as a courtship problem between young adults according to a study (2017). Women from north-east India face further harassment.\ The presentation reflects on women in Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) in Delhi and narrates landmark reports/ incidents since the time of the country’s independence. It discusses the struggles and challenges of women students and how it limits their spirit of freedom/equality in attaining education without fear. The presentation concludes by giving key action points to ensure a safe campus in institutions of higher learning. The presentation is based on primary and secondary research. \
Keywords (separate with commas)
University/ Universities, Higher Education, Women, Students, Safe Campus, Delhi, India
#1075 |
Visioning Gender (In)equity through PhotoVoice following a Major Disaster
Disasters exacerbate pre-existing social inequity. Gender disparities are a case in point. In Japan, and across the globe, gender inequity persists. When a major disaster strikes, women, who have already been disadvantaged, are disproportionately affected. In what ways can feminist research and practice capture the lived experiences of women and lift and amplify their voices toward social change?\ Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster—a triple disaster of massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant—we initiated a feminist participatory action research project. Using PhotoVoice methodology—a participatory method involving repeated photo-taking, group meetings, and creation of voices (short written messages), the project seeks to insert women’s perspectives to promote more inclusive, gender-informed disaster policies and programs in Japan and beyond.\ Since 2011, across 10 sites, over 65 disaster affected women of diverse sociodemographic backgrounds have co-produced knowledge with researchers and local collaborators. Through their photographs and voices, participants have explicated and exposed various ways in which gendered structural inequity, social norms, and governmental policies and procedures compromised women’s livelihood and safety. They also present their visions for the future, the need for reconstruction grounded in the rights and needs of local residents. Increasingly, members have been participating in social action, obtaining certification and appointment as disaster prevention specialists, running for office and winning, and advocating for policy and institutional changes in various ways.\ Weaving through photographs and voices of project participants, this presentation discusses the gender dimensions of the disasters. While exposing the long-lasting impact of the disaster and radioactive contamination, the presentation will engage the session audience in visioning disaster resilient society and gender equity.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
gender inequity, feminist participatory action research, disaster response and reconstruction, PhotoVoice, earthquake, tsunami, nuclear accident, Japan, disaster resilient society
#1244 |
Monitoring Cultural Competence in Social Work Education: A Comparative Study of Cross-Cultural Training for Social Work Student Interns in the United States and Guyana
Alicia McLaughlin
1
;
Monica Miller2
1 - University of St. Francis.2 - University of Guyana.
In their seminal publication, Cross, Bazron, Dennis, and Issacs (1989) noted that cultural competence comprises a congruent set of skills, behaviors, attitudes, and policies that coalesce within a system, agency, or among professionals, enabling them to effectively operate in cross-cultural contexts.\ They further noted that the ethical dimension of cultural competence underscores the interplay between social work ethics and the training of social work students. It is therefore evident that the social work educational system holds the responsibility of preparing future change agents.\ \ This study, being the first of its kind, was designed to measure cultural competence associated with the training of social work student interns at two academic institutions:\ \ one in the United States of America and the other in Guyana, South America. Focus was placed on a comparison of cross-cultural relationships and a cultural match between social work student interns and supervisors with regard to the supervisory relationship, from the perspective of the student interns.\ \ Palomo and colleagues’ (2010) Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ), was used to analyze student ratings on the following six subscales:\ \ safe base, structure, reflective education, commitment, role model, and formative feedback. The SRQ was utilised as a means of seeking to determine the degree to which cross-cultural supervision maintained cultural competence for the student intern training experience, compared to supervision that was of a cultural match.\ \ As culturally competent social work supervisors, social work (SW) student training needs to demonstrate the gold standard, making sure the experience exemplifies standards promoted in the profession.\ \ Recommendations on how SW programs worldwide can monitor internship placements as a means of promoting culturally competent learning will be presented.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work education, cultural competency, social work training, social work supervision, social work practice, diversity
#1570 |
Conceptualizing Domestic Violence in Black Communities: Fostering Violence Prevention and Well-being for Black Women, Families, and Communities
"Domestic violence in Black communities is under-studied, under-theorized and under-resourced, which creates a lack of knowledge on how violence is experienced in Black communities. However, existing research shows that Black women are disproportionately affected by domestic violence (DV). While Black men play a vital role in disrupting and eradicating violence against Black women, there is limited research and practice interventions that engage them in identifying their roles in DV prevention and intervention. The Fostering Violence Prevention for Black Women, Families, and Communities is a four-year project aimed at DV prevention and intervention in Black communities. Guided by critical race theory, this study engages Black front-line workers, members of Black communities and community partners to ascertain best practices to advance knowledge, promote community engagement, enhance leadership capacity, and foster well-being for Black communities in Canada. This workshop is based on the findings of Phase I of the project which revealed the complex barriers in addressing and reporting DV. Results show that Black communities in Canada have used different expressions to define DV, relating it more to its physicality than its generic, Eurocentric definition. The diverse conceptualizations of DV may pose some challenges for service providers who have limited knowledge or no experience working with Black communities. This workshop will identify some of the root causes of DV in Black communities, effects of historical and racial trauma and issues reporting DV. Attendees will leave the session with a better understanding of the diverse conceptualizations of DV in Black communities, learn some of the ways in which they can mobilize knowledge around and about DV in Black communities and how best to support Black individuals affected by DV. This workshop will increase social development in the field of DV and equip social workers with tools to better support Black women survivors of DV."\
Keywords (separate with commas)
domestic violence, anti-racism, anti-Black racism, equity diversity and inclusion\
15:05 - 16:05
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0280 |
Assess and design training curriculum on safeguarding and develop organisations' policies for Transgender Community-led Health Services.
This study aimed to assess and develop safeguarding practices and policies for Transgender Community-led Health Services in Thailand, focusing on reducing HIV transmission and improving the quality of life for transgender women. Funded by international funding, it aimed to ensure adherence to ethical standards and protect program participants. The assessment identified several areas requiring attention and improvement. The\ evaluation revealed that although community-based\ organisations (CBOs) had policies to address harassment and discrimination, a specific child safeguarding policy was lacking. Additionally, while the\ organisations had a code of conduct prohibiting romantic relationships or the exchange of goods or money with clients, the need for a child safeguarding policy was identified as crucial. Training on safeguarding program participants from sexual exploitation and abuse was found inadequate, with no specific training on this topic. Although an annual meeting covered sexual exploitation and conflict of interest, new staff members, including an outreach officer, had not received training. The recommendation was to provide access to an eModule on safeguarding program participants and develop a dedicated training course on sexual exploitation and abuse. In conclusion, the assessment highlighted the need to improve safeguarding practices within Transgender Community-led Health Services in Thailand. Key recommendations included developing a child safeguarding policy, implementing reference and background checks in the recruitment process, addressing sexual exploitation and abuse in vendor policies, providing specific training, and establishing protocols for investigations and corrective actions. Addressing these gaps and needs would strengthen the safeguarding policies and protect program participants.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Transgender, Safeguarding, Community-led Health Services.
#0298 |
Storying ‘Good Mothers’: Using Creative Arts-based Practice to Deconstruct Ideologies of Good Mothering
The predominant definition of motherhood in Canada, and Western Society, reflects middle-class Eurocentric notions of intensive mothering, whereby mothers are expected to manage their responsibilities as the primary caregiver of their children and household, while maintaining employment outside of the home. This ideology leaves little consideration for the experiences of mothers from diverse socio-economic and ethno-racial backgrounds. We completed a qualitative, exploratory study with three mothers in Calgary, Alberta, who, over the course of a series on in-depth interviews shared stories of the mothering they experienced in childhood, the challenges in their own mothering which resulted in having their children apprehended by the state, and finally their journey to regaining custody of their children. These women’s narratives highlighted their resiliency in their reclaiming identities as good mothers while challenging socially constructed beliefs about women, and mothering. Our intention to disseminate the study findings and specifically ides about ‘good mothering’ to a wider audience led us to employ an arts based-research practice to develop a children’s book based on Canadian animal models who exhibited mothering behaviors ranging from less to more intensive mothering in the hopes of entertaining and informing our ideas of the multiple ways of being a good mother.
This autoethnographic presentation explores the personal and professional journey of a female researcher within her own research on Nepali women and social work. In this, I explain the challenges and struggles of women while doing research about women. While commencing my research journey, I thought I would be a subject (knower) and Nepali female social workers who I was going to interview with would be an object (known) in the research. But, surprisingly, given my own gender and affiliation to Nepali society and culture, I discovered I am both the subject and the object in my own research. And hence, using an autoethnographic approach, I present my own experiences, perspectives, and narratives. Although, in the beginning I assumed my social and economic privilege would position me in higher status, but as I continue to interact and interview with my female participants, I found the experiences, identities and patriarchal struggles to be rather similar than different in both personal and professional lives. The literature review and my preliminary findings concurred with my experiences as a Nepali woman and highlighted the impact of societal expectations as a ‘female’ in Nepali society is so enormous that heavily shapes how she thinks, behaves and present herself within family and social boundary. With such shared experiences, I reinvigorated my ‘self-identity’ with which calls for reflexivity and self-awareness in transformative practices that challenge dominant systems perpetuating inequalities in Nepali society. The prevalent unequal footing needs addressing through increased self-actualization of their own identity. In conclusion, this journey has been rewarding as well as a learning experience indicating shared reality of being a Nepali woman with my own research object.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Gender, social work, qualitative research, autoethnography, Nepal.
#0804 |
Diversified Families: Expanding the Imagination of Family Social Work in Mainland China
This article focuses on family social work knowledge production in the context of changing family structures and forms in China. Taking the lesbian family in a diversified family as an example, it is hoped that through the “Thick Description” of three different forms of postmodern families: contract marriage family, extra-marital family and planned lesbian family to help social workers “see” more family patterns, re-imagine the concept of future, pluralistic families, and expand the imagination of family social work. This paper points out that social work, as a profession and occupation that “uses itself as a diversity to assist diversity to form or constitute diversity”, should remove restrictions, protect and develop diversity. The imagination of the family in research and literature is still mainly limited to the family situation of the mainstream population, and the lack of attention to family structural changes and multiple family issues has contributed to systemic inequality. Therefore, this article hopes to pay more attention to the “living entity”, that is, people’s daily life practice, so as to realize family social work that is closer to life and subjective feelings. Admittedly, moving beyond the cisgender frame is a challenge for social workers and social work practice, but not doing so limits our own view of what is possible.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Diversified family, family social work, lesbian, kinship
16:10 - 17:10
Area_09
Gender and Diversity
#0778 |
Promoting Well-Being and Violence Prevention Within Collectivist Cultures: A Community-Based Well-Being Group for Men
Violence against women (VAW) is a pervasive social issue in Canada that transcends socio-cultural, faith, and economic groups. While the participation of men is an essential part of prevention efforts, there is insufficient understanding of the services, supports, and capacities that men need for more nurturing relationships and a greater sense of well-being. Services and supports promoting well-being, healthy relationships, and violence prevention are most successful when culture, faith, language, and community are centered within the approach, fostering meaningful engagement. To achieve meaningful and impactful change, training and capacity-building efforts can equip leaders from across cultural and other diverse experiences to implement culturally relevant supports and services and ensure their accessibility.\ The Men's Well-being Group\ (WBG) offers a\ 10-module peer support program that engages men in conversations about well-being, healthy relationships, gender equity, domestic violence, and systemic racism as a primary approach to domestic violence prevention. Developed as a community initiative by and for Spanish speaking (Latino) Canadians, WBG participants shared that providing men with culturally appropriate spaces is essential to enhancing their well-being and fostering healthy relationships. According to evaluations from the first group, participants were able to build ties with other men, reduce barriers to accessing supports, and identify and improve communication and relationships with family members. Building on this initial feedback we launched\ a facilitator training program for the WBG that involved men community leaders from the Bhutanese, Filipino, Iranian, Nepali Canadian communities. The trained facilitators were then supported to lead men’s WBGs within their own communities as peer mentors.\ In this presentation, we share the story of the men’s well-being groups, and discuss the potential of the experiential and evidence-informed community practice.
Keywords (separate with commas)
violence against women, violence prevention, mens well-being, culturally relevant supports\
#1439 |
Included but Excluded: The Experiences of Transgender Students Attending Institutions of Higher Education
Shauntisha Pilgrim1
1 - Morgan State University School of Social Work.
While college campuses have made strides in cultivating an inclusive environment, current initiatives often fall short, particularly regarding the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ students, specifically transgender students. Changes such as incorporating gender-neutral bathrooms or adding the word 'inclusive' in mission statements are not enough when the underlying systems remain essentially unchanged. The impact is particularly severe on transgender students, who face elevated stress levels due to discrimination and marginalization (Knutson et al., 2022). Such policies not only cause emotional distress but can also discourage enrollment and impact academic success (Seelman, 2014).To make true progress, colleges and universities must make structural changes aimed at eradicating the stressors that negatively affect transgender students. These changes must move away from a binary understanding of gender if educational institutions are to be genuinely inclusive (Seelman, 2014). One way to achieve this is by adopting trauma-informed approaches that allow for individualized, sensitive handling of student identities.\ To transform educational environments into safe, inviting, and inclusive spaces for transgender students, institutions can utilize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA, 2014) trauma-informed approach. This framework is organized around six key principles: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment, as well as voice and choice, and attention to cultural, historical, and gender issues (SAMHSA, 2014).Understanding the lived experiences of transgender students becomes a vital cornerstone for instigating systemic changes that foster inclusivity.References:Knutson, D., et al. (2022). Transgender Students and Stress: The Impact of Discrimination and Marginalization in Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development, 63(2), 215-230.Seelman, K. L. (2014). Recommendations of transgender students, staff, and faculty in the USA for improving college campuses. Gender and Education, 26(6), 618-635.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014).\ SAMHSA's Concept of\ Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.\ \ \
#1453 |
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women's Intimate Partner Violence Victimization: Addressing Barriers to Unique Safety Needs and Help-Seeking Behaviors
In recent years, extensive research has garnered attention around the widespread concern of intimate partner violence (IPV). Although IPV affects individuals from all demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, there is a lack of intimate partner violence research tailored to IPV victimization in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Sadly, Deaf and hard-of-hearing women experience higher rates of IPV than hearing women, yet community-coordinated responses and support services are scarce for this population. Therefore, it is paramount to identify and describe existing barriers that cause perplexities when providing resources and services for Deaf women. Appropriateness of IPV-specific services for Deaf survivors is essential for their safety and well-being. Disability-specific abuse creates additional challenges for Deaf and hard-of-hearing women. With that said, hearing-dominated organizations and agencies must be informed about the abusive tactics of perpetrators, whether Deaf or hearing individuals and how this translates to help-seeking behaviors for the survivors. Language is a constant barrier to communicating with Deaf survivors properly. As a result, there is limited information exchange about unhealthy relationship behaviors, access to legal resources, housing, financial assistance, mental health resources, and more.\ On the other hand, it is habitual that service providers do not specialize in IPV-specific services for Deaf survivors. Still, they are utilized through a generalized lens through which providers are available to address the comprehensive needs of Deaf clients. Moreover, research findings suggest that diversifying the intervention and prevention efforts for disability-specific IPV will better address the safety needs of the survivors. This presentation will discuss implications for future innovative strategies that will enhance the overall quality of services for Deaf and hard-of-hearing women survivors of intimate partner violence.\
Until recently, intimate partner violence (IPV) by women towards men was thought to be rare. The current literature indicates that female violence occurs in about 20% of the total IPV situations. The presentation examines IPV calls responded to by police in a small to medium sized Ontario community between January 2012 and November 2014. The Domestic Violence Supplementary Report criminal code forms data included 260 of 985 (26.4%) total calls where charges were laid against females. Police-identified risk factors commonly associated with male-accused IPV were compared relative to female-accused IPV. Males tended to be charged more frequently and with more serious offences. Further, for accused males, police tended to check off more risk factors and the same risk factors at higher rates than they did for accused females. However, risk factors of exhibiting externalizing behaviours, recent separation or change in the relationship, and experiencing stress tended to be identified more frequently for female-accused persons. Many feminist theorists and social workers have tended to view female violence as a response to the conditions of patriarchy and an attempt to deal with the violent behaviours of their male partners; however, the results challenge this perspective along with some feminist theorists who acknowledge not all female violence is based on self-defence or retaliation. Female-accused IPV should be contextualized in a gendered or feminist analysis as it does differ from male-perpetrated violence. Nonetheless, these results can help us consider the implications for social workers working with situations of female-accused IPV.\ Recommendations are made regarding the implications of gender for risk factors in criminal cases, police response to these calls, and for social workers working with situations of female-accused IPV.
Keywords (separate with commas)
domestic violence, female violence against males, risk factors
17:10 - 18:10
Area_10
Diversity and Psychosocial Responses and Disaster Situations
#0246 |
Trauma-informed Care: A residential social service (RESTORE) for the empowerment of youth-at-risk
Trauma refers to a frightening, dangerous, or violent event that threatens a child’s life or bodily integrity (The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2020). The children involved in the child welfare system, such as residential child care services for youth-at-risk, require child welfare workers to be sensitive to their traumatic experiences. In this presentation, we will share the innovative experience of a project called “RESTORE” which stands for youth residents’ journey from trauma to empowerment. The project “RESTORE” adopts the Trauma-informed Care (TIC) approach to help the youth residents to grow from trauma. The project was launched by the Mark Memorial Home (MMH) of the Hong Kong Student Aid Society, which provides residential services for children and young persons aged 6 to 21 years of age who cannot be adequately cared for by their families. Most residents experienced trauma such as family violence, parents’ chronic illness, death or imprisonment, and other family crises. The experience of the residents undergoing the transition from victimization to empowerment will be shared through qualitative interviews with them. The findings shed light on the development of TIC in Chinese society.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Trauma, Trauma-informed Care, Youth-at-risk, Residential services
#0998 |
Social Policy Implications for a Restorative Prisoner Re-entry Process
Jamaica has the highest crime rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. Violent crimescontinue to increase and are disproportionately carried out by unskilled males, from inner-citycommunities. Local research describes the predominately “punitive” approach guidingJamaica’s correctional system. The approach has been informed by a historical narrative andperception that black people from lower classes are a risk or pathological. These perceptionsare accompanied by a risk-based or treatment-based approach that is neo-liberally driven,state-or professionally centred, and focused only on offender deficits and recidivism. Despitesignificant international research on desistance from crime and reintegration into society,Jamaica’s criminal justice policies have yet to reflect these findings. Furthermore, prisoner re-entry frameworks, developed from international research contexts have not captured how theprisoner re-entry narrative influences and affects each stage of the prisoner re-entry process.Based on international research, a restorative re-entry framework was developed to guide there-entry process. This chapter offers a strength-based, holistic guide and approach to theprisoner re-entry process in Jamaica. It is driven by restorative principles that illuminate theroles of three primary stakeholders: incarcerated and formerly incarcerated adult male, state,and non-state actors, and promote desistance from crime and ultimately reintegration intosociety.
Abstract:All of us experience tragedy and distress directly or indirectly as a by-product of living. Though the impact of such can be devastating, life-altering, and traumatic, we are capable of healing that promotes post-traumatic growth and resilience. Our psychological and emotional resilience can be strengthened through unified connection which in essence is induced through the engagement of first responders. Social workers have been elevated for utilization of their expertise within the interdisciplinary response operational structure to disaster missions and diverse crisis response efforts. The themes of culture, diversity, and humility are at the forefront of disaster response and ultimately drivers of strategic planning for interventions and recovery. The scope of culture and diversity as an umbrella is varied and assessed by researchers as complex. The session is dedicated to disaster and emergency response through the lens of cultural humility and psychosocial tenets to equipping social workers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, administrators and researchers with tools to address inequities and health disparities through their service on the frontlines assisting to improve well-being and life for vulnerable populations and all humankind. Dr. Johnson as a uniformed service officer deployed to and serving in multiple disaster response missions including hurricanes, suicide clusters, floodings, and the pandemic will infuse evidence-based perspectives to delineate effective approaches in disaster response and preparedness which promote service excellence and health equity. Participants will leave the session with greater evidence-based insight into 1) the relationship between leadership, diversity, and cultural awareness as a model of effectiveness in achieving health equity for a global society and 2) how disaster preparedness, crisis recovery, and our overall social and health outcomes are interconnected; thus feeling invigorated and inspired to utilize the psychosocial dimensions of cultural humility to reverse the tide of inequity and enhance health services and life for all.\ \ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
disaster response framework; cultural awareness and crisis response; cultural humility in emergency response; psychosocial tenets of disaster response; health equity; social work emergency preparedness; interdisciplinary psychosocial operations; leadership in crisis response\
#1588 |
In times of crisis, what role does the suffering of healthcare workers play? What alternatives can be offered?
How is the suffering of caregivers considered during a crisis in Quebec? This crisis underscores the need for a thorough reflection on how our government considers the emotional and ethical well-being of healthcare and social services professionals in the face of challenges posed by successive reforms and the Covid-19 pandemic. The suffering of caregivers is a taboo issue that is increasingly emerging due to the working conditions generated by successive reforms within the healthcare and social services system, and to this has been added the Covid-19 crisis. Our communication aims to stimulate a thorough reflection, using a "dialogue approach" in groups (Béland, 2009; Legault, 2007; Patenaude, 2001), concerning how caregivers and managers can address an essential ethical question related to the attention paid to each individual in the care process (Caring). Our intention is to go beyond the simple consideration of caregivers as a means of care, a service to be provided, or an outcome to be achieved (Curing). By sharing the results of our group reflection, we seek to provide useful perspectives and concrete solutions to improve the consideration of caregivers' suffering during a crisis. We will begin by providing an overview of the situation in which a group dialogue aimed at alleviating caregivers' suffering emerged. This in-depth analysis of the situation before and during the global Covid-19 crisis will be beneficial for participants seeking to understand the roots of caregivers' suffering as well as the professional challenges they face.
Keywords (separate with commas)
SS - ENG 09
11:30 - 12:00
Poster Presentation
10 - Diversidad y Respuestas Psicosociales en Situaciones de Catástrofe
#0514 |
Examining health impacts from multiple disaster exposure: Analyzing the role of socio-demographic characteristics and disaster preparedness
Clare Cannon1
;
Regardt Ferreira
2
;
Fred Buttell
2
Disasters caused by extreme weather are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change increasing the likelihood that more people will experience multiple disasters in their lifetimes. Yet not much is known about factors that may be associated with multiple disaster exposure and their attendant health impacts. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and disaster preparedness on both multiple disaster exposure and perceived stress, for residents at risk of experiencing multiple disasters. Binary logistic regression was conducted using primary survey data collected from 2020-2022, which captured two hurricane seasons (n = 807). Two models were run, one with repeated disaster exposure as the dependent variable and one with perceived stress as the dependent variable. Independent variables in both models included sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, race, gender) and disaster preparedness. Results indicate respondents who have previously prepared for disaster were more likely to have experienced multiple disasters, while those who identified as White were less likely to have experienced multiple disasters than those who did not identify as White. Results also indicate that women, younger respondents, and those with less education experienced high levels of perceived stress. These findings provide insights into factors that are associated with multiple disaster exposure, including the linkage between disaster preparedness and multiple disaster exposure as well as socio-demographic characteristics including gender that are associated with higher levels of perceived stress for those at risk of experiencing multiple disasters.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Disaster Preparedness, Climate Change, Stress.
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
11 - Trabajo Social y Desarrollo Social Postpandémicos
#0793 |
Living Online Post-Pandemic: Continuing the use of Online Social Services after Covid-19
Individuals who have disabilities are at a higher risk of having more detrimental symptoms related to Covid-19. Additionally, those with disabilities often experience accessibility barriers when it comes to obtaining mental health treatment. These accessibility challenges include obtaining transportation, steep ramps to enter buildings, and social anxiety when being around other patients in the waiting room. The use of telehealth began receiving in high demand for mental health treatment due during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the use of Telehealth is still wildly being used among those with disabilities, despite the conclusion of the pandemic. This study analyzes the quantity of use, along with the benefits and negative attributes of using Telehealth among individuals with disabilities.
Keywords (separate with commas)
disability, mental health, pandemic, telehealth
#0910 |
Social policies within the scope of social services in combating food and nutritional insecurity: a study on the Prato Cheio program in Brasília, Brazil
In the context of Post-Pandemic Social Work and Social Development, this research delved into the realm of social policies addressing food and nutritional insecurity. Conducted within the Secretariat of Social Development in Brasília, Brazil, the study primarily centered on the discourse surrounding the "Prato Cheio" program.The aftermath of the pandemic emphasized the pressing need to reevaluate and enhance social welfare strategies, particularly those aimed at tackling food and nutritional insecurity. The "Prato Cheio" program emerged as a significant focal point in this regard. This research sought to understand the program's efficacy and relevance within the shifting landscape of post-pandemic challenges.Through a multidimensional approach, the study critically examined the facets of the "Prato Cheio" initiative. It scrutinized the program's design, implementation, and outcomes, shedding light on its strengths and potential areas for improvement. By synthesizing quantitative data on beneficiaries and qualitative insights from stakeholders, the research aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the program's impact.Moreover, the research explored the interconnectedness between social policies, public health, and sustainable development within the context of the pandemic aftermath. It delved into how the "Prato Cheio" program aligned with broader national and international goals, emphasizing the role of social work in bridging these objectives.Ultimately, this research contributes to the discourse on effective social policies in a post-pandemic world, specifically addressing food and nutritional insecurity. By focusing on the "Prato Cheio" program, it not only provides insights into its practical implications but also highlights the broader significance of social development initiatives within the purview of social work. As societies strive to recover and rebuild, such analyses of localized programs are essential for shaping responsive and resilient social policies.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social policies, food and nutricional insecurity, social work, post-pandemic social work
#0980 |
TECHNICAL SUPERVISION IN THE UNIFIED SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM OF THE FEDERAL DISTRICT- BRAZIL
Ana Carolina Nunes Renault Monteiro
1
;
Samira de Alkimim Bastos Miranda1
;
Ana Luiza Gomes Pieruccetti
1
;
Bárbara Firme de Faria
1
;
Diana Lopes dos Santos
1
;
Delma Pereira Borges
1
;
Lívia Batista Rosa
1
;
Marta Pessôa Pinto
1
;
Natalia Pereira Caixeta
1
;
Samara Poliane Rodrigues Oliveira Reis
1
1 - Secretary of State for Social Development of the Federal District -BRAZIL.
The present work describes the experience of Technical Supervision in the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) of the Federal District, Brazil. Technical supervision aims to provide theoretical, methodological, technical, operational, and ethical support for the critical and creative development of new intervention alternatives for workers in the Unified Social Assistance System - SUAS, and to enhance the quality of service offerings, programs, projects, social assistance benefits, and income transfers.\\ With the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in demand for services at the Centers of Social Assistance Reference (CRAS) in the Federal District. In order to enhance the services provided to the population, the State Secretariat for Social Development (SEDES) assembled a team for Technical Supervision, which has been conducting monthly activities focused on reflecting on work processes with CRAS employees.\\ During the first semester of 2023, various initiatives were carried out, including technical visits, online regional meetings, in-person workshops with representatives from all CRAS locations, and the development of guidelines for the functioning of CRAS receptions. Interactions with other sectors of the Secretariat were improved, particularly with the social assistance surveillance department, which, based on demands presented by the supervision team, developed a prototype for a technological tool to assist in recording the individuals who go through the CRAS reception.\\ In light of the above, the configuration of Technical Supervision in basic social protection in the Federal District has been an innovative practice in public administration, as it has fostered effective and continuous dialogue between managers and employees and has contributed to qualified changes in work processes.\\
Keywords (separate with commas)
social protectio; single social assistance system; Social Assistance Referral Center; Technical Supervision
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_10
Diversity and Psychosocial Responses and Disaster Situations
#0045 |
Promoting Companion Animal Guardians with (dis)Abilities' Access to Veterinary Medical and Behavioral Services during COVID-19: Affordability, Feasibility, and Accessibility
The study aims to explore COVID-19-driven societal impacts on companion animal guardians living with (dis)Abilities relating to veterinary medical and behavioral service access. Companion animal guardians with (dis)Abilities are expected to confront more challenges than their counterparts without (dis)Abilities. However, current research rarely investigated COVID-19-specific impacts on access to veterinary medical and behavioral services from the lens of persons with (dis)Abilities (PWDs). This study used in-depth interviews to qualitatively illustrate that: (1) COVID-19 has worsened PWDs' already precarious financial capacity to pay for veterinary services; (2) Existing social support programs do not effectively address PWDs' unique requirements, supporting a healthy human-animal bond; and (3) Curbside veterinary services triggered extra emotional burden towards PWDs. This study suggests that building PWD-driven social assistance and support programs would help reduce these barriers and promote a healthy human-animal bond.
Keywords (separate with commas)
People living with (dis)Abilities, Companion animal guardians, human-animal bond, COVID-19, Challenges
#0063 |
Engaging new immigrant ethnicities in settlement services: Lesson learned from the in-person and virtual settlement services pre- and peri-COVID-19 in Metro Vancouver, Canada
Haorui Wu1
;
Puge Li
2
1 - School of Social Work, Dalhousie University.2 - Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House.
Most community-based settlement services generally treat new immigrants as a homogeneous group. Addressing the interplay between the new immigrants’ ethnicities and their patterns of accessing settlement services remains under-researched, jeopardizing newcomers’ community social engagement in the new environments. Contextualizing the settlement services\ before and during COVID-19, this project examined the role of new immigrants’ ethnicities in participating in virtual and in-person settlement services.\ An online survey recruited 122 newcomers in Metro Vancouver, Canada, to investigate\ the correlations between their ethnicities, the immigration programs they accessed, and their assessments of the importance, challenges, and key benefit of using in-person and virtual settlement services before and during COVID-19, respectively. The results confirm the statistically significant relationships between ethnicity and the five investigated factors pre- and peri-COVID-19.\ This study argues that engaging ethnicity in developing settlement services would better meet clients’ unique needs and support their social and economic integration. It supports settlement service agencies and providers to improve their services to better support newcomers’ post-COVID-19 community engagement and build their cope capacity for future extreme events.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
settlement services, ethnicities, in-person, virtual, community engagement, emergency management
#0099 |
Living in the Shadows: Experiences of Non-Syrian Refugees in Turkey
In recent years, Turkey has received an influx of refugees due to conflicts within the surrounding region, particularly in Syria. Turkey is currently home to over 3.6 million refugees from Syria and nearly 322,000 from other countries. With focus on and prioritized funding for the larger population of Syrians, non-Syrian refugees receive less government and media attention, resulting in inequities and substantial challenges experienced by this community. There is a significant need to understand the experiences of non-Syrian refugees residing in Turkey. This mixed-methods study explores the well-being, needs, and existing strengths and support systems of non-Syrian refugee communities in Turkey. Data were collected from refugees and asylum seekers through electronic surveys and focus group discussions. Survey of service providers served as another data point for triangulation. Themes of difficulty accessing protection, healthcare, fair employment, housing, education and other basic needs were identified. A tiered system of the treatment of refugees was revealed, with black refugees describing their experiences as “worse than slavery” as they navigated intersecting forms of marginalization associated with their various racial, ethnic, religious and cultural identities. The findings of this study highlight the importance of protecting all human rights regardless of nationality, race, age, gender, religious and other identities. Lack of financial support from governments and international community to address basic needs and protect all human rights, as well as the politicization of response to refugees by governments, are of greatest concern. The study has important implications for policy and programming around response to needs of various groups of refugees.
Keywords (separate with commas)
refugees, asylum seekers, Turkey, diversity
#1585 |
Inclusive COVID-19 and Post Covid-19 Mental Health Interventions: lessons from the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda-NASWU
John Mary Ssekate1
;
Michael Byamukama Ntanda
1
1 - National Association of Social Workers of Uganda-NASWU.
In Uganda, approximately 14 million people, or 35% of the population, are currently facing mental health challenges exacerbated by various factors such as post-COVID-19 trauma, protracted conflicts, migration, and poverty. The Uganda Ministry of Health has identified depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, HIV-related dementia, alcohol disorder, and anxiety as the most prevalent mental health issues in public and private hospitals. However, stigma surrounding mental health, a lack of resources and access to information, and inadequate funding (less than 1% of the total health budget) continue to hinder effective mental health care in the country.Despite regional and international commitments to prioritize mental health services, inclusive interventions remain limited. The National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU) is working to address these gaps by providing support to frontline social workers through mentorship, webinars, and mental health conferences. By focusing on reducing stigma, hopelessness, distress, and trauma, NASWU aims to strengthen community systems and improve mental health service delivery, particularly in disaster and post-disaster situations.NASWU's efforts have shown positive results, with reports indicating reduced stigma, distress, and trauma, as well as improved community mental health services. Through initiatives like a national virtual advocacy campaign, NASWU has helped frontline social workers enhance the efficiency of mental health services and build resilience among individuals, families, and communities. Moving forward, NASWU plans to continue collaborating with the Uganda Ministry of Health, social work agencies, universities, and civil society to expand their inclusive mental health interventions and scale up their impact.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Covid-19, mental health, trauma
15:05 - 16:05
Area_11
Post Pandemic Social Work and Social Welfare
#1233 |
Build it and they will come: Interdisciplinary and inter-organizational collaboration for developing inclusive systems in a post-COVID landscape in New York City.
Denise Torres1
;
Rogelio Thomas Sr MD
2
;
Rogelio Thomas, Jr.
2
;
James McFarlane
2
;
Dina Pilgrim
3
1 - ALMHA.2 - Hands on Health Associates.3 - Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare.
Consistent with the Global Agenda’s promotion of wellbeing through human relationships, this symposium shares evidence-based approaches to advancing equalities. The authors share their collaboration for the development of a mental health clinic in New York City committed to enhancing communities and promoting sustainable social wellbeing.\ Finding behavioral health care is a\ national crisis, while here in the first US pandemic epicenter we are in\ critical need of both care and clinicians. \ We present lessons learned in expanding services, enhancing partnerships, including identifying obstacles and opportunities in delivering mental health and addiction services to treat averse populations post-COVID, the organizational and technological mitigation strategies to strengthen systems, and the emerging workforce and instructional issues needing redress to promote diversity and inclusion. The papers will be in dialectic, underscoring the linkages and dependencies between issues.\ Paper #1:\ Using regulations \ for culturally responsive mental health services\ Drawing from national, local, community, and organization statistics, the presenters will address the need for community-based mental health services, including the barriers to and processes leading to state certification.Paper #2: \ Conceptualizing the hybrid clinicServices must move beyond in-person sessions and blend in-person, telephonic, and virtual modes of delivery. The presenters describe strategies to build individual and community capacity by\ addressing\ the shortage of clinicians and the lack of access to care.\ The presenters will draw from recent analysis of the benefits from each mode to help participants assess organizational needs.\ Paper #3: Diverse and inclusive recruitment for interns and staff—challenges and progress\ The COVID epidemic exacerbated challenges to inclusive recruitment of individuals with disabilities.\ The use of two interventions, Universal Design for Instruction and Universal Design for Learning, to increase access to and enhance environments for individuals living with a disability are elaborated using a case example and technological challenges to implementation addressed. \ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
Mental health, addictions, underserved populations, , community based care, clinic certification, culturally responsive care, service delivery strategies, hybrid work, disability, universal design, diversity, equity and inclusion, technology
#1446 |
Using regulations to deliver quality culturally responsive mental health services
Drawing from national, local, community, and organization statistics, the presenters will address the emerging need for community-based mental health services. As well, given the short and long-term sequelae of New York City being the first COVID epicenter in the US, impact of the pandemic will be explored including expanded mental health need, operational and organizational infrastructure and systems changes, and the barriers to and processes leading to state certification is discussed. Lastly, drawing from experiences in delivery services in the ‘new normal’, authors will identify organizational change needs.\ Using agency based data, the authors will assist participates to 1) capture and report needs and trends in their organizations; 2) leverage internal statistics for organizational expansion; and 3) engage governmental stakeholders in planning.
Keywords (separate with commas)
clinic operations, mental health needs, post-pandemic mental health, organizational change
In a post-COVID context, services must move beyond traditional in-person sessions and incorporate a blend of in-person, telephonic, andvirtual modes of delivery (Zanagani et al., 2022), with each method offering advantages and disadvantages for recruitment and retention. The presenters describe strategies to build individual and community capacity by\ addressing\ the shortage of clinicians and the lack of access to care simultaneously.\ Drawing from recent analysis of the benefits from work-from-home (WFH), hybrid, and traditional models, participants will learn general considerations and approaches to 1) expand networks for recruitment; 2) resource and equip workers across the skill and experience spectrum; and 3) maintain employee engagement.\ Zangani, C., Ostinelli, E. G., Smith, K. A., Hong, J. S., Macdonald, O., Reen, G., ... \& Cipriani, A.(2022). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global delivery of mental health servicesand telemental health: systematic review.\ JMIR mental health,\ 9(8), e38600.
Keywords (separate with commas)
service delivery, mental health needs, post-pandemic mental health, organizational change, telehealth
#1448 |
Diverse and inclusive recruitment for interns and staff—challenges and progress
Dina Pilgrim1
;
Denise Torres
2
;
James McFarlane
3
1 - Stonybrook University School of Social Welfare.2 - ALMHA.3 - Hands on Health Associates.
The COVID epidemic exacerbated existing challenges related to inclusive recruitment of individuals with disabilities. The use of Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are two interventions that increase access to and enhance environments for individuals living with a disability. The authors will explain Universal Design principles and, using a case example, explore technological challenges to their implementation.\ At the end of the presentation, participants will 1) understand Universal Design principles and their relationship to diversity, equityand inclusion; 2) recognize the similarities between UDI and UDL; and 3) how student interventions are consistent with developing a learning organization (Senge, 1990).Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization.
It is well known that social work students enter the profession with higher scores of adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Add to that the fact that COVID-19 has forced higher education institutions to shift to online teaching and learning where students, faculty and field educators in social work education have reported increased stressors as well as posing challenges in developing relationships with students, and being able to identify mental health challenges including those related to trauma. This multi-institutional project included three Canadian post-secondary institutions at five sites (University of Waterloo, University of Calgary [Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge], University of Manitoba) and partners; Desire To Learn (D2L), The Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo and the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. A sequential mixed method research design was used. Survey data was collected from students, faculty and field education staff from the 3 universities using the Qualtrics Insight Platform, followed by virtual focus group data with students to provide greater clarity to the quantitative data. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS software while focus group data was transcribed verbatim and organized with N-Vivo 12. Thematic analysis used line-by-line coding and constant comparative methods within and across focus groups. The following three objectives of the study were achieved: 1) Establish a Canadian baseline on trauma informed pedagogy and student experiences of trauma informed teaching in the online higher education environment during a pandemic; 2) Identify and document educator and student experiences of online learning regarding the ability to process trauma experiences; and, 3) Transfer the findings into a trauma informed pedagogical model for Social Work as a first step toward developing a universal trauma informed teaching model. The trauma informed pedagogy model will be presented in relation to the study findings.
Keywords (separate with commas)
trauma informed pedagogy (TIP); social work; mental health; online education
#0233 |
Alternative Grading: Addressing bias and inequalities in post-pandemic social work education
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that traditional grading approaches highlighted inequalities and left those students with economic and medical privilege in a position to achieve better grades simply because of the resources available to them. This clarity has underscored the empirically supported bias—conscious or unconscious—in traditional grading (Malouff, 2008; Malouff, 2010; Malouff, Stein, Bothma, Coulter, & Emmerton, 2014; Malouff & Thorsteinsson, 2016) Historically, alternative grading’s approach is grounded in the works of DuBois, hooks and Freire where faculty no longer deposit knowledge into the student but rather asks educators to focus on problem solving education and an emphasis on mutual humanity rather than faculty as expert (Freire, 1970, Micheletti, 2010). Grading in higher education is driven by various (and often, competing) instructor goals including providing feedback to students, engaging and motivating students, and evaluating learning. But much of the research on grading suggests that we are not achieving these goals with our current grading practices; in fact, grading may inhibit the kind of pedagogical practices that could create a more effective and engaging classroom learning environment (Schinske & Tanner, 2014). Alternative grading practices (including ungrading, Blum, 2020) requires instructors to reevaluate their pedagogies and redesign their courses resulting in more inclusive/equitable outcomes for students—and more rewarding experiences for instructors (Stommel, 2020). Consistent with this critical reevaluation, the presenters will highlight one way that alternative grading has been utilized in their classroom. Research data about the students’ learning experience with this approach will also be shared.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Alternative grading, Grading inequities, social work education
#0286 |
Respect and inclusion for essential immigrant workers Post COVID 19: Implications for Social Work practice
This paper addresses a relational conceptualization of social exclusion and social inclusion, and their association with essential undocumented workers in jobs that have high levels of risk during and after the pandemic – agriculture production, meat packing processing, and nursing homes. COVID-19 has exposed the systemic undervaluing of work that is now clearly understood to be essential for societal survival. These industries are identified as part of the critical infrastructure workforce necessary to protect communities, and to ensure the continuity of functions critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security globally (DHS, 2020). Discussion includes narratives about these industries, their lack of necessary protection for immigrant workers, and the implications for social work practice and development. This paper is a call to action for social workers to construct social inclusion strategies working collaboratively with government, public and private sectors to promote respect, dignity, and the human rights of essential workers. Immigration policy solutions occur when there is a global public will to respect diversity through social inclusion processes and actions. Case illustrations demonstrate social inclusion strategies that allow undocumented essential workers to part of the social fabric. Governments need to redress financial relief, and a legal status for essential workers. Employers need to promote better working conditions, a steady labor force, a consistent living wage, and workmen’s compensation such as sick days, access, and availability to healthcare. These social inclusion measures can be done through a government, employer, employee partnerships to promote equitable economic and health justice. This paper is a call to action to reconstruct U.S. immigration policies and allow undocumented essential workers to come out of the shadows and become visible as part of the social fabric. Social workers must continue to advocate for a legal status, a pathway to citizenship, for essential workers.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social exclusion, social inclusion, essential undocumented workers, COVID 19, collaboration, government, public and private sectors.
#0814 |
To Synchronous or Asynchronous: The Impact from the Progressive Transition of the Master of Social Work for Working Professionals Program to Online Learning
Mohamad Musa
1
;
Irene Carter2
;
Wayne Ambeose-Miller
2
;
Robin Wright
2
1 - Cape Breton University.2 - The University of Windsor.
The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic forced many universities to switch their graduate academic programs to remote delivery. The presenters outline the institutional steps taken to transform course delivery of the existing Master of Social Work for Working Professionals program (MSWwp) from an in-person to an online delivery model. The MSWwp program replicated the inclusivity, accessibility, and the accreditation standards evident within the on-campus MSW program which was reflected in the positive overwhelming response of increased enrolment to the MSWwp program.\ \ The authors of this paper conducted an extensive pedagogical review of the literature in which they highlighted how existing online Master of Social Work programs deliver their curriculum while showcasing the similarities, differences, and the uniqueness of the MSWwp program at the University of Windsor. The authors employed an exploratory lens by engaging faculty, staff, and students within the MSWwp program to highlight the lessons learned from their involvement in this transformative and inclusive process.Results from this transformation discuss the integration of the virtual academic structure, instructors training during the pandemic, technological assistance provided, and students’ satisfaction with their remote learning experience. The authors also openly share the lessons learned from this progressive transformation to remote learning by the School of Social Work faculty and staff including insights from the School’s Director, the MSWwp Program’s Academic and Field Co-ordinators.This a first of its kind step-by-step model that outlines the successful transformation of a graduate social work program in Canada from in-person to online delivery. This unique account is manifested in the inclusive lessons experienced by faculty, staff, and students at the MSWwp program who enthusiastically worked to ensure the transformation to remote learning was successful and undisturbed by the global COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining the existing culture of the program within the larger institution.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Synchronous, Asynchronous, Lessons, Social Work, Transforming, Working Professionals, Remote Learning.
17:10 - 18:10
Area_11
Post Pandemic Social Work and Social Welfare
#1346 |
Post Pandemic Social Work in Schools and the need for inter-generational engagement
The pandemic contributed to schools being closed and children learning virtually from home. The children were able to learn academic knowledge but lacked in social emotional skills. With the easing of regulations post pandemic, children are coming back to schools; however, their social emotional skills are not at a level where the students interact with respect. Schools are seeing greater behavioral problems and more mental health issues post pandemic and the role of the social worker is more important. This is even greater in rural communities where grandparents are primary caretakers in the family. This necessitates inter-generational interventions to assist both academic performance and social emotional development. \
Keywords (separate with commas)
Post Pandemic SchoolsSocial WorkInter-generational interventionsSocial Emotional Learning
SS - ENG 10
11:30 - 12:00
Poster Presentation
12 - Tecnología Digital / Inteligencia Artificial en el Trabajo Social y en el Desarrollo Social
#0106 |
A Meta-Analysis on the Effectiveness of Digital Health Interventions in Reducing Bullying and Cyberbullying
• ObjectivesBullying and cyberbullying bring adverse physical and psychological impacts on individuals and an economic burden for society. Scholars have developed anti-bullying intervention programs to combat these problems. This meta-analysis aims to examine and compare the effectiveness of digital health interventions (DHIs) in reducing bullying and cyberbullying.• MethodA comprehensive search was conducted using databases (PsycINFO, Social Service Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, MEDLINE, ERIC, and EMBASE). Quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before 31 January 2021 that reported the effects of DHIs in reducing bullying or cyberbullying were included.• Results(1) The 16 studies included in the synthesis reported overall random effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for bullying and cyberbullying reduction were 0.41 and 0.19, respectively. (2) The overall random effect size was 0.28 at post-intervention, which was comparable to the effect sizes of traditional face-to-face interventions.(3) The subgroup analysis revealed that the critical components of effective DHIs include training on bystander and bully–victim dual roles, coping skills, and interactive serious games: The effect sizes on bullying bystander were significantly larger than the other groups (d=.51); The largest effect size was intervention on cyberbullying knowledge (d = 0.56);Digital interventions tended to be more effective in empathy improvement in cyberbullying interventions, and coping skills improvement in bullying interventions;The critical components of effective digital interventions include training on bystander and bully–victim dual roles, coping skills, interactive serious games and online forums, and one- to 6-month intervention duration• ConclusionsIt highlights the promising effects of digital health approaches in bullying and cyberbullying interventions. Our review identifies avenues for future research on the development of more effective DHIs to reduce bullying and cyberbullying.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Meta-Analysis, Bullying and Cyberbullying, Digital Health Interventions, Effectiveness
#0107 |
Effectiveness of GISCC program on cyberbullying prevention among Chinese adolescents
Background: The increasing use of social networking sites has increased the efficiency of social interactions but inevitably contributed to the risk of cyberbullying. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of offline intervention programs for cyberbullying, few have examined online interventions, especially in the Chinese context. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate an innovative Game-based Intervention for School- and Cyberbullying for Children (GISCC), which combines training on psychosocial and behavioral components with interactive role-play games. Participants and setting: A randomized trial method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the GISCC intervention, comprising 105 Chinese adolescents who were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 55) and control (n = 50) groups. Methods: Independent sample t-test, paired-samples t-test, ANCOVA, and MANCOVA were used to test the differences in the trained components before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed that the GISCC intervention significantly reduced cyberbullying behaviors (F = 37.50, p < 0.001), violence intentions (F = 4.95, p < 0.05), and mental health problems (F = 60.28 , p < 0.001); and increased self-efficacy (F = 18.26, p < 0.001), and conflict resolution skills (F = 36.46 , p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study provided empirical evidence in the Chinese context for digital health intervention approaches for cyberbullying prevention. We also identified the essential components for future research on developing effective digital intervention tools to reduce bullying and cyberbullying.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Digital health, cyberbullying, intervention, effectiveness
#0588 |
Conceptual Model of Digital Resilience for Youth
Laurel Hitchcock1
;
Melanie Sage
2
;
Todd Sage
2
1 - University of Alabama at Birmingham.2 - University at Buffalo.
Emerging research about the impact of digital technologies on adolescents increasingly confirms that technology can pose both risks and benefits, and characteristics of the youth and environment mediate the outcomes. Moral panic about potential harms of technology often leads adults toward risk mitigation in the form of removing access to technology, especially for marginalized youth; however, resilience models suggest that youth must have an opportunity to experience and overcome digital risks to develop resilience in the face of future risky situations. According to resilience theory, risk and protective factors mediate disparate outcomes, which present at individual, family, and community levels. Some research suggests that youth who are resilient in other areas of their life also experience fewer stressors when using digital and social technologies such as social media and mobile devices. However, an emerging body of research suggests that resilience in the face of digital stressors requires additional technical and relational literacies.This poster draws from resilience literature, offering a first effort at applying a conceptual definition to the term “digital resilience,” and presents an applied case study to illustrate how adults can work to assess and mitigate digital risks so that youth can benefit from digital affordances. We extend the concept of youth resilience to digital settings and frame the need for future research. We define digital resilienceas the ability to successfully adapt to and overcome significant stress, trauma, or tragedy that occurs in virtual, online, or digital spaces. We suggest that adigital resilience framework can help social work practitioners and other helping professionals think about and assess the risk and protective factors associated with a youth’s use of digital and social technologies.
Keywords (separate with commas)
digital resilience, youth, digital and social technology, social media
#0592 |
Social Work’s Contributions to the Scholarship on Technology: A Scoping Review
The Grand Challenges for Social Work (GCSW) is a 10-year initiative sponsored by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) based in the United States to address social problems using the science of social work. This poster will present the results of a scoping review that serves as a mid-point investigation for the GCSW’s challenge of using technology for social goodand seeks to understand how social workers contribute to the literature on technology and identify gaps in the scholarship on technology and social work during the first five years of the GCSW Initiative. We mapped the breadth and depth of existing literature published by social workers about technology between 2015 and 2019. Overall, we found a clear pattern that social work researchers were contributing to the scholarship on technology-mediated interventions and found evidence that technology had positive or helpful outcomes on work with client systems. Most research contributions to the literature on technology by social work researchers were interdisciplinary, often using the lens of other professions to frame and assess the research. Research gaps identified included a lack of social work scholarship outside of North America; low levels of collaboration with computer sciences, engineering, product design, and human-computer interaction specialists; and high levels of observational research, which is less rigorous, possibly affecting the GCSW's goal of using technology to make a social impact. We will share details about the results of this review and offer several directions to explore for future work related to digital and social technologies in social work practice. While our findings demonstrate that research gives a promising outlook for harnessing technology for social good, we also see numerous opportunities for future research beyond addressing the gaps identified in this review.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social and digital technologies, technology, Grand Challenges for Social Work
#0620 |
Educating students and social workers about productive and ethical uses of chatbots
This poster aims to examine the utilization of ChatGPT and other chatbots in the field of social work. We explore how these AI-powered conversational agents can serve as valuable tools for social work students and professionals when used appropriately, while also acknowledging the ethical dilemmas they can present when used inappropriately.As the demand for innovative technologies grows, social work must adapt to and leverage the benefits of AI, including chatbots. ChatGPT, one of the most commonly-used large language models, can support social workers by providing instant access to a vast repository of knowledge and resources. These chatbots can enhance understanding of theoretical frameworks, intervention strategies, and ethical considerations through interactive and engaging conversations, and can assist in clinical decision-making, and case formulation, thus improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social work practice.However, chatbot use in social work raises important ethical considerations. Chatbots sometimes “hallucinate,” making up “facts” that seem plausible but are not actually true. They can circumvent critical thinking when relied upon. They may be inappropriate when making practice decisions that rely on the substantive knowledge of the clinician. This poster highlights key questions that educators and social workers should ask to ensure ethical decision-making. We address questions such as: What are the appropriate uses of chatbots in social work?How can chatbots complement, rather than replace, the essential qualities of human connection and empathy?What measures can be implemented to ensure data privacy and security?How can we ensure that chatbots are inclusive and culturally sensitive to diverse populations?What are the potential biases and limitations of chatbots, and how can they be mitigated?Social work educators and professionals can navigate the ethical challenges to harness the potential benefits of chatbots in their practice, ultimately enhancing the delivery of social work services and improving client outcomes.
Keywords (separate with commas)
AI, chatbots, Chatgpt, technology, social work, innovation, futures, education, ethics
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
13 - Redes Sociales: Obstáculos y Oportunidades para las Diversidades
#0944 |
Podcast + Curriculum: A Tool for Students to Recognize Their Privilege and Increase Respect for Diversity
Social work faculty must prepare students to practice in a diverse and polarizing social and political environment. The US National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics requires that social workers “… take action against oppression, racism, discrimination, and inequities and acknowledge personal privilege …\ engag(e) in critical self-reflection (understanding their own bias and engaging in self-correction), recogniz(e) clients as experts of their own culture, commit to lifelong learning, and hold institutions accountable for advancing cultural humility.”However, when white social work students are asked to examine their whiteness and privilege and learn about others’ lived experiences, they often feel and express personal guilt, uneasiness, and defensiveness, known as “white fragility.” White fragility manifests in the classroom as self-justifying, denial, deflection, and anger towards faculty members and BIPOC students. Two cisgender female social work educators, one Black and the other white, use the podcast “Seeing White,” and accompanying assignments as a powerful tool to help students to manage their fragility and sit in the uncomfortable space needed to grapple with their socialization as white persons. Seeing White is produced and narrated by John Biewen, who is white. With leading racial identity scholars and historians, Biewen engages, unpacks, and discovers the purposely untold history of race and the creation of whiteness in America. Throughout, Biewen talks with Chenjerai Kumanyika, a colleague of color and professor of critical cultural media studies who helps Beiwen unpack his whiteness.The poster will describe the courses, the podcast, accompanying assignments, student comments, and pre-work each faculty member did to explore their racial identities before working with students. It will also include an interactive space for people engaging with the poster to share and suggest teaching tools they have found effective in helping students unpack their privilege, respect diversity, and move past fragility to social action.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
podcast, social work education, whiteness, privilege, white fragility, Black, white, race, USA
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_11
Post Pandemic Social Work and Social Welfare
#0746 |
Transforming the field education landscape: A partnership on training and mentorship
Julie Drolet1
;
Sheri McConnell
2
1 - University of Calgary.2 - Memorial University.
Practicum or field education, the signature pedagogy of social work education, is where students learn to integrate and apply the values, knowledge, complex practices, and skills of the social work profession.\ Despite its importance, field education is in crisis. Social work education programs are experiencing significant multi-layered challenges with delivering practicum experiences for students and with integrating research into field education. There is an urgent need to re-vision how the profession prepares the next generation of social workers.\ This presentation will discuss the TFEL partnership, the goal of which is to integrate research and practice in the preparation of social workers through partnered research training initiatives, within academia and across the public and not-for-profit sectors, to enhance student and trainee research practice knowledge and applied skill development.\ The team is comprised of researchers and partners from Canadian and foreign post-secondary institutions; provincial, national, and international social work associations; government departments; and private, public, and not-for-profit organizations. The partnership is built on an inquiry-based learning and transformational approach to create new opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows to explore, identify, and develop promising practices for integrating research training into social work practice.\ Training and mentoring activities are organized into three streams: (1) Digital Storytelling, (2) Development of Sustainable Field Education Models, and (3) Applied Practice Research. The partnership is structured to meaningfully engage all partner organizations to design new training, mentorship, research, and field education opportunities of relevance for the current and future generation of social work scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. \ This approach intends to transform social work field education through multi-partner engagement to generate unique resources and innovation, and to transition from a crisis model to sustainable models.\ This partnership (2019-2025) is funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) partnership grant.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work education, field education, practicum, research, applied practice research, sustainable field education models, innovative and promising practices, training and mentoring, digital storytelling, partnership
#0961 |
The Time is Now: A Trauma-Informed Guide for Program Planning and Evaluation of Post-Pandemic Child Welfare Agencies
Childhood trauma is a public health issue, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to bring awareness to this public health challenge children and youth face\ (SAMHSA, n.d.). Globally, an increase in childhood hunger, isolation, abuse, and mental health challenges like anxiety and depression is becoming more apparent. Access to education and social services has been disrupted and severely impacted due to the pandemic. This workshop will briefly examine a systematic literature review on trauma-informed care in program planning and evaluation. This workshop will provide methods agencies may use to apply trauma-informed approaches to program planning and evaluation, including technology and the conceptualization of Relational Cultural Theory (RCT), a theory traditionally used in direct practice, and its adaptability to mezzo and macro social work practice.\ Six practice guidelines incorporating trauma-informed care, relational cultural theory, technology, and data science approaches will be discussed. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to understand the importance of integrating trauma-informed practices into new or existing program planning and evaluation plans and develop trauma-informed questions in preparation for a new program or program evaluation. This workshop relates to two sub-themes: post-pandemic social work and social development and child/family welfare/child protection by bringing a call to action for more child welfare agencies to address trauma as a public health issue for our children and youth, who have been more exposed to trauma due to the pandemic but less likely to meet the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), by incorporating trauma-informed practices into the program planning and evaluation of their programs.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Trauma-informed care, program planning, program evaluation, child welfare, technology, data science, relational cultural theory
#1177 |
Post pandamic impact on public health facilitie of Bihar india a social work approach to addres this challeng
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses and gaps in the public health system of Bihar, one of the most populous and underdeveloped states in India. The pandemic has also highlighted the need for social work interventions to address the health and social challenges faced by the vulnerable and marginalized communities in Bihar. In this context, Mission 60 is a novel initiative that aims to improve the quality and accessibility of public health facilities in 60 days \ by using social work techniques such as community mobilization, advocacy, capacity building, and monitoring. Mission 60 is based on the principles of participation, empowerment, accountability, and sustainability. The main objectives of Mission 60 are to:- Strengthen the public health infrastructure and human resources in Bihar by providing adequate equipment, supplies, training, and incentives.- Enhance the awareness and utilization of public health services among the people of Bihar by conducting health education campaigns, outreach activities, and feedback mechanisms.- Promote the integration and coordination of public health services with other sectors such as urban department, sanitation, electric, administration etc.\ - Foster the participation and ownership of the local communities and stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs.- Create a culture of evidence-based practice and learning in the public health system by conducting research, documentation, and dissemination of best practices and innovations.Mission 60 is expected to have a positive impact on the public health outcomes and quality of life of the people of Bihar in the post-pandemic era. By using social work techniques, Mission 60 hopes to transform the public health system of Bihar into a more responsive, inclusive, and effective one that can meet the current and future needs of its population.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Mission 60 , Bihar, India, Public health Facilities, \ Social \ Work , participation, \ accountability\
#1355 |
Social work doctoral education in North America: Are we preparing the next generation to be stewards of the profession?
Elizabeth Lightfoot1
;
Cynthia Franklin
2
1 - Arizona State University.2 - University of Texas, Austin.
This study aimed to build on the current research on the PhD curriculum in social work in North America by examining types of courses that were offered in PhD curriculum across all Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE) member schools to gain a better understanding of the types and numbers of courses are being offered, and how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) were included in the curricula. GADE affiliated universities with PhD programs were studied (N= 85). Two graduate research assistants gathered data on each school by each school’s official website, including webpages and electronic student handbooks. Differences in coding were brought to a third coder for reconciliation. A fourth coder also independently checked the coding. The coding of the curriculum was further sent to the PhD director of the individual schools and directors were asked to check and verify the coding for their individual courses. Final coding was updated to reflect the changes indicated by the PhD director. The curriculum coding resulted in 1146 courses being coded under 28 categories, such as Research, History or Pedagogy. \ Programs offered an average of 6 research courses, while coursework in grant writing, measurement, literature reviews and meta-analysis, program evaluation, and intervention research were being offered in less than 20 percent of the programs. Only7% reported a dedicated course in DEI. \ There was a variability in courses that are offered across PhD curricula with a noticeable absence of specific research courses and noticeable gaps in courses in theory, social work profession and history, and policy. There is also a lack of course content on DEI, values and ethics as well as a lack of consistent education in pedagogy. Implications are that some graduates are not prepared with disciplinary knowledge to be stewards of the social work profession.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work education, doctoral education, social work profession, diversity equity and inclusion, PhD programs, research
15:05 - 16:05
Area_11
Post Pandemic Social Work and Social Welfare
#0669 |
Prosocial Strategies to Address Socioemotional Response to Uncertainty
\ The coronavirus pandemic we live through has consumed the news cycles, caused abrupt and drastic shifts in the rhythms of society worldwide, and presented a unique public health crisis unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. In addition to the physical health concerns of SARS-Cov-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19, the pandemic comes with several mental health concerns. The SARS pandemic of the early 2000s showed us a glimpse of the sort of mental health consequences that can occur in survivors: Post Traumatic Stress and other psychological symptoms have been well documented, and the impact continues for years. This pandemic, however, has reached magnitudes that evade living memory and has done so in the era of the 24-hour news cycle, widespread conspiracy theories, and accusations of fake news. The full psychological impact of this pandemic, like so many aspects of it, is still uncertain. Human civilization is arguably living through a period in which we trust our leaders less than ever. Our policymakers present self-serving wishful thinking as truth. Conspiracy theorists invoke names associated with power and prestige, alleging that the media, in cahoots with certain power players, is manufacturing hysteria, never mind the doctors and nurses sharing their harrowing experiences of watching death after death while fearing for their safety. Ultimately, it’s the individual’s responsibility to effectively control negative emotions. This paper will discuss proactive strategies to proactive respond to socioemotional responses to uncertainty, including 1) how to identify and reduce triggers;2) Tune into physical symptoms;3) monitor your self-talk;4)Engage in positive self-talk, and 5) Make choices about how to respond.\ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
Socioemotional, Pandemic, COVID, Mental Health
#0772 |
Post Pandemic health communication - A case study in Mumbai housing Society
Rashmi Pandey1
1 - International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).
AbstractThe COVID-19 outbreak had caused substantial trauma in our lives, which possibly increased frustration, anxiety, and annoyed emotions. Managing stress is complex, but helps to alleviate negative psychological effects. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients became more engaged with medical communication than\ ever. In addition to using digital mediums to communicate with their care teams, patients turned to the internet to learn more about the virus. They became comfortable performing research rather than waiting to hear what their doctor had to say, and they gained trust in the medical professionals who were providing them with frequent updates on the state of the virus.Medical professionals were using various online/digital platforms for providing prescriptions to the patients, checking patients’ report. Among all digital platforms “WhatsApp” was most popular and used, which still in use.So, the last two years have had a significant impact on the ways medical communication is read and distributed. This aspect of the pandemic is unlikely to change anytime soon.\ Design and Methods: Therefore, researcher conducted an online questionnaire-based survey. The study covers 40 household in Navi Mumbai to collect the data of health communication post pandemic.Results: Significantly it was found that majority of respondents still using an online option of consultation with their doctors. It saves time , money and energy. They visit hospital or doctor’s clinic in emergency or on unavoidable situations. It was also found that some organizations who pays medical benefits to their staff, they also started collecting medical prescriptions via WhatsApp.Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of time and health communication in post pandemic world. The trend has been changed now.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Health communication, Post Pandemic, Covid-19, communication, Social work, Social Development
#0787 |
Moving beyond COVID-19: Utilizing the research-practice approach to promote social justice for vulnerable and marginalized people
Social work is a practice-based discipline, where the research-practice approach encourages social work professionals to apply evidence-based strategies from their research to enhance their practice interventions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, six faculty members from the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, collaborated with community-based agencies (e.g., shelters, community clinics, and community centers) in Halifax to conduct a series of community participatory research projects to explore diverse COVID-19-driven impacts on different vulnerable and marginalized groups. These research projects concentrated on people experiencing homelessness, older adults, immigrants and refugees, migrant workers, women who experienced gender-based violence, people with (dis)Abilities, African Nova Scotian children, and 2SLGBTQIA+, who have been centred on social work research, practice, and policymaking. These research efforts contribute to a nuanced understanding of diverse vulnerabilities among these vulnerable and marginalized individuals and portray a full spectrum of their unique requirements, further informing the development of related social work practices to support them during COVID-19 and beyond. The six faculty members will build a knowledge mobilization symposium to translate their research-practice outcomes with other social workers through individual presentations and group discussions. This knowledge mobilization event will support other social work professionals to develop the best research, practice, and policymaking strategies to better serve the vulnerable and marginalized co-inhabitants in their communities. This research-practice approach will eventually contribute to reducing vulnerability, building resilience, and promoting social justice, moving beyond the disaster settings.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Research-practice approach, vulnerable and marginalized people, COVID-19, Vulnerability reduction, Building resilience, Knowledge mobilization
Write here the title of the Symposium and the name of who coordinates it:
Title: Moving beyond COVID-19: Utilizing the research-practice approach to promote social justice for vulnerable and marginalized people\ Coordinator: Dr. Haorui Wu
#0850 |
Re-Imagining Trauma-Informed and Culturally Responsive Schools of Social Work Post-COVID-19 Pandemic
Karen VanDeusen
1
;
Dee Sherwood
1
;
Marian Tripplett1
;
Courtney Jones
2
1 - Western Michigan University.2 - Michigan State University.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced heightened awareness and exposure to human suffering, sickness and death, moral injury to healthcare professionals and essential workers, and the increased visibility of systemic racism as we witnessed televised acts of police brutality, political violence, and the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations. Trauma became ubiquitous. Over the last 10 years, Schools of Social Work have increasingly developed specialized programs and curricula that focus on trauma-informed practice. Likewise, organizations, elementary and secondary schools, government, and NGOs have sought out trauma-informed and culturally responsive training, leading to the development of organizational assessment tools and guidelines. In higher education, the pandemic exposed the widening gap between knowledge of specialized trauma practice and the application of trauma-informed and culturally responsive policies and organizational structures. In the post pandemic era, can Schools of Social Work be re-imagined as spaces that facilitate post-traumatic growth and collective care through the application of trauma-informed and culturally responsive organizational principles? We provide a framework to assist Schools of Social Work seeking to implement trauma-informed and culturally responsive principles in academic settings, within the domains of administrative structures, implicit curriculum, explicit curriculum, field education, and organizational assessment. We conclude with recommendations for best practices, resources, and tools for evaluation.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Trauma-Informed, Culturally Responsive, Trauma, Social Work Education, Organizational Structures
16:10 - 17:10
Area_11
Post Pandemic Social Work and Social Welfare
#0130 |
Experiential learning of cultures through virtual international collaboration
Students in the intercultural social work course in the BSW program at MacEwan University in Canada took part in experiential learning of another culture through virtual collaboration with social work students in India. The international exposure gave the students an opportunity to learn about social work in another country. Each student team consisting of social work students from Canada and India studied a cultural topic and prepared a digital story. Students used social media platforms to connect with their counterparts in India. This collaboration helped in developing a detailed understanding of another culture and contributed to their cultural competency. However, there were challenges in the process like differences in time and barriers in language. The virtual international collaborations open opportunities for connecting innovative pedagogy in intercultural learning and practice. This presentation will share this collaboration's process, experiences, and challenges.
Keywords (separate with commas)
virtual, international collaboration, culture, learning
#0170 |
Securing the Sustainable Development Goals: Post-Disaster Social Work Practice with Black Communities in Toronto
Throughout the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic the vulnerability of Black and other racialized communities in Canada emerged as a key concern for health and social services providers, policymakers and researchers. A compounding of structurally generated inequalities impacting income, employment, access to health and social services and susceptibility to contracting COVID-19, highlighted Black communities as a focal point evidencing the disproportionate impact of the pandemic. This paper presents findings of a constructivist grounded theory study of 20 frontline staff who provide social services at Toronto-based agency. The study agency provides on-site and mobile housing support services to adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The study aimed to understand how social service provision to Black communities were understood and implemented and what the prospects are for future preparedness. Conceptually, a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) logic and a systemic resilience lens were utilized to examine the agency’s capacity for developing sustainable partnerships with vulnerable communities as framed by SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and (Inclusive and Resilient) Communities, and SDG 17 – Sustainable Partnerships). The framework allowed the researchers to examine agency responses to the pandemic in relation to Black communities and its ability to integrate its micro-level service goals, policies and outcomes with larger broader macro-level goals such as achieving country-level sustainability targets. Findings illustrate that supporting Black communities remains a sustainability challenge and that the application of a practical systems logic in social service agencies can result in meaningful interventions that support collaboration, inclusivity and resilience.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Post-Disaster Resilience, Sustainable Development Goals, Black Communities, Social Services, Canada
#0171 |
Sustainable Development Goals and Post-Pandemic Social Work: Lessons from a Community-Based Agency
Inter-linkages between the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and pandemic-related vulnerabilities have not received adequate attention at the level of the community. The ability of vulnerable populations to navigate challenges associated with accessing good health, food security and safe, inclusive communities frame the local contexts of the SDGs to which Canada is a signatory. Thus, the efficacy of the SDGs is also hinged on what happens on the social services frontlines from which data is later funnelled to policymakers. This paper presents the findings of a grounded theory study of 20 social service providers and 20 service users at a community-based social service agency in Toronto. The study agency provides on-site and mobile housing support services to adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Drawing on a systemic resilience lens, the study aimed to understand how the pandemic has and continues to impact how these populations negotiate their access to nutrition (SDG 2 - Zero Hunger) and to good health and well-being (SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being). Findings illustrate that social service provision and utilization during the pandemic were framed by the social services agency’s broader social development goals and risk management strategies. The data also pointed to a need for explicit strategies that can enhance post-pandemic systemic resilience. The paper fosters an understanding of the integrated nature of risk management and systemic resilience strategies in social services agencies’ support of vulnerable populations and by extension, their advancing of sustainability goals at the community level.
Keywords (separate with commas)
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Resilience, COVID-19, Community-Based Social Services, Canada
#1583 |
Examining Treatment Effects of the FRIENDS Resilience Program Among Zambian Children: Results from a School-based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
"BackgroundWhile 1 in 7 sub-Saharan African children faces significant psychological challenges, access to mental health services for children is limited. The My FRIENDS Youth Program, a universal cognitive-behavioural intervention for anxiety prevention and resilience enhancement, has demonstrated effectiveness across cultures in children and adolescents. This study explored whether the program’s effectiveness extends to Zambian children.MethodsParticipants were 71 children aged 10 to 15 attending schools in low-income communities in Zambia. Four schools were randomly assigned to an intervention (N = 41) or waitlist control group (N =30). Researchers, blind to condition, collected data at 3 waves for the treatment group: baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and at 3-month follow-up (T2), and 4 waves for the control group, which included a second baseline (conducted simultaneously with the treatment group’s post-comparison assessment). Data were analyzed using longitudinal multilevel modeling and controlled for child and parent sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsWe found no statistically significant reduction in symptoms of the treatment group, compared to the control group (Anxiety: b = 0.45, p = .696; Depression: b = 0.15, p = .876). However, the treatment group showed a reduction in anxiety symptoms between post-treatment and 3-month follow-up (b = -2.14, p = .004), but not depression symptoms (b = 0.20, p = .785). The control group experienced a reduction in both anxiety and depression symptoms between post-treatment and 3-month follow-up (Anxiety: b = -1.89, p \< .001; Depression: b = -1.22, p = .010).ConclusionsResults from this rigorously designed trial suggest that the My FRIENDS Youth Program was not effective in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms between pre- and post-treatment. However, results do suggest potentially delayed effects of the intervention. Future research may need to further adapt this intervention to better meet the needs of children in Zambia."\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Anxiety, Depression, Children, Zambia, My FRIENDS Youth, sub-Saharan Africa, Resilience\
17:10 - 18:10
Area_12
Digital Technology / Artificial Intelligence in Social Work and Social Development
#0213 |
The Usage and Impact of an Open Educational Resource (OER) Textbook Option in a Social Work Skills Course on Student Learning
The purpose of this paper presentation is to discuss a study that assesses the usage and effectiveness of a social work open educational resource (OER). The focus of the study is aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals of providing quality education and reduced inequalities. Educational costs, including the price of textbooks, have increased steadily over the years. Social Work OER can use open source technology to help reduce the cost associated with a college education and remove some of the financial barriers faced by students (Lindshield and Adhikari, 2013). Through the use of technology, OER provides greater access to learning materials for a wider array of students with varying income levels. This study involves the usage of a social work OER workbook created in Pressbooks, which is an open source project that provides new models for book publishing. Students who used the book in an undergraduate social work basic skills course were asked to complete an anonymous survey at the end of the semester and reflect on the impact of this type of technology on their educational experience. In addition, educators who accessed the workbook through the Pressbooks website were asked to complete an anonymous survey about their usage of the OER workbook and to gather feedback. This study stems from previous research we have conducted that shows alternative textbook options help to neutralize income disparities between students when purchasing textbooks and are more easily accessible. Data from this study are still being collected but initial analyses seem to support our previous research. More complete preliminary findings relating to this OER’s impact on students and educators will be shared during the session.
Keywords (separate with commas)
open educational resource, technology, alternative textbook, social work education
#0294 |
THE SCOPE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN SUPERVISION OF SOCIAL WORKERS: PRACTICES, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Supervision of social workers has been defined throughout its evolution by supportive, administrative and educational functions to ensure that social workers render the best possible services to service users. The use of digital media and technologies in these services has been increasingly normalised to keep up with the latest inventions; and the Covid-19 pandemic enlarged the scope of ICTs in social work globally. In turn, this propelled the incorporation of new digital technology practices in supervision of social workers. However, research is globally chiefly focussed on ICTs in social work intervention, and findings are scant regarding the potential scope of ICTs in supervision of social workers. To bridge this gap, an exploratory qualitative study was initiated with 20 South African frontline social workers in diverse agencies and communities. Supervision of social workers in South Africa is aligned with supervision practices globally, as established by recent international collaborative studies in this field. Findings as reported in this paper, may thus be juxtaposed with other international contexts in the field. Key conclusions suggest that the way in which the functions of supervision were traditionally operationalised, changed drastically when the use of a myriad accessible and innovative ICT tools such as social media platforms, digital collaboration tools, software applications, cloud computing and chatbots (AI) were embraced. Recommendations focus on the creation of transformative learning environments in social work agencies, with all role players being predisposed towards venturing through the taxing, multiple cutting-edge digital inventions and novel professional complexities, engendered by the scope and incorporation of ICTs in the supervision dyad. The issues and challenges outlined in this paper may serve as guidelines to both supervisors and supervisees to determine whether the use of particular ICTs is potentially harmful or helpful in their supervision practices.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social Work supervision; Information and Communication Technology
#0339 |
The convergence between neoliberalism and digital technology: Awakening individual and societal consciousness for a sustainable, resilient and just post-pandemic world
The global financial crisis, the climate crisis and the crisis of Covid-19 coalesced to begin to challenge some of the myths of neoliberal capitalism. Neoliberalism is both a precursor to Covid-19, and a cause of some of the devastating consequences of the virus, with Covid-19 exacerbating the crises of neoliberal states. But would Covid-19 put neoliberalism on trial? Some thought this might happen following the global financial crisis in 2007-2008 but this, unfortunately, did not materialize. Given the hegemony of neoliberalism, imploding the myth that unbridled economic growth and GDP ensures development and wellbeing will require a strong counterhegemonic discourse, with popular movements continuing the pressure in challenging global capitalism. We are at a conjectural moment in world history which holds potential to create cracks in the consciousness of people about a system deemed to be inviolate. There can be no reverting to a pre-Covid-19 normal moving from one crisis to the next. In this presentation, I discuss the normalization of liberal democracy and neoliberalism, and the convergence between digital technology (DT) and neoliberalism. I conclude by calling for an awakening of individual and societal consciousness, and for liberating DT from the constraints of neoliberalism in the interests of an emancipatory politics and more just societies.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Liberal democracy, neoliberalism, digital technology, social movements, emancipatory politics, social justice
SS - ENG 11
11:30 - 12:00
Poster Presentation
14 - Trabajo Social, Política Social y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
#0197 |
Integrated Aquaculture for Food Production, Education, Empowerment, and Development (iFEED)
This interactive workshop introduces participants to a transdisciplinary social development initiative (iFEED) that leverages the disciplines of agriculture and social work to build organizational and community capacity to advance food sovereignty and sustainable development using participatory, empowering, equitable, and rights-based practices. The world's population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 (United Nations, World Population Prospect 2019) and global demand for animal proteins may rise by as much as 88% (Cottrell et al., 2018; Searchinger et al., 2018), much of which will be consumed at levels exceeding guidelines for healthy eating. How to feed a growing population a healthy (nutritious) and sustainable diet is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today (Willet et al., 2019). Aquaculture has multiple connections to the SDGs and plays a central role in food security and nutrition for billions of people constituting a cornerstone of many people's livelihoods, economies, and cultural practices. This workshop will use a practice examples from the iFEED project to elucidate knowledge on the important role of social work in advancing sustainable development, specifically as it relates to reducing poverty and hunger, promoting good health and well-being, and quality education in ways that provide decent work and economic growth and reduce inequalities. Special attention will be given to the socio-economic investments, methods, and approaches used to build organizational and community capacity and the emerging sustainable development outcomes and impacts that have resulted from the iFEED project. Finally, social and human rights issues related to social work and aquaculture will be discussed to co-build a new eco-social world based on values that shape policies and practices to ensure sustainability and good quality life-cycles – not only for each human being but for each part of our eco-systems on which we all depend, leaving no one behind!
Social workers serve an essential role in supporting first- and second-generation immigrant communities, which respectively constitute 14.1% and 12.3% of the US population. Yet, social workers often lack sufficient trainings specific to the needs of immigrant communities. This lack of training may be particularly detrimental, considering the heightened stress faced by immigrants in recent years of heightened exclusionary policies throughout much of the world and COVID-19. Toward strengthening social work training, the current study draws from an open-ended question in a larger survey to better understand what first- and second-generation immigrants perceive as needing from social workers. Community-based and Qualtrics panel samples were collected between April-June 2021. Data for this current study were drawn from the question, “How can social workers support immigrant communities?”\ Content analysis strategies were employed due to the brevity of responses to this question. Data from participants who provided coherent responses to the question (n=265) were analyzed by four coders, who met to incrementally merge codes. Codes were finalized into five themes: 1) Resources for Immigrants; 2) Doing Right by Immigrants; 3) Advocacy; 4) Understanding Immigrants; and 5) Negative Attitude Toward Immigration. The first four themes highlighted conceptual and tangible approaches social workers can employ to better support immigrant communities. These approaches included supporting basic, health, and legal needs (Resources for Immigrants), reducing discrimination (Doing Right by Immigrants), promoting inclusive policies and speaking against anti-immigrant sentiment (Advocacy), and learning the cultures of those being served (Understanding Immigrants). The fifth theme, Negative Attitude Toward Immigration, was reflected in 15 participant responses and focused on exclusive policies toward undocumented immigrants. These 15 responses were outliers to the rest of the data. Findings are meaningful to helping social workers understand the ways that immigrants perceive needing their support and have implications for training the future workforce.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work, Immigration, Service provision, Resources for immigrants, Immigration policies, Advocacy
#1299 |
Sistematización, metodología de generación de conocimientos en las ciencias sociales: un análisis bibliométrico.
Ronald Zurita-Castillo1
;
Victor Yañez Pereira
1
;
Valentina Contreras Vera
1
En el presente trabajo se exponen los principales resultados, hallazgos y conclusiones del estudio de profundidad exploratoria y en desarrollo en torno al concepto de Systematization. La sistematización, como metodología de producción de conocimientos, encuentra su raíz de surgimiento en las ciencias sociales en la década de 1960, con un arraigo en la tradición latinoamericana. El estudio se aboca a la discusión en torno al uso del concepto de sistematización, asumiendo que una de las dificultades primigenias en las ciencias humanas y sociales, es la relativa al uso de términos y conceptos.\ Para el abordaje del concepto se realizó un análisis bibliométrico de citación, co-citacion, palabras clave y resumen, de la literatura relevante contenida en la base de datos Web of Science (WoS).\ Se realizó un análisis bibliométrico, que incorpora análisis de citación, análisis de la producción científica anual, análisis de las fuentes (revistas) más relevantes, análisis de autores de mayor relevancia, análisis de la producción científica por país y análisis bibliométrico de los documentos más citados. Para ello se trabajó con bases de datos de Web of Science, exportadas en formato Bibtex y analizados por software Rstudio, específicamente con paquete Bibliometrix contenido en R, en interfaz gráfica de Biblioshiny.El estudio analiza un total de 867 documentos, en donde es posible constatar el uso multifacético del concepto de sistematización, destacando dos clústeres, estando el primero vinculado a la producción científica anglosajona y el segundo a la tradición latinoamericana, específicamente a la disciplina del trabajo social.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Systematization, bibliometrics, social work.
#1420 |
Family Involvement and Academic Self-efficacy Among Disadvantaged Children in sub-Saharan Africa
Background and Purpose: Research on educational outcomes such as school enrollment and learning achievements among youth have been a major focus in sub-Saharan Africa, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals aimed at reduced inequalities and promoting quality education. Zambia, with 53.4% of its population under the age of 18 and a median age of 16.7 years, ranks as the 8th youngest nation globally. Consequently, the country's economic growth will be largely shaped by the educational and socio-emotional development of its children. However, few studies explore factors that influence children's confidence in their ability to meet academic tasks and goals. This study addresses this gap by investigating factors associated with academic self-efficacy among low-income children in Zambia, with particular attention to the role of family.\ Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected in 2020, post Covid-19 school closures, among 5-7th graders from low-income neighborhoods in Lusaka, Zambia (N = 274). The dependent variables were continuous measures of academic self-efficacy (α= .72) and social self-efficacy towards teachers (α= .71). Predictor variables included family involvement in child’s education, academic performance, English proficiency, age, gender, and primary caregiver’s education level. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM).\ Results: The sample consisted of 56% females, and 46% males, with an average age of 13 years (SD=2.73). Results revealed significant positive effects of family involvement on child academic self-efficacy (β = 0.25, p\<0.05) and social self- efficacy with teachers (β = 0.25, p\<0.01). The child’s academic performance, ability to understand English and caregiver’s education level were also significant determinants of self-efficacy.\ \ Conclusions/Implications: Findings confirm the importance of family involvement towards enhancing children's self-efficacy. Implications for research and practice include efforts to facilitate and promote family involvement in children’s education, as well as needs assessment and supports to promote the development of self-efficacy among children.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Self-efficacy, Academic, Family involvement, \ Children, sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
15 - Innovación, Emprendimientos Sociales y Economía Popular
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_12
Digital Technology / Artificial Intelligence in Social Work and Social Development
#0103 |
MSW Students' Resilience during COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the general population, and the extent to which it affects Master of Social Work (MSW) students is unknown. This study therefore aims to examine resilience, attachment, and other mental health constructs among MSW students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronic surveys were emailed to United States MSW program directors to distribute to their MSW students. We evaluated the bivariate relationship between the variables and conducted a multiple hierarchical regression to predict resilience. The findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of resilience have lower levels of depression and PTSD. Furthermore, attachment avoidance, attachment anxiety, and self-efficacy were found to be statistically significant predictors of resiliency in the hierarchical regression. This study contributes to the literature on how COVID-19 stressors have impacted MSW students and the role that resiliency, self-efficacy, and attachment styles play in terms of mental health outcomes during the pandemic. These results are important when considering interventions to assist Master of Social Work (MSW) students during and after the pandemic, especially in reducing stress and promoting student success.
Social support plays a key role in wellbeing, yet one of the major preventative efforts for reducing the spread of COVID-19 involved social distancing. Financial, health and family stressors further complicated typical support networks. Much of the disaster response literature emphasizes social support as a coping mechanism and contributor to recovery. However, given the long-term nature of the pandemic, social supports, and life adjustments may have complicated feelings of isolation and connectedness. The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of COVID-19 on loneliness and well-being. A cross-sectional anonymous survey was conducted; participants (N = 318), ages 18 and over, volunteered to complete a brief 10-minute survey with items on isolation, COVID-19 impact, and well-being. The survey was administered electronically using Qualtrics and participants were allowed to skip any questions they did not feel comfortable answering. Results revealed that a high percentage (77%) reported that COVID-19 affected their interactions with others. Further, both social isolation and COVID-19 impact was correlated with respondents’ well-being (ps < .001). Additional analyses are being explored. Findings suggest that social support is an important consideration for understanding pandemic recovery. This presentation will identify methods to help to understand changes in social support and identify efforts that may help improve connectedness, which can buffer prolonged feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Keywords (separate with commas)
post pandemic, wellbeing, loneliness, isolation
#1197 |
How readable and accessible are the websites of the UK’s social work regulators by the public?
The readability and accessibility of online materials play an important role in not only encouraging readers to engage with the contents\ but also in enabling them to readily absorb and digest complicated information. As a result, a\ number of systematic reviews determined that online information should be written at a level that users of all educational levels can understand and access. In the United Kingdom, more and more service users, carers, and families are turning to the Internet for critical information, including how to refer a social worker to their regulator. This study investigated the readability and accessibility of fitness to practice-related\ information available online in four social work regulating organisations in the UK to establish how simply they are written and presented to service users, carers, and their relatives. In terms of examining readability total 33 documents from websites of four social work regulatory bodies were evaluated by using six readability formulas Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Score,\ Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index, Coleman Liau Index, Automated Readability Index. Also, thematic content analysis was utilised to examine the content of documents. Furthermore, interviews (N=12) and focus group discussions (N=02) were conducted with the public including to explore their needs and expectations. The study's findings revealed that the means scores of four regulatory organisations range from 50 to 57%, indicating that these resources require an adult reading age of at least 16 to 17-year-old children, which is higher than the average adult reading age in the UK. Similar conclusions were made in terms of accessibility, as none of the regulatory organisations' websites met the compliance criterion for accessibility. Two regulatory bodies do not have enough information regarding fitness-to-practice matters. We present recommendations for improvement based on discussion of the results with the regulators.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Accessibility, fitness to practice, readability, regulators, social work.
#1199 |
Exploring the Impact of Virtual Reality Simulations on Nurturing Professional Curiosity among Social Work Students in a UK Distance Learning Context
It is reported that the term professional curiosity (PC) is key with regards to safeguarding children. It first entered into social work in 2013. The majority of serious case reviews done in the UK relating to child protection stressed the importance of professional curiosity in child protection and recommended children's social workers to develop this competence. Although there is no agreed definition or characteristics of professional curiosity as of yet, some local authorities in the UK perceived PC to be about not taking things at face value and asking critical and challenging questions respectfully and sensitively to understand the social realities of children and families without being intrusive or threatening. Some believe it is about delving deeper into the needs of children and families by employing communication, negotiation, interpersonal, and persuasion abilities.\ The aim of this study was to determine if a virtual reality simulation support the development of professional curiosity for social work students in a distance-learning university in the UK.\ A descriptive qualitative study was conducted on social work students in their last year of education, using semi-structured pre and post-questionnaires. This research was carried out at a distance-learning\ university in the United Kingdom. This study included the participation of 26 social work students.\ According to the findings, the VRS encouraged students to become more open-minded, detect dangers and vulnerabilities in children and families, and become more open-minded themselves. They felt more capable after utilising the VRS with children and families to analyse difficult and contradictory evidence.Although the simulation was developed for social work discipline it can be used to train health workers and students in both health and social care discipline. This simulation can also be customised to train and assess both front-line and senior managers’ knowledge and skills in risk assessment and management.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Child protection, risk assessment, and management, safeguarding, social work, simulation, and virtual reality simulation\
15:05 - 16:05
Area_12
Digital Technology / Artificial Intelligence in Social Work and Social Development
#0729 |
The Unintended Consequences of a Digitized World: Different Tactics, Same Abuse
Over the years, we have seen drastic developments in technology which has altered the ways we interact with each other and the community. Social media platforms have expanded, gadgets/devices are available at our fingertips, and activities have moved online. The covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of pivoting, adapting, and utilizing the many benefits that technology provides us e.g., accessibility to attend services, comfort in engaging in services, and availability of services.\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Although there have been large improvements in accessibility to services and resources with the evolution of technology, the digitized world has increased harm to individuals experiencing intimate partner violence. Today, we are going to look at how the growth in technology has changed the way people are being abused and the reality that regulations and laws have not caught up with the advances in technology.\ \ Changes in technology have led to 1) new ways to harass a partner/ex partner- cyberbullying, cyber stalking, sexual harassment, posting of personal information etc. 2) Increased ways to monitor a partner/ex partner- GPS tracking, access to people's search history, banking information, emails, passwords etc. 3) Social media triggers- automatic display of "memories" on social media profiles.\ \ Solutions to these concerns can include 1) more opt in options vs. automatically opting into specific service options e.g., tracking services, locations being "on", being reminded of specific things on social media etc. 2) More safeguards related to ads/conversations e.g., less tracking on what someone searches/vocalizes that show up when using a device. 3) Notifications when accounts are made with the same name/image. We must ensure that prevention and safety strategies evolve with technology.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
#1025 |
Respecting Diversity Through Action: Supporting Displaced Ukrainians in Canada
\ Canada’s commitment to diversity must extend beyond rhetoric to concrete social action supporting vulnerable groups. This presentation examines results from a national survey of Ukrainians displaced by russian aggression who came to Canada under the CUAET program. It highlights their challenges, needs and messages to inform social action promoting their integration and wellbeing.The survey uplifts displaced Ukrainians’ voices. It gathers critical data on their motivations for choosing Canada, experiences accessing services, social connections, language abilities, and information sources. Participants identify key difficulties faced and supports needed in areas like housing, transportation, healthcare, and employment.These survey findings underscore the importance of social action tailored to Ukrainians’ expressed concerns. They provide vital insights to social work educators and communities around the world who stand with Ukraine to mobilize government, community organizations, and everyday citizens to facilitate Ukrainians’ adjustment through policy reforms, advocacy, programming, resources, inclusion efforts and public education.Respecting diversity requires moving beyond rhetoric to stand in concrete solidarity with displaced groups seeking refuge. Through coordination, advocacy and allyship, Canadians can demonstrate deep respect for the humanity, worth and dignity of those fleeing turmoil. This presentation invites discussion on implementing survey findings through social action to help Ukrainian newcomers thrive, not just survive in Canada and globally.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Stand with Ukraine, CUAET, Canada
#1186 |
Reducing social workers’ stress and burnout through online mindfulness-based interventions
Florin Lazar1
;
Anca Mihai
1
;
Lucian Alecu
2
;
Ovidiu Pop
2
;
Daniela Gaba
1
;
Adrian Luca
2
;
Georgiana Cristina Rentea
1
;
Elen Silvana Crivoi (Bobarnat)
1
;
Ana-Maria Mustatea
1
1 - University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work.2 - University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Education.
Social workers’ level of stress and burnout are among the highest within the helping professions. The aim of the current study was to test the effectiveness of an 8 weeks online Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on social workers’ perceived stress, burnout, coping, resilience, mental wellbeing, mindfulness and professional quality of life.An online 8 weeks MBI among 28 registered social workers from Romania was carried out between March-May 2023., as part of a randomized controlled trial. Paired Samples t-Tests compared pre-post intervention for variables of interest.\ The highest impact of MBI was on burnout (work-related burnout\ (M=42.19\ vs.\ M=33.33, p=0.003, 0.53 effect size,\ Cohen’s d 0.62,\ personal burnout (M=47,53\ vs.\ M=37,80, p=0.008, 0.49 effect size; Cohen’s d 0.552, client-related burnout (M=27.77 vs. M=20.06, p=0,016, 0,45 effect size; Cohen’s d 0,495.), perceived stress\ (M=0,4024\ –\ vs. M=0,3028 p=0,006, 0.50 effect size; Cohen’s d 0.570),\ resilience\ (perception-of-self dimension (M = 24.85\ vs.\ M = 26.37), p=0.006, 0.50 effect size,\ Cohen’s d -0.573,\ perception of the future (M = 16.59 vs. M\ = 17.70, p=0.010, 0.48 effect size; Cohen’s d -0,539 and\ social competence, (M=24.11 vs. M=25.85, p=0.029, 0.41 effect size; Cohen’s d -0.444.),\ wellbeing (M=27,75\ vs.\ M=29,10, t(27)= -2.718, p=.011, with 0,46 effect size; Cohen’s d -0,514), Professional Quality of Life (Compassion fatigue (M=22,25, vs. M=19,33, p = 0.036, 0.39 effect size; Cohen’s d 0,425) and Compassion satisfaction (M=40.85 vs. M=43.03, p = 0.031, 0.40 effect size; Cohen’s d -0,440). No statistically significant changes were recorded for coping, mindfulness and some dimensions of resilience.\ Online MBI are effective in reducing burnout, stress, compassion fatigue and increasing mental wellbeing, resilience and compassion satisfaction, but not on coping. MBI could be expanded to alleviate the negative impact of work-related stress and burnout on social workers’ mental health, but also to improve their resilience and wellbeing.
In 1950 Alan Turing first time posed the question if machines can think. Since then, Artificial Intelligence has evolved significantly and has come to dominate almost all areas of our society. Its growing popularity; and meantime, its promises to contribute to advance the future society have convinced social workers, too, to adopt the Artificial Intelligence in social work. And yet, there is a little discussion whether the use of the Artificial Intelligence is good for social work. And hence, this presentation will respond to this question based on four criteria: (i) Comprehension: Has the discipline of social work adequately understand about the Artificial Intelligence, (ii) Contribution: Will the use of the Artificial Intelligence affect social work positively or negatively in the future, (iii) Opportunity and Challenge: What are the opportunities and challenges for social work to adopt the Artificial Intelligence, and (iv) Ethics: Can social work manage and respond to the ethical questions while adopting the Artificial Intelligence in social work. Apart from contributing to the existing debates of social work and Artificial Intelligence, this presentation will further equip likeminded social workers to better reflect, as well as intellectually and ethically respond to the question where the use of Artificial Intelligence is good for social work in the future.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Artificial intelligence, social work, ethics, future of social work
#0565 |
Interdisciplinary Partnerships in Developing App-Based Self-Help: A Case Study of ResilientMoment App for Anxiety
In recent years, the integration of technology in mental health interventions has shown great promise in reaching broader populations and providing innovative treatment approaches (Denecke, Schmid, & Nüssl, 2022). As technology-based interventions increase in popularity, it is vital that they are based on evidence. Research finds that most mental health apps do not clearly define the evidence behind their apps, and partnership with mental health professionals is often not evident in app development (Wang, Fagan, & Yu, 2020). In the absence of a clinical expert, app developers may not appropriately translate evidence to practice, consider important user safety issues, or understand data governance related to personally identifiable information or government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in the US context (Huckvale, Nicholas, Torous, & Larsen, 2020). On the other hand, mental health experts often lack knowledge of the technical aspects of app development. This workshop focuses on collaboration between social workers and technologists in developing effective mental health apps, using a case study of ResilientMoment, an AI-powered app designed to treat anxiety.Using a case study approach, the workshop explores interdisciplinary collaboration, including strategies to identify and establish partnerships with technologists to bridge the gap between the domains of social work and technology. We will explore the disparities in language styles between social workers and technologists (author, 2023), and practical skills to foster effective communication and overcome potential barriers when working in interdisciplinary teams. Through interactive exercises, attendees will learn how to cultivate shared goals.We will discuss the translation of evidence-based practice and integration of user feedback in the development of technology-based social work interventions. By considering both scientific rigor and human-centered design principles, the workshop aims to equip social workers with the tools necessary to collaborate on tools that are effective, accessible, and user-friendly.
Keywords (separate with commas)
apps, technology, ai, social work, anxiety, mental health, interdisciplinary
#0647 |
Institutional materiality of migrant-led and migrant-serving organizations: The digital space for integration practices
Abstract: In critical discussions of integration practices, recent scholarship interrogates grassroots migrant/refugee-led organizations vis-a-vis professionalized immigrant-serving organizations as institutions in multilevel governance. Whereas the latter, as street-level bureaucracies, are constrained by policies, funding and the political sphere, migrant/refugee-led organizations enact resistances and affordances at the most local levels of governance. This paper contributes to this line of scholarship by way of a materialist lens, honing in on the relevance of space, infrastructure and relationality in analyses of integration practices. Analysis draws upon multiple sources of data from the United States and Canada as well as supportive data from Tunisia: participant observation, focus groups and interviews with organization leaders; interviews and surveys with immigrants and their families; and an environmental scan of immigrant-serving institutions. This paper argues that organizations’ occupying of physical space, use of digital tools and deployment of privatized resources are bound to their visibility as an institution and to the actuality of their integration practices. Borrowed office space, WhatsApp group chats, a migrant’s garage and a refugee’s grocery store, for instance, emerge as salient in examining integration practices. The material is examined not merely with tangible qualities, but also with symbolic capacities. That is, the physical spaces, digital tools and resources of RLOs yield meaning—affordances and limitations—that are crucial for their work. Thus, in their grassroots endeavors of disrupting dominant integration practices, not only the symbolic legitimacy but also the institutional materiality of migrant/refugee-led organizations go hand-in-hand and are mutually accountable.
The fast-paced development of digital technologies in the areas of social media, pet robots, smart homes, and artificial intelligence (AI), among others, has a profound influence on the daily lives of older adults. It also has the potential to improve the well-being and life satisfaction of one of the most vulnerable populations of older adults, older immigrants and refugees who suffer migration-associated stress, loneliness, health and psychosocial challenges. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-stage framework, we conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical studies published in English with no time restrictions to understand the impact of digital technologies on the well-being of older immigrants and refugees. We searched nine databases for the reviews, and abstracts were reviewed using Rayyan QCRi(c) before the full-text review. The comprehensive database search yielded 4134 articles, of which 15 s met the inclusion criteria. The results of the review suggest that digital technology is essential to the well-being, quality of life and life satisfaction of older immigrants and refugees, especially for maintaining and building new social support networks, navigating opportunities, coping with migration-induced stress through e-leisure and physical activities, and staying connected to their culture. The literature also revealed poor utilisation of digital technologies amongst older immigrants and refugees, suggesting barriers to access. Hence, more research and intervention should focus on multiple strategies, including education for increased digital technology access and utilisation, so that more older migrants can benefit from the advantages of digital technology in a safe way.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Digital technology, Internet, older immigrants, older refugees, well-being\
17:10 - 18:10
Area_13
Social Media: Constraints and Oportunites to Diversity
#0075 |
Role of Social Media by various working professionals
Rashmi Pandey1
1 - International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).
Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate and interact with each other, and it has also created new opportunities and challenges for businesses and individuals alike. However, with these opportunities come constraints that need to be considered to make the most out of social media.Social media in a professional context has been an integral part of establishment strategies for some years now. Although social media has arrived in nearly every business sector, the implementation alone is no guarantee for its success. Establishment efforts in social media are visible on the Internet through activities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, blogs and others social media platforms.Using Social media has both constraints and opportunities. News is updated every second and has moved from the newspaper to the 240 letters on Twitter to In shorts. Communication has moved from chatting to using photos and emoticons. Face to Face interactions have long been replaced by social networking applications, to a sort of social displacementOverall, social media offers a variety of opportunities and constraints that must be considered to effectively leverage its power. It is important to have a strategy in place to make the most of social media's potential while also mitigating its risks.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social media, technology acceptance, etiquette, personality, workplace
#0305 |
DESHAME CROATIA AND SERBIA: MENTAL HEALTH AND INTERNET USAGE OF GENERATION Z
Lucija Vejmelka1
;
Roberta Matković
2
;
Jovana Škorić
3
;
Miroslav Rajter
4
;
Tomislav Ramljak
5
1 - University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law.2 - Institute for Public Health of Split-Dalmatia County.3 - University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Social.4 - University of Zagreb, Research office.5 - Center for missing and exploited children Croatia.
The mental health of adolescents is in the focus of numerous studies, prevention, and treatment programs. However, interventions in the field of mental health for children and young people in the countries of Southeast Europe are still not timely and insufficiently systematic, and the results of their mental health are showing negative trends. The digital world is an indispensable part of the growing up of Generation Z, and research on the relationship between mental health and Internet use shows different results, given that the research designs operationalized this construct in different ways. The presentation will present the findings of national research on randomly selected samples in Croatia (N=2016) and Serbia (N=2095) as part of the wider research project deShame Croatia and deShame Serbia coordinated by the Croatian Safer Internet Center and Croatian and Serbian Center for Missing and exploited children. The results confirmed the expected daily excessive use of the Internet and social networks, but also that more than 40% of students in both countries have 2 or more profiles on social networks that they actively use which could be a sign of the risky interactions. The questions that will be answered during the presentation are: What are the results in the field of mental health and well-being of high-school children in Croatia and Serbia? What is the connection between their mental health and certain characteristics of using the Internet and social networks? And how these findings could be useful to practitioners- social workers in the digital age, in the prevention, detection, and treatment of children in the field of problematic usage of the internet.
Keywords (separate with commas)
sexually risky online communication, self generated sexual material, high school students, deShame Croatia, deShame Serbia
#0776 |
It’s not just a video: Employing Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine TikTok videos.
Laurens Van Sluytman1
1 - Morgan State University School of Social Work.
This scholarly work examines how social media impacts the identity development of young adults, emphasizing the role of online activities in shaping their sense of self. The study highlights that social media provides a platform for adolescents to explore and strengthen their identities through connections with like-minded individuals and reinforcement of their emerging sexual orientation or political beliefs. Such processes of support and mirroring are crucial for achieving individuation and forming a cohesive sense of identity.The research underscores that young adults from marginalized communities engage in similar identity exploration processes as their white peers. To gain deeper insights, the study investigates the sources of information that youth from marginalized communities use to access, construct, and test their identities.Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the theoretical framework, the project involves high school students as co-researchers through participatory action research (PAR). This collaboration creates an environment for diverse students from public high schools in Baltimore City, exposing them to advanced research methodologies and post-secondary academia to increase their social capital through mentorship.The primary focus of the study is to explore CRT's central tenets through qualitative inquiry, specifically analyzing a sample of TikTok videos to understand how social media platforms represent broader social discourses concerning race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities.In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights into how social media influences the identity development of young adults, especially those from marginalized communities. Adopting participatory research methods enriches the understanding of social media's complexities in shaping larger social discourses. The findings underscore the vital role of social media platforms in identity formation and emphasize the significance of empowering young adults from diverse backgrounds in the research process.
Keywords (separate with commas)
\ Critical Race Theory (CRT), participatory action research (PAR), qualitative inquiry, ideologies, pedagogies.
#1019 |
Social Media's Dual Role in Social Work: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges
Actually, this format was planned as a workshop. Unfortunately, we could no longer select this.\ In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the role of social media has become increasingly influential, shaping various aspects of our lives, including the field of social work. This workshop aims to delve into the intricate relationship between social media and social work, exploring its potential benefits and challenges, and collaboratively devising effective strategies for its optimal utilization.The workshop serves as a platform for participants to collectively examine social media's evolving significance as a space for social work practice and advocacy. By critically evaluating the role of social media, participants will uncover key insights into harnessing its power for professional growth and community engagement. The workshop encapsulates pivotal inquiries that underscore its overarching theme, such as discerning the hurdles and complexities posed by social media for both practitioners and the individuals they serve. Furthermore, it endeavors to decipher methods for harnessing social media as a tool for advancing social work goals and facilitating meaningful change.Recognizing the pressing need for engagement with this contemporary topic, especially within the realm of youth work, the workshop strives to equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics between social media and social work. The journey commences with a succinct theoretical foundation, enlightening attendees about the intersection of these two domains. An initial exchange of experiences will foster an environment of collaborative learning, wherein participants can share their existing interactions with social media within their professional or voluntary capacities.By collectively exploring, dissecting, and strategizing, participants will be better equipped to embrace the evolving landscape of social work in the digital age.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work, social media, Opportunities and Challenges, digital life, youth work, advocy, activism
SS - ENG 12
11:30 - 12:00
Poster Presentation
16 - Condiciones Laborales de los Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de los Servicios Sociales
#0094 |
Activating a Sustainable Teaching-Learning Philosophy for Ethical and Meaningful Practice
Larry Owens
1
;
Jay Miller
2
;
Erlene Grise-Owens3
1 - Western Kentucky University.2 - University of Kentucky.3 - The Wellness Group ETC.
Ethical practice in any arena, including social work education, requires intentional and ethical development of practice across a career. This presentation conveys how to develop a comprehensive teaching-learning philosophy from articulation through implementation to evaluation and sustainment. Using literature and teaching-learning experiences, we describe a structured framework with pragmatic steps for using a teaching philosophy to inform, engage, and evaluate teaching-learning. Participants begin to apply these steps through interactive interchanges. We discuss how an activated teaching philosophy can be used to generate and maintain accountable, relevant, ethical, and meaningful teaching-learning. We describe practical uses of an activated philosophy.Faculty need resources that sustain career-long growth. Likewise, faculty face increasing challenges. Our framework for an activated teaching-learning philosophy has broad applicability for educators across careers and contexts. The framework is embedded in best practices (e.g., Scholarship of Teaching-Learning) and informed by varied contexts and teaching experiences. An integrated philosophy promotes ethical practice, ongoing commitment, engaged competency, and meaningful purpose for educators. Also, we discuss how the framework can be used to build successful portfolios for promotion and tenure purposes. We explore how the framework can be used to inform unit and university-wide activation of a philosophical approach, which supports institutional effectiveness and public accountability. We articulate a specific, adaptable framework. Critical questions and considerations for each aspect of the framework guide preliminary development of a viable philosophy. These exercises include structured reflection on and practical ideas for enacting the teaching-learning philosophy framework. We hope to provide energizing inspiration, along with pragmatic strategies, for activating a philosophy that will inform and animate ongoing practice in social work education that sustains.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Teaching-Philosophy, Social Work Education
#0095 |
Self-Care as Essential in Navigating Challenges in Social Services
Erlene Grise-Owens
1
;
Mindy Brooks-Eaves
2
;
Larry Owens3
1 - The Wellness Group ETC.2 - Kentucky State University.3 - Western Kentucky University.
Social service workers navigate increasingly challenging working conditions. Regardless of role and context, practitioner well-being is an essential aspect of social work. Indeed, we, the presenters contend that self-care is a human right that needs reclaiming. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared burnout an emerging crisis. Professions such as social work are particularly affected. Systemically, burnout affects practitioner well-being, organizational effectiveness, community capacity, and, ultimately, sustainability of our profession. Thus, burnout is an urgent consideration. Self-care is a necessary response to addressing burnout.We, the presenters, envision a future where burnout is rare, and professional practitioner well-being is standard practice. We offer strategies toward that aim. The presentation begins with contextual considerations, including clarifying the systemic relationship between self-care, organizational wellness, and community care. Whilst recognizing the dire need for macro attention, the presentation focusses on self-care as a foundational necessity and empowering antidote to professional burnout. We underscore that self-care is an ethical imperative for competent practice. Self-care is not just a buzzword or fluffy extra. It is a crucial element of effective practice. Based on growing research and grounded practice, we conceptualize a wholistic framework and provide pragmatic strategies for effective self-care. Like any practice skill, self-care compels building competence. Sustaining competence in self-care requires self-awareness, consistent attention, realistic integration, wholistic approaches, and accountable intentionality. Our presentation provides meaningful and practical ways and resources to achieve these requirements.A sustainable future of our profession’s capacity and impact depends on promoting practitioner well-being. And, practitioners are human beings; attention to our own well-being is both ethical and essential.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Self-Care, Burn-Out, Practitioner Well-Being
#0096 |
Organizational Wellness as an Emerging, Critical Arena of Social Work Leadership
Jay Miller
1
;
Larry Owens
2
;
Erlene Grise-Owens3
1 - University of Kentucky.2 - Western Kentucky University.3 - The Wellness Group ETC.
Social services occur in increasingly complex settings and challenging working conditions. Burnout and staff turnover plague the profession and stymie progress. These factors impact practitioners (micro), clients, organizations, communities, and, by extension, the viability of the profession. Attaining the social development goals and aims of the profession of social work requires attention to the well-being of practitioners and their working conditions.Organizational wellness involves intentional efforts to improve working contexts and conditions. By extension, organizational wellness initiatives serve complementary aims to address professional stress, prevent escalating burnout, retain an effective workforce, and support meaningful careers in social services. Based on our published scholarship, practice experience, and consultation engagement, this presentation shows how social work is ideally situated and ethically compelled to lead organizational wellness efforts. We provide a tested, explicit, and adaptable framework for leaders to use social work competencies in conceptualizing, planning, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining organizational wellness. Through interactive dialogue, participants will understand the impact of organizational wellness in the social work profession as a human rights concern. Further, they will appreciate the pivotal non-profit leadership role for social work in organizational wellness. Finally, participants will acquire an explicit framework for using social work competencies to pragmatically and effectively lead in the design and development of organizational wellness. Wholistic approaches to organizational wellness is an emerging arena for addressing working conditions. Social work is both uniquely situated and ethically compelled to take on a leadership role in this arena of social services. This presentation will provide the grounded understanding, informed perspective, and practical tools foundational for that critical leadership.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Organizational Wellness, Social Work Leadership
#0097 |
The Importance of Self-Care for Respecting Diversity through Joint Social Action
Mindy Brooks-Eaves
1
;
Erlene Grise-Owens
2
;
Jay Miller3
1 - Kentucky State University.2 - The Wellness Group ETC.3 - University of Kentucky.
Across the globe, social workers practice in diverse environments. Contexts and other considerations vary geographically, culturally, philosophically, and pragmatically. However, the well-being of practitioners is a consistent core facet that crosses all boundaries and applies in all situations. This presentation considers: How does diversity affect our own self-care and, by extension, our abilities to join others in social action?Social service workers have human experiences, dynamics, and stressors that affect us, including historical and generational trauma. Most social workers bring diverse, intersectional social identities that have been marginalized in compounding ways. We operate in systems embedded in toxic and multi-faceted oppressive dynamics. Self-care includes learning about how these dynamics affect clients and communities and how they affect us—in our practice roles and as human beings—and developing skills for addressing them. Fostering our own awareness, knowledge, and self-compassion helps us reject biases, offset internalized oppression, and advocate for oneself. Likewise, self-care must include celebrating the strengths of our diverse cultural identities. Dominating cultures insidiously create narratives and structures that exclude, minimize, and/or problematize diverse identities. The resilience, “ways of knowing,” and connections of diversity are strengths that nurture our well-being. Celebrating these facets of diversity iteratively restores and builds our own coping, competence, courage, and compassion. Universally, all humans need rest, nutrition, hydration, movement, connection, and meaning. Attending to these universal human elements is essential self-care. Concomitantly, we must honor our diverse identities, particular life experiences, personal circumstances, specific preferences, distinct values, and so forth. Each of us must identify both universal and unique aspects of our self-care. Respecting diversity includes being attentive to our individualized situation. When we care for selves, individually, our joint connection is stronger, healthier, more effective and more meaningful. Together, through practicing self-care, joint social action is strengthened and practitioner well-being flourishes.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Self-Care, Diversity, Social Action
#0857 |
Strengthening the child protection workforce in Romania: key findings and future implications for social workers
Social work is often described as a helping profession and in the context of child protection services, the kind of ‘help’ on offer requires a high level of professionalization. According to the Romanian national statistics, in 2022, a total of 42.029 children were registered in the child protection system, with ¼ being placed in residential centers while the rest were provided different family-type services. Therefore, there seems to be a significant demand for highly skilled professionals in the child protection system whereas the social workers are of critical importance to the successful implementation of public policies and programs for children.\ This presentation draws on a recent quantitative study carried in 2022 focusing on the assessment of the social service workforce in Romania. A total of 20999 respondents participated in the survey and declared a wide variety of job titles. Approximately one third of the total sample (6814) declared working primarily with children from the child protection system, social workers being the largest professional group (25,6%). Therefore, the current study focuses on the results gathered from the 1298 Romanian social workers delivering services to children registered in the child protection system.\ Overall, several key aspects may be immediately drawn from these data. First, diversity in gender, location, and sector remains limited among Romanian social workers delivering services to children, with the workforce dominated by women and being concentrated in urban areas and in public sector. In terms of level of education, regardless of location, nearly 1:5 social workers do not have a BSW. These preliminary findings\ have the potential of providing valuable insights for the development of a comprehensive\ strategy to strengthen the workforce in the child protection services focusing on education, recruitment, continuous training, and retention.
Keywords (separate with commas)
workforce, child protection, Romania
#1283 |
Los impactos del proceso de privatización de los hospitales universitarios en Brasil en práctica profesional de trabajadores sociales
En Brasil, la adopción del neoliberalismo difundió la necesidad de modificar el Estado y su forma de intervención en lo social, produjeron procesos de privatización de las políticas sociales. Entendemos que eso revelan, en realidad, una expansión capitalista sobre el sector de servicios públicos como nuevas áreas de valorización, lo que ha alterado la prestación de estos servicios y la gestión de la fuerza laboral. Los servicios públicos de educación y salud de los hospitales universitarios, que pasaron por un proceso de privatización a partir de 2011 y que continúa hoy, son administrados por una empresa pública de derecho privado, la Empresa Brasileira de Servicios Hospitalares (EBSERH), insertándolos, así, en línea con el estándar de acumulación flexible y la industria 4.0. La gestión de la fuerza laboral de trabajadores sociales se ha visto impactada por salarios asociados a la productividad, además de cambios en el proceso de trabajo con un mayor control de las actividades realizadas, facilitado por el uso de tecnologías digitales, como, por ejemplo: definiciones de las metas del servicio, exigencias de agilidad, calidad y seguridad, que, sin embargo, no están pensadas en la satisfacción de las necesidades de los usuarios, sino en la economía del gasto público. Tales medidas afectan en la relativa autonomía y dirección social de la intervención de este profesional. Así, entendemos que las relaciones de producción capitalistas, la producción de plusvalía, han predominado en el proceso de trabajo en detrimento de la garantía de los derechos sociales y la satisfacción de las necesidades sociales. Con ello, conducen a la pérdida de referencia de la salud y la educación como bien público no transable, pasando a un paradigma de exigencias de economía del fondo público y de la valorización del capital como propósito de la ejecución de estos servicios.
#0710 |
The Intersection of Various Types of Family Violence in a Sample of South Asian Immigrants in The U.S.: The Influence of Physical & Emotional Sibling Violence
No research has examined the influence of physical and emotional sibling violence (SV) on other types of family violence in a sample of South Asian immigrants in the U.S. To address this gap, 674 South Asian immigrant participants who had at least one sibling in childhood were obtained from a survey distributed on multiple sub-Reddit pages. Participants responded on their experiences with SV (perpetration and victimization of physical and emotional), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), intimate partner violence (IPV), and in-law abuse (IA). Demographics, correlations, and two regression models were run to examine potential associations of SV on IPV and IA when controlling for demographic variables and ACEs.\ \ Participants had a mean age of 28.38 years, 42.3% were female, 38.9% were 1st generation immigrants, and 79.1% identified as heterosexual. Correlations between all types of violence (SV, ACEs, IPV, IA) were significant at p\<.001. No differences were found on differences in types of violence by gender. For IPV, the model was significant (F=465.73, p\<0.001, R2=.82) with gender, SV, ACEs, and IA significantly associated one’s experiences of IPV. For IA, the model was significant (F=459.69, p\<0.001, R2=.82) with generation status, SV, ACEs, and IA significantly associated one’s experiences of IA.\ With SV preceding IPV and IA in time, results demonstrate the need to include SV in understanding the violent experiences of South Asian immigrants. SV was correlated with all other types of violence and was associated with IPV and IA in this sample. Social workers working with SA immigrant populations should consider including SV in their assessments to ensure all potential forms of violence that one may experience are accounted for. Finally, psychoeducation of SV among South Asian immigrants is also warranted to inform children, adults, and families of the potential ramifications of SV.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
family violence, South Asian immigrants, sibling violence, in-law abuse, domestic violence, adverse childhood events
#0721 |
An Examination of Physical and Emotional Sibling Violence & Protective Factors in Childhood in a Sample of MSW Students
Nathan Perkins1
;
Jennifer Shadik
2
;
Marjorie Colindres
1
1 - Loyola University Chicago.2 - Ohio University.
Research specifically examining protective factors, including healthy relationships, against the occurrence of physical and emotional sibling violence (PESV) are scant. This research study is the first of its kind to examine protective and compensatory experiences (PACEs) in relation to PESV in a sample of MSW students. Using data from a sample of MSW students across the U.S. (n=428), participants responded to items on PACEs, ACEs (Total Score, Abuse-subscore, Neglect-subscore, Household Challenges-subscore) and experiences of PESV in childhood as both perpetrator and victim as well as demographic questions. Correlations and linear regression models were run to examine associations between PACEs, ACEs, and experiences with PESV.\ Of the sample,\ 88.8% identified as female, 71% identified as White, and 67.3% identified as heterosexual with participants having a mean age of approximately 29. Correlations between PACEs, ACEs (Total Score, Abuse-subscore, Neglect-subscore, Household Challenges-subscore) and experiences of PESV in childhood (perpetrator and victimization) were significant with the PACEs score being negatively correlated with all other variables. In the first regression model (F(4,411)=12.04,\ p\<.001,\ R2=.11) Abuse-subscore and Household Challenges-subscore were significantly associated with PESV-perpetration with the Neglect-subscore approximating significance. In the second model (F(4,411)=22.95,\ p\<.001,\ R2=.18), the Abuse-subscore and Neglect-subscore \ were significantly associated with PESV-victimization. In neither of the models was PACEs significantly associated with PESV type.Research examining PACEs in relation to PESV requires attention to assess those aspects of childhood which may help prevent PESV from occurring. Future research should examine PESV and PACEs with diverse and international samples to better understand those factors which help buffer against PESV in childhood to inform prevention and interventions strategies aimed at addressing PESV. Furthermore, efforts to educate MSW students in the U.S. and internationally are warranted to address this form of family violence in all families across the globe. \
Keywords (separate with commas)
sibling violence, family violence, siblings, MSW students, protective factors, ACEs
#0741 |
A New Role for Social Workers - Professional Companionship for Older Adults
Therese Odle-James1
;
Karene- Anne Nathaniel-DeCaires
2
1 - The University of The West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, West Indies.2 - The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.
With the steady growth of the world's ageing population social workers play a pivotal role by providing specialized services to strengthen the current care management systems especially “wrap around” services and in-home care for older adults and other persons who may be restricted in their home. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the government of the island nation of Barbados in the Caribbean embarked on a programme to help mitigate the effects of isolation on older adults living alone or lacking frequent visits from family by providing paid companions. Recently published research conducted on this programme concluded that companionship is not necessarily provided by relatives or carers due to the demand of other caregiving duties and that companionship can significantly improve older adults’ quality of life. Although the programme has proven to be a success in meeting older adults' needs due to a limited number of suitable personnel available many older adults are unable to access this social service. This conceptual paper considers whether professional social workers have the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to provide companionship as a service to older persons. Social work training can provide the necessary skill development, core values, and knowledge acquisition to add to the slate of roles social workers can play by including professional companionship to older adults. The future development of social workers as companions to older adults is not only relevant during the pandemic time but as an avenue of effective practice in the continuum of at-home care for older adults. The purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of paid companionship for older adults in relation to social work practice theory with a view to recommending it be included as a social work role.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work practice, paid companions, quality of life, older adults
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Area_14
Social Work, Social Policy and Sustainable Development Goals
#0520 |
Une diversité de points de vue pour un projet disciplinaire commun : le travail social
La profession de travailleuse sociale et de travailleur social (TS) est relativement nouvelle et trouve ses principaux débouchés dans les réseaux publics des services sociaux et de santé et les organisations communautaires. La légitimité d’une offre de formation dans le milieu de l’enseignement supérieur comme discipline pratique est aujourd’hui bien ancrée. Dans ce milieu académique, les étudiant.e.s sont initié.e.s à la valeur de la théorie, de la science et de la recherche empirique pour l’intervention sociale, ainsi qu’à leur limite du point de vue d’une pratique éthique (Harper et Dorvil, 2013). Pourtant, la plus-value de cette profession et de la formation dans les milieux académique et de pratique est mal connue ou repose souvent sur des malentendus. Notre analyse des frontières du travail social et de leurs déplacements (Maugère, 2023) s’appuie sur l'examen d'archives (Farge et Foucault [1982], 2014) et sur une démarche visant à importer adéquatement une conceptualisation intelligente d’une discipline appliquée : la criminologie (Pires, 2008). Elle ne renonce ni au projet scientifique de s'émanciper des erreurs et des illusions (Boltanski, 1990) ni à la mise en délibération démocratique des valeurs et des normes d’intervention (Karsenti, 2013) qui orientent l'action des TS. Du point de vue pratique, notre problématisation entend contribuer à la croissance identitaire collective des TS et à faire connaître, au-delà de cette communauté, la part d’unité et d’unicité du projet spécial de connaissance et de praxis du travail social. Cette part d'unicité et d'unicité est liée à la prise en compte des interactions dynamiques entre l’individu et son environnement (Fédération Internationale du Travail Social, 2014) et a le potentiel de soutenir un monde plus juste et amical pour le vivant (Latour, 2021).
Keywords (separate with commas)
Travail social, discipline, praxis, pluralisme, émancipation
#0536 |
A diversity of points of view for a common disciplinary project: social work
The profession of social worker and social worker (SW) is relatively new and finds its main outlets in the public networks of social and health services and community organizations. The legitimacy of a training offer in the field of higher education as a practical discipline is now well established. In this academic environment, students are introduced to the value of theory, science and empirical research for social intervention, as well as their limits from the point of view of ethical practice ( Harper and Dorvil, 2013). However, the added value of this profession and training in academic and practical circles is not well known or is often based on misunderstandings. Our analysis of the boundaries of social work and their displacements (Maugère, 2023) is based on the examination of archives (Farge and Foucault [1982], 2014) and on an approach aimed at adequately importing an innovative conceptualization of a applied discipline: criminology (Pires, 2008). It renounces neither the scientific project of emancipating oneself from errors and illusions (Boltanski, 1990) nor the democratic deliberation of the values and standards of intervention (Karsenti, 2013) which guide the action of TS. From a practical point of view, our problematization intends to contribute to the collective identity growth of TS and to make known, beyond this community, the share of unity and uniqueness of the special project of knowledge and praxis of social work. This part of unity and uniqueness is linked to the consideration of the dynamic interactions between the individual and their environment (International Federation of Social Work, 2014) and has the potential to support solidarity and more friendly world for the biodiversity. (Latour, 2021).
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work, discipline, praxis, science, emancipation, pluralism, solidarity, biodiversity (human and non-human)
#1125 |
Spatial renovation, human change and community revitalization: an action research on the sustainable development of a Chinese village
XI LAN1
;
Hok-Bun Ku
1
1 - Applied Social Science Department, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
In recent decades, rapid urbanization and industrialization of China siphoned young population in the rural, leaving behind large number of elderly and women and a stagnation rural society. In mainstream discourse, \ these “left-behind population” have often been perceived as “unproductive” and the symbolic of rural decline. This study will demonstrate an alternative approach to rural revitalization through a case of action research based on local left-behind groups.\ In 2017, a transdisciplinary action research team consisting of social workers, designers, anthropologists, and villagers initiated\ a\ project named “House of Dreams”\ in a northern Chinese village, aiming at sustainably reviving the declining village through participatory community spatial renovation.\ \ With the perception that space is the embodiment of local culture, human relations and collective representation, this action research team utilized local space to mobilize, solidarize and empower left-behind groups. The team refurbished a group of abandoned dwelling caves that encompassed villagers’ collective memories and local culture as an educational public space of the village, attempting to revive the local assets and rebuild the cultural confidence of villagers. As recycling local waste materials was the principle of “House of Dreams”, materials acted as a medium of mobilization and empowerment. Villagers’ solidarities were reactivated in the process of material collection and local craftsmen transformed from ordinary labor to creative masters of waste building through waste rebuilding practices. When House of Dreams primarily completed reconstruction, villager organizations initiated by left-behind groups operated and managed this space in a means of solidarity economy. In the renovation process, left-behind groups played the most critical role and became the proactive builders of their community, having explored a pathway of sustainable community development. This study will present this community participation and change process and the contribution of transdisciplinary action research in achieving sustainability development goals.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Spatial renovation; community sustainable development; action research; rural China
#1526 |
Social and individual aspects involved in Internet addiction among high school students
Marijana Majdak
1
;
Helena Vusić2
1 - University of Zagreb, faculty of Law.2 - University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law.
Although Internet addiction is still under research, individual and social variables play an important role in determining the level of Internet addiction. Due to the growth and development of an individual in adolescence, young people are more susceptible to excessive use of the Internet and developing addiction to it. The aim of this research was to examine the connection between Internet addiction, loneliness, social support and peer pressure in high school students. A total of 105 students from 1st to 4th grade took part in the research; 43 high school boys, 59 high school girls and 3 students who didn't express their gender, from gymnasium and vocational schools, including economists, CNC operators and trade school. Students filled out the questionnaire via a web survey during teacher's class. Research indicates that Internet addiction is significantly positively correlated to loneliness and peer pressure, and negatively correlated to social support. The results show that high school students who show a higher level of Internet addiction also show a higher level of social and emotional loneliness. Also, high school students who show a higher degree of Internet addiction also show a higher level of perceived pressure to conform to the peer group. In addition, high school students who show lower levels of Internet addiction reported higher levels of support from family, friends, and significant others. Lastly, peer pressure, especially loneliness and social support, proved to be significantly related to each other. The obtained results can contribute to the education of social workers about the existence of Internet addiction and the development of a comprehensive prevention program, as well as the development of a treatment program for Internet addiction among young people. In conclusion, the consequences that this addiction leaves on individuals gives room for continued research, both in social work and in other sciences.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Internet addiction, social support, peer pressure, conforming, loneliness\
15:05 - 16:05
Area_14
Social Work, Social Policy and the Susteinable Development Goals
#0074 |
Addressing Sustainable Development Goals in the Global South: A Participatory Community-Engaged Research Approach for Social Work
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) represent an “urgent call for action” in 17 areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet (United Nations, 2016). The massive scale of any one of these goals necessitates cooperation and coordinated effort across all levels of society, from transnational bodies and governments to universities, third sector actors, and local communities. While a traditional development lens views research universities as “providers of knowledge, innovations and solutions” for the SDGs (SDSN Australia/Pacific, 2017), communities in low and middle-income countries where the SDGs are most critical are often viewed as passive recipients or sites for externally designed interventions (Dighe & Strode, 2019). Yet, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other community-based organizations (CBOs) have long been considered a force for alleviating social problems such as poverty in the Global South (Despard et al., 2018; St. Leger, 2008). Because the innovative interventions created by such local organizations in response to community needs are rarely evaluated (Hawk, 2015; Mason et al., 2014; Miller & Shinn, 2005), however, their impact on the SDGs and potential to be scaled-up for use in other settings remains largely unknown. Bottom-up evaluation (BUE; Chen, 2010) offers one strategy for addressing this problem. Bottom-up evaluation involves researchers (a) identifying promising interventions already thriving in a community, (b) collaborating with community partners to evaluate intervention viability and effectiveness, and (c) disseminating findings to build scientific knowledge of what works (or doesn’t) in the local context. This presentation will describe the BUE process using evaluation of an NGO-created intervention in Kenya as a case example. The presenter will explore the consistency of BUE with social work values (e.g., participatory inquiry; centering lived experiences of vulnerable groups) and, ultimately, its utility for advancing the SDGs in the Global South by drawing innovative community-driven interventions into the scientific knowledge base.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Sustainable Development Goals, bottom-up evaluation, community-engaged research, Global South, non-governmental organizations
#0089 |
Building Program Evaluation Capacity for Sustainable Non-Governmental Organizations: A Case Study of the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project in Hong Kong
Program evaluation is a crucial set of activities that assesses the effectiveness of social intervention programs, meets diverse stakeholder needs, and fosters service improvements. Enhancing the capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to conduct program evaluations is vital for promoting their sustainability, particularly as they face increasing pressure to be accountable to funding agencies and improve their service quality. Despite its importance, the capacity of NGOs to undertake program evaluation has not kept pace with the growing emphasis on this strategy in the literature. Scholars have called for additional research to comprehensively describe the process of program evaluation capacity building (PECB) and its impacts. In response, this study evaluates a PECB initiative in Hong Kong called the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project, using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design to compare changes between the training (N = 226) and comparison groups (N = 213). Additionally, focus groups were conducted with training participants, mentors, and trainers. The results indicate that the training group showed greater improvements in all three core aspects of program evaluation capacity—evaluation mindset, evaluation implementation, and evaluation communication—than the comparison group. Qualitative findings further illustrate how NGO practitioners benefited from the project. These findings support the positive impacts of PECB on NGO practitioners, and the study discusses implications for researchers and evaluators in effectively conducting PECB activities.
Keywords (separate with commas)
program evaluation capacity building, nongovernmental organization, Hong Kong
#0914 |
Exploring the Relationship Between Professional Vision, Professional Identity, and Professional Burnout among Social Workers in Mainland China
Yuk Yee Lee1
;
Qiumei Huang
2
;
Jing Yang
3
1 - UOW College Hong Kong.2 - Gratia Christian College.3 - Department of Sociology, Guizhou University.
China's rapid social transformation poses significant challenges for social workers in mainland China, who face emerging social problems and increasing complexity in social service demands. While social workers receive recognition for their crucial role in delivering social services, the expansion of the social work workforce is hindered by disparities in professional development, administrative influences on its growth, and the prevalent issue of social worker burnout. This study explores the relationship between personal vision, professional identity, and professional burnout levels among social workers in China. Understanding this relationship is essential for developing effective interventions and creating a supportive and sustainable professional environment. It also enhances teaching and learning models, supervision approaches, and social policies that are relevant to Chinese social workers and social work students. The study collected 499 online questionnaires through snowball sampling in various mainland Chinese regions, including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Qingyuan, Shenzhen, Xi'an, and Inner Mongolia. Participants' professional vision, professional identity, burnout levels, and potential mitigating factors were assessed using three scales: Social Worker Professional Identity Scale (Zhou, 2012), Vision Scale (Chui, 1996), and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Revised Version) (CBI) (Wu et al., 2020).The findings highlight a significant relationship between social workers' professional vision, increased professional identity, and reduced burnout levels. Social workers with a strong professional vision are more inclined to pursue the value of social work services, aiming to contribute to society, make meaningful contributions, and effectively lead their colleagues towards improved work outcomes. The research also revealed a negative correlation between professional identity and burnout levels. Those who received supervision from Hong Kong social work supervisors demonstrated higher levels of professional aspiration and professional ethics. Based on the research outcomes, this paper provides relevant recommendations in social work education and supervision to address challenges and support social workers in China.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social worker, professional identity, vision, burnout, social work training,\\ China
#1122 |
”This time round, you’ve got to get it right“ - Caregivers’ experiences of caring for young children of incarceration mothers.
Christine Chua
1
;
Siti Nur Farahiyah Abdul Karim
1
;
Lee Beng Ang
1
;
Mavis Teo1
Maternal incarceration often results in kinship care arrangements of their children. Family life is profoundly altered for everyone involved as they must adapt to new roles, routines, communication patterns and relationships, and potentially live in a new environment. Trauma from being separated from their mother can contribute to internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems among these children. For caregivers, the strain of caring for children in difficult circumstances can drain the caregiver’s internal and external resources. In the Singaporean social work context, what we know of the challenges of these caregivers comes from anecdotal experience, practice wisdom, and existing literature. In addition, limited studies exist in our local context. This study sought to understand caregivers’ experiences in caring for a young child of an incarcerated mother. Specifically, we wanted to understand the challenges caregivers encountered their resource networks and their support needs. The goal was to provide space and opportunity to hear the voices, feelings, opinions and experiences of this often overlooked group, especially when their and the children’s lives are greatly affected by policies and procedures that may not be designed with their needs in mind.The study employed a qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews to gain an in depth understanding of their unique experiences as caregivers. Thirteen face-to-faceinterviews were conducted with five fathers, seven grandmothers and one family friend. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and Template Analysis approach was used for data analysis. Findings reveal that caregivers struggle with unresolved grief with regards to mother’s pre-prison behaviors and experience relationship strains which compound during the incarceration period. Caregivers also struggled to talk to the children about their mother’s whereabouts due to uncertainty over age-appropriateness of disclosure and fear of stigmatization. Further results and the implications for practice will be presented at the conference.
Keywords (separate with commas)
caregivers, young children, maternal incarceration, qualitative research, needs assessment
16:10 - 17:10
Area_14
Social Work, Social Policy and Sustainable Development Goals
#0242 |
SDGs implementation through Solidarity and Social Action in Community Level in Korea
Sug Pyo Kim1
;
Jung Mi Cho
2
1 - Daegu council on social welfare.2 - Beommul community social welfare center.
The theme of presentation is about "SDGs implementation through solidarity and social action in a community level in Korea". The presentation will be explained how important the solidarity and social action is for making a better community. The SDGs, also known as the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are consisted in 17 goals, along with the slogan "Leave no one behind." The presentation explains the role of solidarity can help achieve the goals at a level of the community welfare center. People live in a community is one of the important frontline in implementing the SDGs, and it is the place where the effect of achieving the goals actually occur. Community welfare centers have become an important hub for the community making solidarity with various stakeholders play a central role in community change and are still influential. In order to achieve SDGs in the community, Solidarity and social action at a community level must be practiced. There are many stakeholders such as public institutions and welfare centers, community groups, and volunteer organizations around SDGs should be established in consideration of these groups in a sense of solidarity.Community welfare centers can be a good platform for making solidarity to achieve SDGs. First, SDGs should be educated to local residents and improved understanding. Secondly, SDGs can be spread through promotion and resource development. It is necessary to vitalize SDGs in various ways. In order to develop man power and material resources, we have to set solidarity up with companies and civic groups can work together for sustainable community development. Thirdly, it should play a role in facilitating the implementation of SDGs within the community solidarity. I have conviction that, through solidarity and social action, we can realize the direction in which the world should move forward, "leaving no one behind."
Keywords (separate with commas)
SDGs, community, SDGs implementation through solidarity and social action in a community level in Korea, Community welfare centers, leaving no one behind
#0427 |
Research on Long-term Care Policy for Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan: Study on Indigenous Network Collaboration Capabilities
This research focuses on examining the network collaboration capabilities of indigenous peoples in the context of long-term care policy in Taiwan. The study aims to explore the factors contributing to successful network collaboration among long-term care service organizations in indigenous areas and understand the external and internal capabilities of indigenous long-term care workers in network collaboration. By investigating these aspects, the research aims to shed light on the relationship between indigenous cultural values and their impact on external job performance.This study adopts a qualitative research approach. Data collection is conducted through individual in-depth interviews with indigenous long-term care workers and participatory observation notes. The research sites are the M'ihu Tribe and the Pasing Tribe in the Heping District of Taichung City, both of which have rich long-term care organizations engaged in service. A total of 10 indigenous long-term care workers from the Heping District of Taichung City, including case managers, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and cultural health station caregivers, are included in the study.The research findings indicate that the factors contributing to successful network collaboration among long-term care service organizations in indigenous areas include the organizations' proactive initiation of cooperation, maintaining respect for each organization, market differentiation between organizations, and establishing trust relationships. Regarding individual indigenous long-term care workers, the required external capabilities for network collaboration include actively extending collaboration invitations, building extensive relationships, maintaining a flexible and open mindset, leveraging organizational strengths, maintaining friendly relationships, regularly reviewing and reflecting on oneself, and facing conflicts courageously. The internal perspectives of network collaboration capabilities involve the accumulation of past experiences and the transformation and adjustment of family upbringing experiences.
Keywords (separate with commas)
long-term care policy, indigenous peoples, network collaboration, health and well-being
#0465 |
A Story of ”Happiness" of a Mother Raising a Child with Disabilities “It’s joyful because I’m not expecting it”
Miho Maehiro1
1 - Musashino University/Ryukoku University Graduate School of Sociology.
Raising a child with disabilities is generally considered to be " misfortune or unhappiness.” Nevertheless, there are many cases in which mothers feel "happiness" after having a differently abled child. This report is part of a qualitative study to investigate the factors of happiness through interviews with mothers who raise a child with disabilities and have a high subjective sense of happiness, and to reconstruct the concept of the word "happiness" in the Japanese language. Interviews with several people, including Mrs. C in this case study, were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects of Ryukoku University Graduate School in February 2019 (2018-29).Mrs. C, the mother of a daughter with triple-X syndrome, describes that her parents were both researchers and very strict, therefore she was unable to be spoiled as a child. However, through the experience of raising her daughter, who is intellectually slow but emotionally sensitive, her relationship with her parents changed for the better.Despite education for her daughter is always Mrs. C’s worries, due to daughter’s physical functions and language development are quite different from others, she is often moved by her daughter's natural caring behavior and expresses, "It's joyful because I'm not expecting it. Mrs. C has been concerned about others "judging" her daughter for having a disability, yet not having expectations of how she "should" be has brought her joy.Although the form of "happiness" described here cannot be universalized, it can be said that "happiness" can be found in any circumstance, depending on the subjectivity of the individual.
1 - University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare.2 - University of Washington, School of Social Work.3 - University of Washington.4 - University of Idaho.
One of the sustainable development goals is to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment, including the elimination of violence against women. The Nepal government has signaled its commitment to address domestic violence (DV) through the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1992, by signing onto the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA, 1995), and by legislating against marital rape (2002) and DV (2009). Yet feminist scholars have cautioned that DV must be understood within context (Lindhorst \& Tajima, 2008) and have also illuminated Western biases in discussions of violence against women forwarded by international institutions (Chowdhury, 2009; Heo \& Rakowski, 2014). This study employed critical discourse analysis to examine the constructions of DV used by service providers in Pokhara, Nepal, as compared with two major international policy documents which service providers cited: the BPfA and CEDAW (including general recommendations 19 \& 35). Fifteen Nepali language interviews and three focus groups were conducted with service providers representing diverse organizations addressing DV. Service providers and policy documents agreed in their conceptualizations of DV as a gender-based violence issue that included acts of physical, sexual, economic, and psychological violence, as well as various forms of control. However, service providers additionally emphasized denial of those rights and entitlements that were normally achieved through the family as DV. These forms of violence included withholding material and care support; denying belonging within the family; withholding legal documents; and abandonment or eviction from the home. These findings underscore the centrality of family for individuals' economic, social, and political well-being, the patriarchal risks women in particular must navigate (Kabeer, 2011), and the need for survivors and those who support them to attend both to short-term safety and long-term economic, social, and political security.
Keywords (separate with commas)
domestic violence, Nepal, critical discourse analysis, international policy
17:10 - 18:10
Sub_17c
Health / Mental Health
#0479 |
Roles of Technology-Mediated Gamification on Youth Mental Health
Dora MY Tam
1
;
Ron CW KWOK
2
;
SIU MING KWOK1
;
Sylvia YCL Kwok
2
;
Barbara Lee
3
;
Shauna Burke
4
;
Tara Collins
1
;
Louise Ng
1
;
Julia Kao
5
;
Jensyn Wallan
6
1 - University of Calgary.2 - City University of Hong Kong.3 - University of British Columbia.4 - Western University Canada.5 - University of British Columbia Okanagan.6 - MacEwan University.
Challenges for children and youth have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with rates of depression and anxiety doubling. It has highlighted the need to find innovative and accessible approaches to help and engage youth to find their own ways to solve mental health issues. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and the Pathway for Participation Framework (Shier, 2001), a gamification-based (Seaborn & Fels, 2015) co-creation group project was conducted to engage youth in developing web application for the prevention of and intervention on mental health issues. Between April and July 2022, four web application co-creation groups were conducted with 29 youth (aged 12-17) in Canada. Each group met once for 2.5 hours. During the group meeting, the participants tested and discussed the strengths and limitations of two existing mobile apps developed to address youth mental health issues. They also reviewed and modified an app prototype developed by the project team, which was designed based on a market analysis of over 40 compatible products, for the next round of testing. Seven main categories of features were deemed by youth participants in this study as important considerations in the development of a web-based application or mobile app for addressing youth mental health issues, including: tracking one’s progress, providing mental health information, having a “sharing” function, relaxation exercise/games, simplicity of the device, personalization options, and engaging visuals. Findings of the program evaluation on the co-creation groups were positive and in alignment with the project objectives in the areas of developing the sense of worth, building social connections, doing something meaningful, working and problem solving with others, and having fun while struggling with the impact of the pandemic. The Use of technology-mediated gamification to support youth mental health will be further discussed in this presentation.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Youth, Mental Health, Technology
#1422 |
Perceived Racial Discrimination, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Dissociative Symptoms among Black Americans in Rural Communities
Race-based stress, such as experiences of racial discrimination, is associated with dissociative symptoms, a common response to trauma exposure. Prior research is limited by a failure to control for non-race-based trauma and a focus on daily experiences of racial discrimination instead of collective experiences suggested by a historical trauma approach. Furthermore, less is known about Black Americans in rural communities. This study addresses these gaps by examining associations between perceived racial discrimination (PRD), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and dissociative symptoms among a sample of Black Americans living in underserved, rural communities in the U.S. South.This cross-sectional study collected data from 184 participants across 5 rural sites in Alabama. The Brief Dissociative Experiences Scale measured dissociative symptoms. The ACEs questionnaire assessed experiences of maltreatment and other forms of household dysfunction during childhood. A subscale of the African American Historical Trauma questionnaire measured PRD. Psychological distress (symptoms of depression and anxiety) was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-4. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between PRD and dissociative symptoms (0 = mild/no symptoms, 1= moderate/severe symptoms) while controlling for covariates.\ Nearly 10% of the sample had moderate or severe dissociative symptoms. The mean number of ACEs was 1.89 (SD=2.32). Twenty-two percent had ≥ 4 ACEs, above the national average of 17.3%. The mean PRD score was 8.81 (SD=4.76, range = 0-15). At the bivariate level, ACEs score and PRD was positively associated with dissociative symptoms. In the adjusted model, PRD was not associated with dissociative symptoms. ACEs score (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.12, 2.87) and psychological distress (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.92) was associated with higher odds of moderate or severe dissociative symptoms. These findings underscore the importance of timely assessment of childhood trauma and referral to mental health services in underserved communities.\
#0058 |
Social work student education: The strengths and challenges of setting up a laboratory for experimenting with individual, couple and group intervention methods
Virginie Gargano
1
;
Gabrielle Fortin
1
;
Lisa Ellington1
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about new socio-health standards that had a direct impact on the teaching and academic reality of university students. At Laval University, Quebec (Canada), almost all courses had to migrate to distance or asynchronous modalities. As a result, students enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Work program have expressed a need for face-to-face practical activities to consolidate their theoretical learning before their practicum. To address this concern, in May 2022, three professors at the School of Social Work and Criminology established a practical social intervention lab. The intervention lab, in which 25 students were enrolled, consisted of two days of training allowing them to experiment with individual, marital and group intervention. Six scenarios dealing with different social issues were tested and then performed by actors with a background in theater. The purpose of this poster presentation is to outline the process of developing and carrying out this laboratory, the objectives around which the pedagogical activities were based, and the means that facilitated their operationalization. For the students, the experimentation of the three intervention methods in an intensive formula allowed them to consolidate their learning, in addition to promoting the development of their confidence before entering the internship. In addition, this experience supported the acquisition of a better understanding of the complementarity of the methods, the transferability of certain skills and attitudes from one method to another and allowed the students to better understand the specificities of each method. Finally, the issues and recommendations related to the implementation of such an experience for the development of social work students' skills will be discussed.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work, university, students, development, methodologies, laboratory
#0271 |
Experiencias y retos de cuidadores de pacientes con la enfermedad de Alzheimer en el contexto de la Pandemia del COVID-19
Jorge Cruz Barreto1
;
Florencia Velazquez
2
1 - Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.2 - Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.
Planteamiento del problemaLa pandemia del COVID-19 ha generado grandes transformaciones a nivel mundial, un sector que ha sido fuertemente impactado es el de las personas mayores de 65 años, particularmente los pacientes con diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Según datos recopilados por el Registro de Alzheimer del Departamento de Salud, hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2019 en Puerto Rico había 20,910 casos reportados de pacientes con este trastorno, de los cuales más de la mitad (55.3%) tienen 85 años o más. PropósitoEl propósito de esta investigación es explorar, describir y comprender las experiencias de cuidadores informales de adultos mayores con diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Alzheimer en el contexto de la pandemia del COVID-19. Importancia del Problema de InvestigaciónLos cuidadores informales de pacientes con diagnóstico de Alzheimer experimentan serias dificultades físicas y emocionales ante el cuidado de sus familiares con este trastorno. Estos problemas se acentúan más ante la pandemia del COVID 19. En el caso de Puerto Rico, según el Departamento de Salud (2021) indicaron que 14,987 son los adultos mayores de 60 años en adelante que se han contagiado del Coronavirus.Marco ConceptualLa Teoría Ecológica y el Modelo Biopsicosocial. Diseño de InvestigaciónPara realizar el presente estudio, se utilizará una metodología cualitativa con un diseño fenomenológico. Descripción de la MuestraLa muestra del estudio estará constituida por un mínimo de 10 cuidadores informales de pacientes con diagnóstico de Alzheimer. La muestra será no probabilística por disponibilidadDescripción de los instrumentos para recopilar datosPara la recopilación de datos se llevará a cabo una entrevista semiestructurada. Análisis de DatosCon el fin de analizar los datos recopilados para la presente investigación se utilizará el Modelo de Harry F. Wolcott (1994), modelo DAI (Descripción, Análisis e Interpretación).
Keywords (separate with commas)
Cuidadores informales/Persona Cuidadora Informal: López (2016) refiere que “es aquella persona encargada de ayudar en las necesidades básicas instrumentales de la vida diaria del paciente, durante la mayor parte del día, sin recibir retribución económica por ello, contribuyendo a que la persona dependiente se mantenga en su entorno social” (p.72).
#0374 |
Social work educator views of the training and educational needs of student social workers in preparation for working with people affected by Acquired Brain Injury
Akudo Amadiegwu1
;
Caroline Bald
2
1 - Canterbury Christ Church University.2 - University of Essex.
Social work education in the UK is governed by four regulatory bodies with no common curricula, with Social Workers in England alone undertaking multiple education routes in 82 higher education institutions (HEI). A growing body of evidence has demonstrated a potentially significant gap in ABI curricula inclusion in initial social work education. Little is known about the gap at a micro individual curriculum level or Social Work Educator’s views of ABI relevance in initial education. A UK-based National Instititute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project, Heads Together, is researching social work education curricula to evidence preparedness of graduating social workers for ABI practice and to develop resource database for curricula development. As part of the research project, a 12-point online survey was deployed to UK-based Social Work Educators with support of the Joint Universities Social Work Committee (JUSWEC) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW). Of the 27 responses, thematic analysis of the data recognises four key themes: 1) an acknowledged gap in ABI curricula inclusion in initial social work education including that of respondents; 2) significant numbers of respondents had personal experience of ABI (self, family or close friends); 3) majority view ABI should be mandatory part of initial social work education; and finally, 4) there are pockets of good practice often prompted by local practice. The survey findings will, in combination with interviewing newly qualified, specialist and commissioning social workers, inform curricula inclusion of ABI in social work education in the UK.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Brain Injury, Social Work, Social Work education, Disability, Acquired Brain Injury,
#1503 |
Caring for Caregivers of Children with Special Needs
Siti Nursila Senin1
;
Tina Viva Tan
1
;
Mavis Teo
1
Background:The “Caring for Caregivers of Children with Special Needs” programme provides home-based counselling and respite care for the caregivers of children with nursing needs and/or behavioural challenges. The programme aims to reduce caregiver stress and increase caregiver well-being.\ As part of the enrolment process for the programme, potentially suitable caregivers were screened using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a depression screening tool. Caregivers with scores that indicate risk of depression were enrolled into the programme on the basis that those struggling with mental health concerns would benefit most from the support provided by the programme.Results:Over a period of three years, a total of 110 caregivers considered at moderate to high risk of depression were enrolled into the programme. 75% of these caregivers reported an improvement in their PHQ-9 scores after receiving at least one session of counselling.\ Discussion:The social workers’ experiences with the caregivers portray a bigger picture than what is and can be captured by the PHQ-9. Even though the PHQ-9 generally has good reliability and validity, we found that there is a misalignment in the PHQ-9 scores and the social workers’ assessment. This could be due to reasons such as inaccurate self-reporting or the lack of suitability of the PHQ-9 as a screening tool. Since only caregivers with higher PHQ-9 scores are enrolled into the programme, other caregivers who would also have benefitted may have been missed out.While we have moved away from relying solely on the PHQ-9 as a screening tool, we seek more comprehensive and accurate ways of navigating the complexities of caregivers’ needs, especially within such a diverse caregiver population. Using observational and contextual data from social workers and direct feedback from caregivers, we reflect on how to better capture caregiver needs and enhance the screening process of the programme.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Caregivers, special needs, screening tool, mental health support\
12:00 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
17 - Trabajo Social / Desarrollo Social en Campo
#0409 |
Guadalajara Ciudad Amigable con la Personas Mayores. Intercambio Intergeneracional “Árbol Milenario”
Leticia Guadalupe Romero Lima Romero1
;
Jose Luis Miranda
1
El proyecto de los árboles milenarios surge en el marco del 1 de octubre, día internacional de las personas de edad, en el año 2022. En este contexto DIF Guadalajara a través del programa DIPAM (Desarrollo Integral de las Personas Adultas Mayores) por iniciativa de la que suscribe lanza un proyecto intergeneracional llamado “Árboles Milenarios”. Este proyecto se elabora con la participación de la Preparatoria No. 13 de la Universidad de Guadalajara, adultos mayores, sus nietos y personal del programa. Su diseño fue elaborado por José Luis Miranda, persona mayor usuaria, el cual se imprimió en una lona de 2X3 metros, donde la conformación del follaje surgiría de plasmar la mano de cada uno de los participantes, una vez terminado se montó en un bastidor y exhibido en el edificio del programa. El árbol cuenta con dos elementos principales: el tronco, significa la fuerza que es capaz de sostener y soportar. Las ramas y su follaje, conformadas por las manos mismas que representan las huellas de una persona, haciéndola única e irrepetible, donde se encuentra la línea de la vida. Las manos que trabajan, construyen, acarician, bendicen, y que juntan fuerza y unión para el servicio. Concluyendo que las personas mayores sostienen la convivencia entre generaciones. Al colocar la mano se pone la edad de cada participante, al concluir la suma de todas las manos, representa la edad del árbol, por eso se denomina milenarios. El árbol milenario que presento es de 8915 años, con la participación de 166 personas de las siguientes edades: 85 de más de 60 años, 11 niños, 27 jóvenes de la preparatoria No. 13, 44 personas entre 18 y 59 años. Cabe hacer mención que ya se cuenta con tres arboles milenarios en diferentes espacios.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Intergeneracional, milenario, personas adultas mayores
#0563 |
Infografías del proyecto de extensión docente de la Universidad de Costa Rica titulado: “Construyendo nuevas estrategias de crianza y vinculación: familias en procesos de cambio”.
Carolina María Navarro Bulgarelli1
1 - Escuela de Trabajo Social. Universidad de Costa Rica.
Del 2016 al 2021, la Escuela de Trabajo Social tuvo inscrito en la Vicerrectoría de Acción Social de la Universidad de Costa Rica un proyecto de extensión docente titulado: "Construyendo nuevas estrategias de crianza y vinculación: familias en procesos de cambio”. Este proyecto de extensión docente tenía el propósito de sostener procesos de atención terapeútica con familias referidas del: Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI): ente rector de Niñez y Adolescencia en Costa Rica. Programa de Educación Abierta (PEA): proyecto de la Vicerrectoría de Acción Social y la Escuela de Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Costa Rica que impulsa que la población joven y adulta puedan concluir los procesos de Educación General Básica.Además, en este proyecto, en temas de familias, se realizaron: procesos de capacitación con profesionales de Trabajo Social del PANI y del PEA, actividades educativas con personas estudiantes, materiales educativos y varias publicaciones. Todas estas acciones se circunscriben en un posicionamiento crítico que concibe a las familias desde la pluralidad y diversidad. Particularmente, la pandemia, le implicó al equipo gestor del proyecto de extensión docente en mención reorientar ciertos procesos y es precisamente en ese marco que en articulación con el Programa de Educación Abierta de la Universidad de Costa Rica se construyen 4 infografías en el tema de las maternidades: La Maternidad a través del tiempoMaternidadesMaternidades y metas de vida ¿Es posible?Maternidades y Estudio. ¿Es posible concluir estudios de secundaria siendo una mujer adulta con hijos e hijas?Las infografías creadas son empleadas en el PEA con las poblaciones sujetas de atención. Se pretenden exponer dichas infografías en las zonas que se designen durante el evento. También se busca compartir las generalidades y alcances de este proyecto de extención docente con las personas participantes y aclarar los comentarios y consultas que tengan.
Keywords (separate with commas)
#0576 |
MUJERES, CONSUMO DE DROGAS Y TRAYECTORIA EN SERVICIOS SOCIALES
Este trabajo tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre la relación entre los servicios sociales y las mujeres usuarias de drogas durante y después del embarazo, verificando qué apoyo ofrecen estos servicios y cómo se articulan (o no) en la defensa de los derechos sociales de estas mujeres. Fueron analizados 17 casos de acogida de recién nacidos ocurridos en la Maternidad del Hospital Universitario Cassiano Antônio Moraes entre 2008 y 2017. Se trató de una investigación documental, en la que se analizaron las historias clínicas de las mujeres en la Maternidad, el sistema municipal de Salud, em el sistema Municipal de Asistencia Social, em las causas judiciales, así como información proporcionada por la Secretaría Municipal de Vivienda. El estudio mostró que de los 17 bebés acogidos, apenas um bebé fue reintegrado a su madre; 8 fueron encaminados para adopción y 8 fueron entregados a la familia extensa. Se verificó que las mujeres, durante y después de la pérdida de la custodia de sus hijos pasan por una serie de servicios y son conocidas por ellos, entre los que identificamos: Unidades de Salud, Centro de Atención Psicosocial, Clínica de Calle, Sala de Urgencias, Centro de Atención a la Población sin Hogar, Abordaje Social, Estancia Nocturna, Centros de Referencia de Asistencia Social, Centro de Referencia de Asistencia Social Especializada, además de programas de vivienda social. A pesar de ello, la mayoría de ellos nunca han recibido un seguimiento sistemático. Los datos muestran que la actuación de los servicios está orientada a la protección de los niños y destaca el abandono social y emocional al que son sometidas las madres. El Estado brasileño, al penalizar a las mujeres consumidoras de drogas con la pérdida de sus hijos, se exime de su responsabilidad de garantizar condiciones reales para que las mujeres permanezcan con sus hijos.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Embarazo, consumo de drogas, servicios sociales
#0587 |
Asset-based, strengths-forward, and globally-minded social justice educational framework to social work practice with refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced populations in the Americas
For the first time in history, the number of individuals forcibly displaced worldwide exceeded 100 million in 2022, with over 1% of humanity displaced by violence, conflict, or persecution (UNHCR Mid-Year Trends Report, 2022). The Americas hosted 18.4 million or twenty percent of the global persons of concern in 2021; in 2021 alone, there were nearly 600,000 asylum seekers and refugees in Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States, originating from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras[1]. Since the U.S. is a frequent target destination for many of these displaced persons who are seeking safety or new life outside of their home country, with the most extensive refugee resettlement program in the world and over 245,200 asylum applications received in just the first half of 2022 (UNHCR Mid-Year Trends Report, 2022), social workers are increasingly engaging with them in their practice settings. Given the magnitude of the movement of people in the Americas and their specific regional geographical, cultural, socio-economic, racial, indigenous, and environmental challenges, along with the historical cross-border politics, it is critical that social work students in the U.S. become equipped with knowledge, skills, and an empathetic attitude in understanding the plight of refugees, asylees, and displaced persons from the Americas. This study proposes an educational framework that centers on an asset-based, strengths-forward, and globally-minded social justice approach to social work practice and will be piloted at the authors’ university. The implications include the development of a framework-based pilot social work course, available for any social work program with the objective of global perspective, cultural awareness, engagement, advocacy, and social and skill development to work with refugees, asylees, and displaced persons from the Americas.
Keywords (separate with commas)
refugees, asylees, displaced persons, the Americas, educational framework, social work,
#0625 |
"Because they recognized us": Triangulated perspectives of Syrian mothers' resettlement experiences in the Eastern United States.
Research indicates that post-resettlement experiences can be particularly challenging for people with refugee status. Despite finding safety in and adjusting to their new home, former refugees have indicated that this time can be stressful and even traumatic. The Syrian crisis has created the largest wave of refugees ever known, and Syrian women are amongst the most\ vulnerable. However, women’s needs and preferences are often not taken into consideration during the resettlement journey and when they are, there is no distinction between mothers and their childless counterparts. As social workers strive to empower the individual person within their environment, it is beneficial to understand the perspectives and preferences of Syrian mothers with refugee status regarding their post-resettlement experience. This qualitative study - completed under the Trump administration during the notorious Muslim Ban - provides insight into factors affecting two Syrian mothers post-resettlement and triangulates the perspectives of these women with those of local resettlement workers and state agency workers in order to understand similarities and differences in their views. The outcomes provide overarching themes and recommendations for change in both policy and practice from the participants responses, as well as implications for future research.\
Palliative care day services are complementary to institutional services and aim to improve the quality of life of ill people and their loved ones by offering them care and services in a holistic manner using a humanistic and community-based approach. In these services, social workers play a central role in accompanying people facing serious illness through individual, marital, family and group intervention. As part of a research project on innovative practices in five palliative care day services in Quebec, Canada, five social workers were interviewed to document their roles, practices, and most used approaches within these services, as well as to gather their perception of the effects of their support for patients and their families. An inductive analysis of the qualitative data was conducted following Thomas' (2006) method. The presentation will describe how the roles of support, facilitator and referral are actualized in the practice of social workers and will offer examples of the application of the main approaches advocated in their work, that are the systemic, strengths-based, narrative and empowerment approaches through the different intervention modalities possible in palliative day care services. The presentation will also illustrate how, through their accompaniment, social workers promote the empowerment of people in palliative care. The presentation will also highlight the particularities of intervention in palliative care day services where informal activities become a powerful lever for intervention in social work and where interdisciplinarity favors co-intervention to promote a real holistic approach for people. Finally, this presentation will also provide an opportunity to learn more about palliative day care services, which are places of welcome, socialization, recognition and demystification of the end-of-life, death, and bereavement by enabling people to come to terms with this final stage of life, while respecting their own rhythm.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Palliative care, palliative care day services, community-based approach, individual intervention, family intervention, group intervention, demystification of the end-of-life
#0956 |
Closing the Mental Health Treatment Gap through Social Work Field Education
Shahnaz Savani
1
;
Andrea Germany
2
;
Dana Smith1
1 - University of Houston-Downtown.2 - Mississippi State University – Meridian.
Seventy-five to 90% of individuals affected by mental illness do not receive the treatment they need, largely due to the shortage of mental health professionals. Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) like depression and anxiety constitute a large part of the disease burden of mental illness and can be effectively treated with low cost, low resource psychosocial interventions delivered by trained paraprofessionals. Social Work Education can contribute to closing the treatment gap for mental illness by training their BSW students to deliver evidence-based interventions for CMDs during their field education experience and meet a critical need in their communities.\ Given the severe global shortage of “specialist mental health care providers” and the enormity of the need for mental health treatment, a viable solution to fill the mental health treatment gap is to move from reliance on highly trained mental health care providers to a system that will utilize paraprofessionals trained in evidence-based interventions.\ To this end, the World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated the Mental Health Global Action Program (mhGAP). The mhGAP was developed for scaling up services for mental, neurological, and substance use disorders (MNS) in low-income contexts. We are advocating for BSW students to be trained to provide evidence-based, non-specialist-delivered treatments for CMDs during their field education experience. In the US alone there were 61,907 students in BSW programs in 2020 (CSWE, 2021), and with each of these students completing 400 hours of fieldwork, the social work education community had access to 24,762,800 hours within that school year. Based on this average, and the estimate of one full time professional working 2,080 hours a year, schools of social work potentially have access to the equivalent of over 11,000 people across the country working full-time to provide psychosocial interventions as a front-line response to CMDs in a supervised and standardized environment.\ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
Field Education, Mental Health, Treatment Gap, Scalability, Psychosocial Treatment\
#1059 |
Enhancing Mental Health Outcomes for Korean Americans through Diversity-Centered Practices
Numerous studies have shown racial/ethnic disparities in mental health service utilization and an association between immigration factors and mental illness. However, interventions derived from predominantly non-Hispanic White samples may inadequately address the needs of non-White Americans, consequently exacerbating these disparities. This issue prompted the establishment of the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP). Through collaborative endeavors, CRDP aims to achieve mental health equity among five priority populations in California: African American, Latino, Native American, Asian and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ communities.CRDP Phase I was dedicated to identifying the specific needs of these populations, while Phase II (2017-2022) sought to implement population-specific interventions. In the context of Phase II, the "Integrated Care Coordinators (ICC)" program was formulated for Asian and Pacific Islander communities, focusing on Korean and Vietnamese individuals. This program, designed to mitigate mental health disparities, provides culturally and linguistically competent navigation services in integrated health settings.This presentation delves into the CRDP project's origins and the outcomes achieved by the Korean ICC program. By illustrating diversity as a foundational value and practical principle in mental health, it accentuates the influence of collaborative social action on improving service quality and mental health outcomes for Korean Americans. Moreover, the presentation showcases quantitative analysis outcomes based on Korean ICC program participants (N=102), revealing statistically significant enhancements in psychological distress (t (97) = 6.98, p \\< .001) and functional outcomes (t (59) = 3.55, p = .001).Given the ongoing surge of hate violence directed towards Asian immigrants and the disproportionate consequences of the pandemic on ethnic minority populations, the significance of health and mental health practices that embody diversity, collaboration, and social action amongst academia, mental health professionals, and community-based organizations is more vital than ever. This presentation underscores these principles' significance in elevating marginalized communities' well-being.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Diversity-centered practice, Korean Americans, mental health outcomes, collaboration and social action
#1287 |
A Critical Exploration of Youth Suicide and Systems of Care: Parent and Caregiver Perspectives
Toula Kourgiantakis1
;
Eunjung Lee
2
;
Shelley Craig
2
Canadian youth have the highest rates of mental health (20%) and substance use (12%) concerns, and the most unmet mental health care needs. Parents of youth who die by suicide describe challenges finding appropriate youth\ mental health\ care, poor quality of care, and inadequate involvement in their youth’s treatment. For sexual and gender minority youth and Black Indigenous People of Colour, there are higher suicide risks associated with racism and discrimination. The aim of this study was to examine how parents caregivers describe systems of care that engaged with their youth prior to the suicide to improve service access, quality of\ mental health\ care, and reduce rates of suicide in youth. Participants were eligible to participate if they were a parent/caregiver of a youth under 26 who died by suicide in the last 5 years. Recruitment was through bereavement centres, and we conducted virtual semi-structured interviews. We analyzed data using thematic analysis. The sample included 17 participants (n=12 mothers, n=5 fathers), and we identified the following themes: (1) it is important to make youth voices heard, (2) there is a need to reduce stigma, (3) schools need to address bullying, (4) anti-racism policies are inconsistently applied, (5) suicidal youth are often too low risk for hospital and too high risk for community agencies, (6) there is a need for more compassionate care, (7) consent and privacy laws exclude caregivers who are usually the most important source of support, and (8) there is limited support for parents. Our study identified eight themes connected to bullying, racism, stigma, discrimination, quality of care in different systems, equitable access to services, family involvement, inequitable policies, and service gaps. These findings have implications for social workers who are one of the largest mental health professions in North America.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Youth, suicide, parents, systems of care, social work
15:05 - 16:05
Sub_17c
C. Mental Health /Health
#0343 |
Practice Developments and Practitioner Competencies for Single Session Therapy
Serge Nyirinkwaya1
;
Monica Sesma-Vazquez
1
1 - Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary.
Background: The field of Single-Session Therapy (SST) is expanding rapidly, as more individuals, families, groups, and communities use one-at-a-time mental health services in different contexts all over the world. Previous research has documented empirical evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of SST on clients’ outcomes but the framework for practitioner competencies that contribute to optimal SST outcomes has not been sufficiently covered. While single-session thinking has been taken up by social work practice in health settings and adapted into single-session social work, more exploration is needed to inform future social work health/mental health practice, education, and research.Purpose: With the rise of agencies and organizations including SST as a delivery service, more practitioners are in the need to use and implement this modality. However, there are very few courses or training opportunities that support practitioners to enhance their competencies in SST. In addition, little has been studied on competences required to effectively implement SST. The objective of this paper presentation is to describe and explain the SST practice developments and practitioners’ competences to inform social work education.Method: Review of relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature on SST developments including context, use and evidence for SST as well as key competences to implement SST. Results: SST has expanded in the last three decades to embrace different uses and contexts from psychotherapy, counseling, and family therapy to single social work practice with individuals, couples, and families. Evidence shows that SST is an effective and efficient service delivery model for various presenting concerns and diverse populations with no less effect than multiple session treatment. Key SST competence areas include client-centered skills and practitioner use of self.Conclusion: While there is evidence about SST efficacy, more studies are needed to examine practitioner’s competences in different contexts.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Single-session therapy, competences, education, social work, mental health
#0349 |
Exploring the Issue of Hoarding in Taiwanese Communities
Ya Ching Chang
1
;
Chin Fen Chang2
1 - Instituto of Health and Welfare Policj,National.2 - National Taipei University Department of Social Work.
Hoarding behavior is frequently observed in Taiwanese communities. The mental health sector hardly encounters hoarding disorder cases. Individuals with hoarding behaviors often suffer from other mental disorders and experience difficulties in social environments. This study aims to provide insight into some existing hoarding behaviors, including the disclosure, treatments, and services.\ Despite the increasing concern related to public health and safety, Taiwan still lacks institutional regulations and treatment methods for hoarding behavior.\ The disparity between the community services and mental health section in Taiwan has sparked the researchers' interest in hoarding issues in Taiwanese communities. This study reviews the different findings of the studies of hoarding individuals in Taiwanese communities and international literature.\ This study employed qualitative research methods and conducted interviews with social workers, community worker, clinical psychologists, and professional organizer to provide unique contextual insights in local settings.\ An interesting finding appears that different generations hoard different items, including cosmetic products and idol goods which are uncommon and unidentified in previous related research.\ It remains challenging to provide mental health support for hoarders and their families.This research represents one of the few local studies on hoarding individuals in Taiwan. Our findings can serve as a reference for relevant organizations in understanding and formulating intervention methods for addressing the hoarding issue in Taiwanese communities.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Hoarding disorder, Compulsive hoarding, Taiwanese local study, Community work, Mental health
#0743 |
Conceptualizations of Mental Health Stigma in Ghana
Micki Washburn1
;
Robin Gearing
2
;
Doris Boateng
3
;
Rabiu Asante
3
;
Kathryne Brewer
4
;
Sondra Fogel
5
;
Susan Robbins
6
;
Christian Carr
6
1 - University of Texas at Arlington.2 - University of Houstob.3 - University of Ghana.4 - University of New Hampshire.5 - University of South Florida.6 - University of Houston.
As Ghana continues to develop into one of the most thriving democracies and economies on the continent of Africa, more attention has been paid to mental health concerns, particularly as mental health concerns are often a result of pressure to accumulate material wealth. \\ Stigma toward mental health concerns serves as a barrier to treatment in many parts of the developed world. \\ However, little is currently know about mental health related stigma in Ghana. \\ A convenience sample of 196 respondents was field recruited to participate in a survey about attitudes toward mental health. A randomized experimental vignette methodology was used to assess multiple domains of mental health stigma and their relationship to the sociodemographic characteristics of the vignette subject and respondents. \\ The symptoms experienced by the vignette subject (anxiety, depression or psychosis) and gender of the subject of the vignette (male or female experiencing the mental health concern) were varied to produce 6 variations of the experimental vignette. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze these data. \\ Results indicate that there were statistically significant associations between the gender of the vignette subject, his or her diagnosis, and the various domains of stigma. For example, an individual experiencing signs of psychosis was perceived as more dangerous than one experiencing depression or anxiety and respondents expressed a greater desire for social distance from women experiencing mental health concerns relative to men. Contrary to expectations, religiosity, urbanicity, cultural background and perceived etiology of the mental health condition were not predictive of stigma.\\ This work adds to our currently limited knowledge concerning mental health stigma in Ghana.\\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Ghana, stigma, mental health, vignette
#0751 |
Understanding the Complexity of Stigma in Latino Mental Health: Insights from Houston, TX, and Mexico City.
Kathryne Brewer1
;
Micki Washburn
2
;
Ryan Gibson
1
;
Nikhil Tomar
1
;
Natalia Giraldo-Santiago
3
;
Luis Hostos-Torres
4
;
Robin Gearing
5
1 - University of New Hampshire.2 - University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work.3 - Massachusetts General Hospital.4 - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.5 - University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.
Stigma towards mental health concerns can have a more negative impact on a person's well-being than the actual symptoms of their condition. Stigma acts as a significant barrier to accessing mental health services, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities. However, existing research often fails to recognize the cultural differences within these minority groups, such as Latino communities, and more studies are needed to understand and address the specific nuances of stigma within diverse cultural groups to reduce the mental healthcare gap among Latinos. This presentation will share findings from a study that examined the influence of cultural context on social distance and perceptions of stigma towards mental health conditions among Latino populations in Houston, TX, USA and Mexico City, Mexico. Utilizing a community-based vignette survey, we assessed 513 participants' perceptions of individuals demonstrating symptoms of alcohol misuse, depression, and psychosis, focusing on public acceptance, perceived stigma, anticipated threat, potential positive outcomes, and the capacity to change. The outcomes revealed a marked contrast in stigma perceptions between Latino respondents in the USA and Mexico, with those in Houston manifesting lower public stigma and perceived danger associated with mental health conditions than Mexico City's respondents. Notably, the cultural environment appeared to shape the relationship between various dimensions of stigma, leading to some inverse correlations depending on the location of participants. These results highlight the intricate relationship between cultural context, mental health symptoms, and stigma, emphasizing the need for culturally sensitive interventions to mitigate mental health stigma and encourage service utilization within Latino communities.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
mental health, stigma, Latino, cultural context
16:10 - 17:10
Sub_17c
C. Health/Mental Health
#0445 |
Metaphors as an expression of wellbeing and mental health: Insight from youth
Tara Collins1
;
Dora Tam
1
;
Barbara Lee
2
;
Siu Ming Kwok
1
;
Shauna Burke
3
1 - University of Calgary.2 - University of British Columbia.3 - Western University.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 51% of Canadian youth aged 12 to 18 reported experienced depression and 39% reported experiencing anxiety (Craig et al., 2023).To address such concerns, a Youth Mental Health Photovoice Project was developed by researchers in Canada to engage and co-create knowledge with youth (aged 12-17) regarding factors that impact their mental wellbeing and strategies for maintaining mental wellness. Each photovoice group involved 5 to 11 participants and two co-facilitators who attended six to seven 1.5-hour sessions. The youth had the option of using their cell phone or a digital camera provided by the team, or utilizing pictures they had already taken, to explore four photo themes: 1) their perception/understanding mental health and wellness; 2) challenges to youth mental health; 3) strategies to maintain mental wellness; and 4) community support for youth mental health. Twenty-five photo stories were developed as a group or by individual participants. Manifest coding was used for the data analysis. Findings suggested that participants often shared metaphors while discussing their photos and the themes. For example, one participant shared that "your mental health is a shadow that can reach every aspect of your life, from your school, personal relationship, your mental health can also impact your physical health." Another youth stated that mental health "means like the weather to me. Sometimes it can be good and sometimes it can be pretty bad too. It affects my daily life a lot, but I cannot control it." The photos and narratives from youth demonstrated a creative and insightful way to express mental health and strategies on how to foster wellbeing using metaphors. This presentation will explore the youth's use of metaphors to express their perceptions of mental health and wellbeing. Recommendations for practice, future photovoice projects, and research will be provided.
Keywords (separate with commas)
photovoice, children and youth, mental wellbeing, mental health
#0600 |
Resiliency to empowerment: a framework to understanding adolescents living with HIV in Uganda
Eusebius Small1
;
Bonita Sharma
2
;
Betty Tonui
3
1 - The University of Texas at Arlington.2 - University of Texas at San Antonio.3 - Oakland University.
It is estimated that over thirty-five million people around the world live with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and over 71% live in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite scientific gains in HIV prevention, Uganda is still one of the countries seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. HIV is a highly stigmatized disease with social ridicule and discrimination, leading to depression, trauma, and severe mental health problems. Despite the scientific discoveries and knowledge, we know very little about pathways to resiliency and empowerment adolescents employ to manage the disease. Utilizing resilience theory, the study explored adolescents’ lived experiences and the processes of responding to adversity and building resilience after HIV diagnosis among youth ages 18 to 24 living with HIV in Uganda. We used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) to collect data using semi-structured interviews with six focus groups (N=31) and analyze them using the grounded theory method. Participants included young men, women, men having sex with men (MSM), sex workers, and perinatally infected young people who receive services at a local private and government-run clinic. The findings indicate that adolescents living with HIV went through several pathways in their HIV experiences: from denial to despair, suicidal ideation, substance use, and developing resilience which were seldom linear. In this study, we present the framework of resilience to empowerment among youth with HIV and discuss the implications for researchers, healthcare providers, advocates, and policymakers to develop interventions to bolster individuals’ inherent determination to be better and overcome the social, physical, and health headwinds that stand in the way of those with HIV.
Over 60 million Americans self-identify as Latinos, representing 18.5% of the total population. The Latino population will continue grow and comprise 27.5% of the United States (U.S.) population by 2069. As the largest minority population in the U.S., it is imperative for Latinos to access appropriate and comprehensive healthcare, including mental health treatment. Current research suggests Latinos have low regard for mental health services overall. This presentation details a research study that explores Latino’s treatment preferences and pathways to care when seeking assistance for mental health related concerns using data from a community-based survey of approximately 500 Latino adults on beliefs and attitudes about mental health and help-seeking. Results found that more than half of participants prefer to seek help through informal source of care (e.g., friends, family members, co-workers, religious leaders, faith healers) initially rather than formal mental health service providers (e.g., licensed health professionals, a hospital, clinic). Demographic characteristics of respondents and symptoms experienced by the person in need of help predicted preferences in preferred paths of help seeking.\ Implications are presented for increasing treatment engagement for Latinos with mental health concerns. The size and importance of this community make it critical for Latinos to seek mental health services when necessary. Furthermore, there is a great need for social and psychological support systems within our Latino communities. These supports can include targeted messaging campaigns aimed at helping the community increase their mental health literacy, their knowledge of treatment options, and their willingness to seek and engage in formal mental health care. Access, however, remains just as important. Policymakers must continue to expand access to health and mental health care. Moreover, professional organizations must endeavor to present positive portrayals of mental health services providers in Latino communities, and testimonials from Latino individuals who have found mental health services helpful.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Latino, Hispanic, mental health, addictions, help-seeking, attitude, formal care, informal care
#0718 |
Understanding Predictors of help-seeking for mental health treatment in Mexico and among Latinos in the United States
Robin Gearing1
;
Micki Washburn
2
;
Katryne Brewer
3
;
Miao Yu
2
;
Arlene Bjugstad
1
;
Pedro de la Cruz
4
;
Adelaide Garcia Andres
5
;
Luis Torres
6
1 - University of Houston.2 - University of Texas at Arlington.3 - University of New Hampshire.4 - Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Escuela.5 - Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.6 - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Most people in need of mental health services in Mexico and Latinos in the (United States) U.S. do not seek formal support or professional services to address their mental health needs. It is imperative for adults in Mexico and Latinos in the U.S. to access appropriate and comprehensive healthcare, including mental health treatment. Understanding help-seeking behaviors is crucial to addressing underutilized mental health services across these communities. This presentation will highlight data was collected as part of a larger research project on stigma and help-seeking for mental health related concerns in Mexico and in Latino Communities in the United States (U.S.). A sample of adults residing in Mexico City and of Latino adults in the U.S. participated in two studies using an experimental vignette methodology assessing stigma toward individuals with mental health conditions, along with characteristics and demographic correlates of help-seeking will be presented. All survey measures in Mexico and the U.S. were administered in Spanish. Structural regression was conducted for the outcome “openness to professional help seeking for mental health problems” as a latent variable. In Mexico, compared with males, females were more open to professional help seeking, as were people who endorsed higher spirituality; while people who experienced self-stigma were less open to professional help-seeking for mental health concerns. Whereas among US Latinos, openness towards seeking professional help for mental health concerns is influenced by participants’ age, marital status, gender, region of origin, education, public stigma, and self-stigma towards mental health problem. Adults in Mexico and Latinos within US communities continue to have low levels of mental health service utilization. Understanding the specific the nuanced differences with regard to the predicts help-seeking for mental health issues across communities is essential to promote early detection, entry into care, and outreach efforts.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Latinos, Hispanics, Mexico, United States, mental health, help-seeking, service utilization,stigma
17:10 - 18:10
Sub_17c
C. Health/Mental Health
#0193 |
Twisted fate: Progressive collaborations and contemporary best practices between social work and psychiatry
Tyler Arguello
1
;
Juan Carlos Arguello2
1 - California State University, Sacramento.2 - California Department of State Hospitals.
This workshop will center attention on the longstanding and forever-intertwined relationship between (clinical) social work and psychiatry. Amongst helping / healthcare professionals, social workers and psychiatrists have a distinct and symbiotic relationship; in large part fomented by clinical training, scopes of practice, licensure, and independence (at least in U.S. settings). Given contemporary best practice standards in both professions, mandates by healthcare organizations, and the complexities of clinical cases and clients, more alliance needs to be promoted in education and training settings. With that, social work has an even greater mandate to foreground social justice in psychiatric prevention, treatment, and recovery. An interprofessional as well as transdisciplinary framework will provided as a platform to discuss progressive best practices and clinical standards. Diverse cases will be offered from contemporary practice in the largest psychiatric and forensic system in the world, parallel to cases from community-based settings, in California, USA.Objectives:Consider critical assumptions, ethics, and roles in interprofessional practice Identify main tenets of each professionals' roles, responsibilities, and accountabilityDefine transdisciplinary healthcare practiceReview assessment and case formulation within an interprofessional frameworkConstruct intersectionally diverse and affirmative action / treatment plans
Keywords (separate with commas)
Interprofessional practice, psychiatry, team medicine, clinical social work
#0361 |
Exploring Intimacy and its Formation within Psychiatric Wards - A Discussion between Disability Studies and Relational Autonomy Theory
Ya Ching Chang1
;
Huan Wen Chen
2
1 - Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, National YangMing-ChiaoTung University, Taiwan.2 - Institute of Public Health, National YangMing-ChiaoTung University, Taiwan.
The development of intimate relationships contributes to promoting mental health and are also a crucial aspect of a person's identity. However, within psychiatric wards, intimate relationships, and interpersonal interactions of individuals with mental disorders are often disregarded, posing multiple barriers to their support systems, reintegration into social life, and the path towards recovery. Such oversight may also contravene CRPD.The personal interactions, intimate relationships, and even sexual autonomy of individuals with mental disorders within the ward remain largely unexplored. There are no explicit regulations in Mental Health Act or hospital evaluations in Taiwan that address these aspects. The management approach towards intimate relationships relies solely on the regulations of individual institutions. Therefore, this study employs an in-depth qualitative approach to interview individuals with experience of staying in psychiatric wards and apply the framework of relational autonomy theory for analysis. This study also provides insights of the influences caused by the patients’ family, medical staffs and other close relations.\ This study reveals that individuals with mental disorders still have a need to develop intimate relationships. However, the illness itself and the attitudes of family members may hinder the development of such relationships. Moreover, various constraints within the ward impede the development of both inpatient and outpatient intimate relationships. These constraints include restrictions on communication, visitation, privacy, and the attitudes of staff members. It is necessary to establish clinical guidelines for psychological and physical intimacy in psychiatric wards.
Keywords (separate with commas)
mental disorder, psychiatric wards, relational autonomy, CRPD, Mental Health Act
#0754 |
Understanding Pathways to Mental Health Care in China: Findings from a Community Survey.
Kathryne Brewer1
;
Shahnaz Savani
2
;
Monit Cheung
3
;
Patrick Leung
3
;
L. Christian Carr
3
;
Ying Ma
3
;
Wanzhen Chen
4
;
Xuesong He
4
;
Robin Gearing
3
1 - University of New Hampshire.2 - University of Houston Downtown.3 - University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.4 - East China University of Science and Technology.
The burden of mental illness in China is substantial, with a significant impact on individuals and society, both economically and socially. However, access to professional mental health care remains limited, particularly due to low mental health literacy, stigma, and a preference for informal treatment sources. While the Chinese government has sought to improve mental health services, there is a need to understand barriers and and attitudes towards seeking help to address the treatment gap and improve mental healthcare in China. This presentation shares findings from a community-based research study conducted in Shanghai, China that examined public attitudes and preferences for formal versus informal care and how these varied based on mental health diagnosis. A structural model showed that 69% of the respondents endorsed professional help. Male respondents had a lower endorsement rate for individuals diagnosed with substance use, compared to PTSD, suicide, or schizophrenia. Female respondents showed a higher endorsement rate on formal care for schizophrenia compared to PTSD or depression. A third (34%) of respondents endorsed engaging health care, whereas 46% of the respondents endorsed mental health care, with helping-seeking attitudes and age being significant covariates. These findings have important implications for mental health care in China. The study highlights the influence of gender and the type of diagnosis on attitudes toward formal care, with lower approval for substance use among males and higher endorsement for schizophrenia among females. Attitudes toward help-seeking are influenced by various factors, including age, education, and mental health literacy. It is crucial to address the barriers and stigma that hinder access to mental health care in China, particularly among certain demographic groups, and to promote positive attitudes toward seeking professional help.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
mental health, stigma, pathways to care, service utilization, gender, China\
#1024 |
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in Community-Based Services: Practice Implications from a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Studies
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a strengths-based, intervention that was developed by social workers in the early 1980s and is now practiced globally within school social work, mental health, child and family services, and other communities-based settings. This paper reports findings from a systematic review and meta-analyses that examined how effective the number and types of SFBT techniques are for outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, behavioral health, health, family functioning, and psychosocial outcomes.\ MethodOnly SFBT studies that contain participants of adolescents, adults, or families, conducted in community services, using an RCT design, focusing on any behavioral health, health, family functioning, or psychosocial outcomes were included. This study followed the Cochrane recommendations. Data analysis included 28 studies from 33 publications, where 340 effect sizes were calculated and included for meta-regression.Results:All studies were conducted in community services and included racialized and diverse clientele. Subgroup analysis for specific outcome domains revealed that SFBT was statistically significant with medium treatment effects for depression outcomes, g = 0.652, 95% CI: 0.146 – 1.116, p = 0.017, behavioral health function, g = 0.573, 95% CI: 0.216 – 0.930, p \< 0.01, family function,\ g = 0.615, 95% CI: 0.097 – 1.130, p = 0.026, and psychosocial adjustment, g = 0.410, 95% CI: 0.001 – 0.820, p = 0.049. Results show how to use of SFBT in practice by demonstrating that three or more techniques were needed to achieve results, and that it is more effective to use change techniques across different categories ( i.e.,collaborative relationships, strengths and resources, and future-orientation).ConclusionSFBT is an effective intervention in outpatient, community-based mental health for diverse adolescent and adult populations who have depression, behavioral health, and family functioning challenges, and in psychosocial adjustment. This study has practice implications for how to \ efficaciously practice SFBT in community services.\ \ \
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social work practice, mental health, solution focused brief therapy\
SS - ENG 14
11:30 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
Poster Presentation
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Sub_17c
C. Health/Mental Health
#0051 |
Associations Between Parenting Style and Psychological Well-Being in Children and Adolescents Aged 8-14 Years in Singapore
Family represents a crucial form of socialization in shaping the healthy development of children and adolescents. In the last decades, studies have emphasized the crucial role of parent-child relationships in promoting a child's development and well-being. In addition, these studies also observed the critical role of parenting style in children's development and positive well-being. However, more is needed to know about the impact of parenting styles on children's psychological well-being in Singapore. Therefore, the current study investigates the association between parenting style, family support, and psychological well-being among children and adolescents in Singapore. Data came from 133 children and adolescents (57.9% boys and 42.1% girls) aged 8 to 14 (mean=11.01, SD=1.57). The self-administered questionnaire consists of the Provincial Parenting Style, the Stirling Children Well-Being questionnaire (SCW), and the family support subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (FS). Descriptive statistics examined the distribution of the study variables. ANOVA assesses whether parenting styles and psychological well-being differ by age and gender. Hierarchical linear regression examined the links between parenting style, family support, and SCW scores. Most respondents (55.6%) perceived their parents as authoritative, 29.4% as authoritarian, and 15% as permissive. There was a significant gender difference in parenting style with an authoritarian style more frequent among girls (M=13.96, SD=2.88 compared to BoysM=12.92, SD=2.85), F (1, 131)=4.29, p <.05. However, the authoritative style was more frequent in the younger age group (8-10 years) compared with those aged 11-14 years, F (1, 131)=4.12, p<.05. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that family support (β=5.61, p<.001) and authoritative parenting (β=3.15, p<.01) contributed significantly to children's psychological well-being. Parenting behavior significantly predicts children's and adolescents' psychological well-being. Authoritative parenting and familial support can enhance adjustment and promote psychological well-being in young people.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Parenting styles, psychological well-being, children, adolescence, family support, Singapore
#0136 |
Adapting an Evidence-Based Psycho-educational Intervention for Namibian Adolescent Girls Affected by HIV and AIDS: A Qualitative Study Design and Preliminary Findings
Nicole Bromfield1
;
Janetta Ananais
2
1 - University of Houston; University of Namibia.2 - University of Namibia.
Namibia has the 6th highest rate of HIV globally. Almost 29% of new infections are among adolescent girls and young women between 15-24 years of age. A lack of psychosocial support, mental health challenges, and various forms of stigma are significant issues for HIV-impacted adolescent girls and young women in Namibia. Our study aims to identify, adapt, and pilot an evidence-based (EB) psycho-educational intervention with adolescent girls and young women in Namibia between ages 13-19 affected by HIV and AIDS and who live in an informal settlement community. This presentation is on our study’s research design in which the ADAPTT-IT model was used to identify and adapt a psycho-educational intervention to be used with adolescent girls in a culturally and locally appropriate manner. Our presentation will also outline our preliminary findings related to the identification of an appropriate intervention to adapt based on qualitative in-depth interviews (n=27) with adolescent girls and young women. The study used a qualitative research design to explore the cultural and contextual factors that may influence the effectiveness of the intervention in this population. The preliminary results of the study suggest that adaptation of an intervention will be necessary to account for the unique experiences and cultural norms of the girls and young women. The findings of this study have important implications for the development of culturally sensitive interventions for marginalized populations in resource-limited settings. Moreover, the presentation is related to the conference sub-themes social work and child welfare and social work and mental health (our chosen conference sub-themes). The presentation will underscore the importance of fostering locally contextual dialogue and indigenous understanding to inform interventions.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Namibia; HIV and AIDS; ADAPTT-IT model; psycho-educational interventions
#0336 |
Evaluating the impact of a training program for mental health service providers in universities: an integrated knowledge transfer perspective
Background: Promoting and improving mental health education for college students is an important task in the interdisciplinary professional community. “Linking Hearts” as an implementation science (IS) research project aimed at promoting university student mental health in Jinan, China. By using an evidence-based intervention rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) and Group Empowerment Psychoeducation (GEP), we train interdisciplinary professional and student champions to developmental health initiatives and networks for promoting collaborative care system and policy changes at the universities and beyond. Objectives: This presentation will focus on the intertwined RE-AIM and integrated knowledge transfer (IKT)processes in evaluating the initial systemic impact of the second phase of our project. Methods: Data collection and analysis are conducted at the individual and organizational levels of 160 participants in 6 Universities. The RE-AIM framework and measurement indexes are used to examine the process and outcomes of knowledge transfer along five dimensions: Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance. Results: The scores for the implementation and effectiveness of knowledge transfer in the second stage of the project are higher, while the scores for the adoption and maintenance are slightly lower; there are certain differences in the implementation and effectiveness of knowledge transfer among different organizations; the factors that affect the outcomes of transfer involve different levels of organization, individuals, cross (multi) disciplines, cross cultures, and transfer paths.Implications: IKT processes as embedded within the RE-AIM framework serve as an important vehicle to evaluate the cascading systemic impact of an IS project.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Mental Health, University, Integrated Knowledge Transfer, Program Evaluation
#0915 |
Re-authoring Disenfranchised Grief Using Narrative Therapy: Powerful Metaphors from “White Eyes” to “True Love”
Yuk Yee Lee1
;
Jing Yang
2
1 - UOW College Hong Kong.2 - Department of Sociology, Guizhou University.
In the past 40 years, the number of Hong Kong men marrying Mainland Chinese women has continued to increase. According to a 2018 census report, about 34.7 % of newly registered marriages in 2016 (17,352 out of 50,008) were cross-boundary marriages (Choi, 2018). The increasing number of cross-boundary marriages between Hong Kong men and Mainland Chinese women has raised concerns about domestic violence within these relationships, particularly those involving older husbands and younger wives (January and May). Despite legislative efforts to protect victims of domestic violence, the social stigma attached to Chinese migrant wives remains prevalent in Hong Kong. This paper draws on data from a local support project for migrant women from Mainland China and explores the application of narrative therapy in addressing disenfranchised grief experienced by a Chinese migrant wife following the death of her Hong Kong husband. The author demonstrates how the metaphor of "white eyes" (symbolizing disapproval and judgment from step-children) and "true love" (representing faithfulness in marriage) can make meaning of the grief experiences, reconstruct the widow's narrative, and deconstruct social stigmas. By employing various conversation maps and therapeutic documents of narrative therapy to thicken the cross-border marriage couple’s love story, strengthens the widow's inner resources and competencies, and resists problem-saturated identities. This approach serves as an anti-oppressive practice, giving voice to a marginalized group of Chinese migrant wives, raising their consciousness, and empowering them through the process of storytelling.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Narrative Therapy, Disenfranchised Grief, Spouse, Migrant identity, Hong Kong
15:05 - 16:05
Sub_17c
C. Health/Mental Health
#0224 |
The Impact of a Short Term, Team Based Community Movement Initiative on Individual’s Wellbeing
Victoria Venable-Edwards1
;
Allessia Owens-King
1
;
Deneen Long-White
1
This paper presentation will focus on discussing a study that explores how engaging in short term, team-based movement and exercise activities can positively impact individuals’ overall wellbeing. There have been studies that have investigated the impact of movement on mental health outcomes (Rebar et al, 2015), on health-related outcomes (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013), and on wellness (Lumsden, Niles, & Macrae, 2014). That research indicates that sustained engagement in moderate movement or physical activity can help to decrease risk of development of several chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, reduce anxiety related symptoms, and duration of depressive symptoms (Centers for Disease Control, 2022; Schuch & Stubbs, 2019). In addition, there is research which indicates that team or group participation in movement activities can increase investment, engagement, and decrease loneliness. It is clear that including a physical activity or movement component in traditional mental health treatment protocols could help to amplify positive gains for clients. In addition, these alternative methods may be more palatable to various cultural groups when compared to traditional treatment components (e.g. talk therapy, medication, etc.). The study involved over 50 participants who participated in a community-based activity challenge over two weeks. The purpose was not only to increase engagement in health-related activities but also assess the impact of activity on individuals’ emotional, physical, and social wellbeing. Preliminary findings suggest that the activity challenge made a positive impact on participants’ level of engagement and their overall wellbeing. During this presentation, additional findings will be discussed and we will also explore how those findings can be used to influence the development and implementation of community-based health-focused initiatives.
Keywords (separate with commas)
movement, activity, exercise, wellness, health, social work, community based, public health
#0477 |
Asian Youth Mental Health and Wellness: A Photovoice Project
Dora MY Tam1
;
SIU MING KWOK
1
;
Barbara Lee
2
;
Tara Collins
1
;
Sylvia YCL Kwok
3
;
Ron CW Kwok
3
;
Shauna Burke
4
;
Louise Ng
1
;
Julia Kao
5
1 - University of Calgary.2 - University of British Columbia.3 - City University of Hong Kong.4 - Western University Canada.5 - University of British Columbia Okanagan.
North America research has documented the underreporting of mental health needs and underutilization of mental health services among Asian youth. With the increase in anti-Asian racism in North America since the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental wellness of Asian youth is an important consideration. As such, this project examined youth mental health through photovoice methodology (Wang & Burris, 1994) during the pandemic between May 2021 and August 2022. A total of 44 youth (age between 12 and 17) participated in six photovoice groups. Using photos, the youth explored the following topics: 1) their perception/understanding of mental health and wellness, 2) challenges to youth mental health, 3) strategies to maintain mental wellness, and 4) community support for youth mental wellness. A subset of photo stories by Asian youth (n=16) were further examined and the Asian youth were invited to a series of follow-up data analysis workshops where manifest coding was used to collaboratively analyze the data. A second cycle of thematic coding (Neuman & Robson, 2015) was subsequently used by the research team to generate broader themes. Findings suggest that the youth characterized mental health with unpredictability and instability as depicted in contrasting imagery and discussed in session. This was a unique finding among Asian youth, compared non-Asian youth in this photovoice project. Majority of these Asian youth reported school and schoolwork to be the biggest challenge to their mental health, specifically for those in high school. Yet, school programs were identified as the primary resources for seeking mental health support. Individual coping strategies identified by youth include listening to music, eating comfort food, engaging in outdoor activities or connecting to nature. Support programs at ethno-specific non-profit organizations, followed by libraries and community centers/gardens were also identified as positive resources. Implications for practice with Asian youth will be discussed in the presentation.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Youth, Mental Health, Wellness, Asian
#0645 |
From the side-lines to the forefront: repositioning social work in rural mental health care
There has been a growing interest on rural mental health care. Most research highlights the short supply of rural mental health services with a specific focus on medical perspective. Given the circumstances of mental health services in rural areas, the involvement of social workers is essential. This paper describes the aspects that should be considered in placing social workers at the forefront of providing effective mental health care in rural areas with the aim of improving the general well-being of mental health service users. Social workers play a crucial role in preventing illness and promoting health and mental health. Influenced by social work values such as social justice, social workers have always been perceived as advocates of human rights for vulnerable populations. With their knowledge of various social issues that impact negatively on service users, social workers are better positioned to address these issues to enhance social functioning. They play a key role in facilitating and coordinating support activities across various platforms. Social workers recognize that reducing health disparities can only be accomplished by addressing the biopsychosocial–spiritual needs of individuals and families, as well as the systemic issues that contribute to poor health outcomes. The paper suggests that, to improve social work’s effectiveness in rendering mental health services, community-based programs should be developed. These will strengthen the prospects of the person’s recovery. Greater emphasis on community-based care will require skilled social workers that can deal with barriers to health care access. Therefore, the development of a detailed mental health curricula content is important. This will ensure that newly graduated social workers have relevant skills to design and implement the developed community-based programs. It is also important to improve social work practice in mental health by providing constant supervision, mentorship and creating opportunities for benchmarking.
Keywords (separate with commas)
community-based programs, mental health, prevention, promotion, rural mental health, social work
#0691 |
An analysis of workplace violence in Cooperate environment: A subtle killer
GOITSEONE LEBURU
1
;
Matshidiso Tsholetsane2
1 - UNISA: University of South Africa.2 - University of South Africa.
The workplace plays a significant role in the lives of employees; therefore, it is critical that it is safe as possible. Although\ violence in the workplace is prevalent for many years and has been studied at length, less is known about the various facets of violence at the cooperate workplace through the lens of an Afrocentric perspective.\ The goal of this study is to critically analyse workplace violence in cooperate environment as a risk factor for mental health and productivity from an Afrocentric perspective. A comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon is critically important in these current times where violence and mental health issues are on the rise in South Africa. This calls for engagement in analysis of the negative impact of violence in the workplace. Furthermore, the analysis of workplace violence can help to improve productivity, liability, reputation and good mental health among employees. The results will assist cooperate management in identifying strategies that can effectively reduce workplace violence.
The approach of „Social Space Orientation“, which is widely used in German-speaking countries, also serves as a conceptual foundation in the field of school social work.It is often misinterpret that social space orientation focuses only on cooperation and networking. But if we take a deeper look at the guiding principles, it becomes clear that the concept is based on a multifaceted theoretical idea that focuses on an inclusive work, oriented to promoting diversity in the respective communities.An overview of concrete practical experiences of the implementation of the approach of „Social Space Orientation“ as a diversity concept is given in the short presentation.
Keywords (separate with commas)
School Social Work, Social Space Orientation, Diversity Concept
#1138 |
Preparing social workers for global practice through cross-cultural learning
Avril McIvor1
;
George Palattiyil
1
;
Kiran Thampi
2
;
Sumeet Jain
1
;
Anne Spiers
1
1 - University of Edinburgh.2 - Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous).
Social work education in the global North often follows a regulatory framework with students having to evidence certain standards within degree programmes in \ Scotland social work education is informed by Scottish Social Services Council’s (SSSC) Standards in Social Work Education. These standards are largely underpinned by Scottish contextual imperatives and policy and legislative frameworks. Such approaches are pedagogically rooted in Western canons of knowledge, there is little space for students to develop a critical appreciation of \ cultural identities of a population that is ethnically diverse. Curriculum requirements often framed by contextual demands invariably impact on students’ ability to critically engage in a decolonised examination of race, ethnicity, culture and differences. This impacts their ability to recognise the impact of colonisation on those who use services.\ \ With shifting migration trends, social workers are called upon to support service users whose cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds and identities differ from the white Scottish majority population. The shifting demographic profile of Scotland’s population has challenged us to think creatively and open up conversations on how best educators could enable students to develop knowledge, skills and values that would help the graduates to better engage with a diversity of service users.\ Social Work at the University of Edinburgh has been developing international placements to equip students with the knowledge and skills to work with diverse populations. Situated in different cultural and geographic regions, our international placements have allowed students with a fascinating opportunity to develop their learning in a different cultural context, yet closely aligned to the Scottish regulatory standards. Such international placements have become an integral part of our qualifying social work programme. Drawing on student feedback, the presentation will examine the history and benefits of cross-cultural learning and how to overcome the challenges that come in the way of such innovative approaches.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social Work, Education, Cultural, fieldwork, student experience, Scottish regulatory standards, international placement development, cross-cultural learning
17:10 - 18:10
Sub_17g
G. Colleges of Social Work
#0367 |
Religion, gender and the care of older persons in Muslim communities
This paper examines the care of older persons in Muslim communities and its significance for social work with Muslim families. Family life in Muslim communities is religiously informed by Islam and culturally impacted by patriarchal family and social relationships. In Islam, the intergenerational family is considered the ideal family form. In this arrangement, family members are expected to care for older people, including parents and older relatives, in the home. This religious and cultural practice, as an informal system of care, shares features of informal care in general, such as being largely unpaid domestic labor, unregulated, and primarily undertaken by women. These arrangements place a burden of care on women, which has several implications for them, including negative impacts on their health and well-being. In Muslim communities, where patriarchal family structures are maintained, these conditions are reinforced. When working with Muslim families, social workers need to be aware of the unique challenges that come with caring for older persons in the family. The paper assesses these circumstances and identifies interventions to promote gender justice in the intergenerational care of older persons in Muslim families
Keywords (separate with commas)
Intergenerational care, Islam, older persons, Muslim communities
#0783 |
Quality of Life as an Outcome Measure of the Use of New Services for Older Persons in Georgia
Georgia is an ageing country, ranking 95th in the world. According to the latest census, 14.3 percent of the population is over the age of 65, 3.1 - is aged 80 or older. With increasing number of older adults, promoting the QoL becomes a priority for healthy and active aging. QoL is a complex phenomenon, and it is considered as a central concept in ageing research. According to WHO QoL is an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. QoL is measured using objective and subjective indicators and pre-defined life domains. This abstract presents the study of the new service and its impact on the QoL of older persons. The study highlights three domains of QoL, which are knows to influence each other and have a significant effect on healthy ageing (health, social inclusion and participation).\ A mixed method research design in the context of quantitative interviews (N=45, mean age 72.69) and qualitative focus groups (N=4, 27 participants) were used to study two healthy aging centers in Georgia.\ 32.5% of the respondents showed high levels of\ social inclusion, 13% - high level of health, 11% - high levels of participation.\ Qualitative data were analyzed using a qualitative interpretative thematic approach. Five major themes were identified\ - "satisfaction with services," "satisfaction with life conditions," "access to social, health and legal services," "security" and "hope." The participants showed that their inclusion was increased by attending the service.\ The study contributes\ to a paradigm shift towards evaluating service use outcomes using older persons' judgments of their QoL and promoting QoL concept. This can inform the development of needs-based policies, services and academic curricula for social workers, promoting active and healthy aging of older persons.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Quality of Life, older persons, outcomes of service use, Georgia
#0931 |
Home and School Support Project (ISTOS/the web) for adolescents who are at risk of dropping our of school due to family dysfunctionning.
This particular article presents an innovative development of a team consisted of social workers, psychologists and systemic psychotherapists that tend to support schools and families to maintain pupils within school environment despite obstacles and challenges tha may lead out of school. The poject has been running for two years and based on systemic approach and interdsciplinary collaboration tries to develop a network of professionals in order to bring together schools teachers,school counsellors, other professionals and families as to understand why pupils are at risk of being out of school and how important is for professionals within school systems to comprehend the difficulties that lead students to dop out.Aim of the project is twofold: a) to prevent escalation of factors that may put at risk the school career of the target population and b) to develop an interdisciplinary culture amongst schools for safeguarding the Best Interest of the Child. Qualitative data will present views on the benefits of the project, hilight challenges for such a project and draw on the results of these two year on how the future can be with the presence of social workers within schools. Concluding this abstract the project has shown positive outcomes where social work case management was well received by all involved stakeholders and where professional differences were put aside for the Best Interest of the Child. Case Vignettes in successful and non successful cases will justify the above preliminary results.
Keywords (separate with commas)
interdisciplinary collaboration, systemic approach, school social work, Best Interest of the Child
#1169 |
Developing an MSW Specialization that Recognizes the Global Dimension of Social Work
As a part of the MSW curriculum reform, our School of Social Work developed a specialization on Global Social Work Practice. This specialization grew from three core principles adopted by the faculty. These principles included advancing social justice, raising awareness of the world around us, and recognizing the global dimension of social work.\ Incorporating a global perspective is an essential component of social work education as globalization and neoliberal forces continue to widen the gap between the Global North and Global South in income, wealth, and health disparities and exacerbate social issues tackled by social workers. Global issues, such as COVID-19, climate change, migration, technological advances, continued wars, ethno-religious persecution, and the persistence of racial injustice, pose new and ongoing challenges to social work education. To prepare students for working with diverse and contending with historical and structural inequalities globally, we must go beyond teaching about cultural competence and provide future social workers with the skills for meaningful dialogue, critical thinking, reflexive practice, and transformative leadership.\ In developing this new specialization, we engaged students, faculty, field instructors, and the larger community to better understand the challenges faced in global social work practice. The Global Social Work \ Pathway is for students interested in dedicating themselves to global issues. Students take 12 credits of global-focused courses including the two required courses focused on Power in the Global Context\ and Critical Reflexive Global Practices. Specifically, this pathway aims to problematize global social work pedagogy that is ethnocentric and Western-centric and calls attention to issues of power and positionality within global social work pedagogy in its micro, mezzo, and macro dimensions.This oral presentation will share how this process emerged and the way the coursework was conceptualized to capture the values and principles at the center of our practices.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social work education, MSW curriculum, global social work pedagogy
SS - ENG 15
11:30 - 12:30
Poster Presentation
Poster Presentation
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
ATLAPA Islands Room / Salón Islas de ATLAPA
- The Global Social Services Workforce Alliance
14:05 - 15:05
Sub_17g
G. Colleges of Social Work
#0909 |
Opportunity structures and the development of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills in an international context
Arlene Bjugstad
1
;
Jodi Berger Cardoso
2
;
Sharon Borja
2
;
Weihua Fan
2
;
Johanna Cresswell Báez1
1 - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.2 - University of Houston.
Schools are a critical vehicle for promoting child well-being. Through their climate, organization, policies, and practices, school structures promote or inhibit the developmental trajectories of their students. While contemporary school research focuses heavily on cognitive skill development, the skills needed to make adequate progress in school and beyond, namely social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skills, are rarely examined as primary outcomes in educational research. This study leverages a large-scale dataset collected by the OECD in nine countries to better understand the contexts that support the development of SEB skills. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is used to examine the association of school climate on the development of emotion regulation SEB skills\ among youth from minoritized socioeconomic and immigrant groups across nine countries. The results of these studies can be used to inform school practices and policy development to better support the holistic development of youth, with a focus on minoritized youth.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
School climate, minoritized youth, international education, social emotional and behavioral (SEB) skills, social-emotional learning
#1134 |
How individualised curricula enable diversity - using the prototype "Fee-Form" as an example for innovative education
Regula Kunz1
1 - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland.
Due to the increasing diversity of lifestyles, the heterogeneity and diversity of students is growing. Innovative curricula seek new answers in education and break new ground. In a design thinking process at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), a prototype for a bachelor's degree in social work was developed. In autumn 2019, the pilot project startet and enabled individualized learning path, personalized guidance, participatory learning and promoting future skills. The students develop their competences as freely as possible in a curriculum that gives them as little form as necessary. Accordingly, the form of study was called "Free-Form". They work together with their colleagues, lecturers from social work practice and the university to design their learning opportunities in an enabling space and self-assess their competency development. Self-initiated alliances are formed between the participants from practice and the university to work on topics and projects in an interest-led and time-flexible manner. A number of regular offers provide orientation in learning and in the subject discipline. The students are accompanied by coaches from practice and the university as they plan and assess their competency development in a portfolio process. Students in the free form seek knowledge specific to their needs and situations and develop it in alignment with the themes from the competency profile of the Bachelor of Social Work FHNW programme and according to their individual learning path.\ The pilot was concluded with an extensive evaluation, further developments were initiated and from autumn 2023 the free form will be run as a regular study programme.In the presentation, we show the development process, explain the curricular prototype and present the main results of the evaluation.
#1484 |
Reconstructing the engagement of the IASSW over the time: first results of an archival search at the Social Welfare History Archives (Minneapolis)
The aims that led to the birth of the IASSW (1928) are realising an exchange of opinions and experiences between schools of social work from all over the world, fostering their cooperation and promoting international courses of study. The desire to guarantee - at a global level - an education in line with the values of social work led to the elaboration, together with the IFSW, of the Global Standards for Social Work Teaching and Training. This contribution analyses, with a diachronic approach, the role of the IASSW in developing social work training courses at an international level and in local realities. Special attention is to interaction with regional organisations, in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Caribbean, also to enhance indigenous experience.\ The research is being conducted by an international team, made up of social work researchers from academic institutions in Brazil and Italy, and is growing. In order to reconstruct in a timely manner how the IASSW's engagement in the described field took place, the first phase of the research is at the Social Welfare History Archive of the IASSW (Elmer Andersen Library - Minneapolis) and is dedicated to the consultation and digitisation of documents: primary sources of the research. During the second phase, the observation and taxonomic evaluation of the collected material takes place, as well as the analysis of literature coeval with the period considered.\ The research is still in progress, so we present the initial results regarding the analysis of the material consulted. In addition, we produce and present analytical sheets that may constitute material available for further research.\ Reconstructing the history of the IASSW can foster awareness of this organisation's commitment - for almost a century - to promoting the quality of social worker education and the value system of social work at a global level.
Keywords (separate with commas)
IASSW, Social Welfare History Archivse, Regional Organisations, Social worker education, School social work
15:05 - 16:05
Sub_17f
F. Addictions or problematic consumptions (substances, gambling, sex, Internet).
#0742 |
Predictors of Stigma Toward Substance Misuse in Mexico
Micki Washburn1
;
Robin Gearing
2
;
Kathryne Brewer
3
;
Miao Yu
1
;
Luis Torres
1
;
Pedro de la Cruz
4
1 - University of Texas at Arlington.2 - University of Houston.3 - University of New Hampshier.4 - Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Substance use remains a significant public health issue impacting individuals, families and communities worldwide.\ However, stigma related to substance use and the people who use substances often serves as a barrier to treatment and sustained recovery.\ Although the relationship between stigma and substance use in the United States has been well studied, little is currently known about factors that may be predictive of various\ domains of stigma toward substance misuse in Mexico. 270 adults in Mexico City were field recruited to participate in a community based survey on conceptualizations of mental health and substance use. A randomized experimental vignette methodology was used to assess multiple domains of substance use-related stigma and their relationship to the sociodemographic characteristics of the vignette subject and respondents. Path modeling was used to determine which of sociodemographic characteristics were predictive of three domains of public stigma including 1.) a desire to increase social distance from the person who is misusing substances, 2.) stigma related to how members of the community act toward someone who is misusing substances, 3.) perceptions regarding the future success of those misusing substances\ No differences in expressed stigma were found based on the gender of the vignette subject (person misusing substances). However, some differences were found in terms of factors predicting stigma based on the type of substance that was being misused. For alcohol, education level, gender, self-stigma and openness to seeking mental health services were differentially associated with substance related stigma. For cocaine, familiarity of with mental health and substance use issues, education level and spirituality were predictive of stigma. These results indicated that targeted public health community based stigma reduction efforts are needed to decrease stigma toward those misusing substances in Mexico, and to support treatment initiation, ongoing engagement and long term recovery efforts
Keywords (separate with commas)
Alcohol, cocaine, substance use, Mexico, stigma
#0889 |
A Scoping Review of Alcohol and Substance Addiction in the United Arab Emirates: Key Lessons for Social Work
Ansie Fouché1
;
Raquel Marta
1
;
Vinnarasan Aruldoss
1
;
Abdulaziz Albrithen
1
;
Khoula Al Riyami
1
;
Krista Cooper
1
;
Mariam AlNuaimi
1
;
Mariam Alhadhrami
2
;
Hisham Al Arabi
3
;
Prospera Tedam
1
;
Rahemeen Yusuf
1
;
Latifa Al Neyadi
1
1 - United Arab Emirates University.2 - National Rehabilitation Centre, Abu Dhabi.3 - Private.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is associated with a complex disease bio-psycho-social and spiritual burden. Developing as a global destination, the UAE is home to over 183 nationalities and established its first national SUD response program in 2002. Further to increasing challenges with SUD, the UAE launched its intergovernmental national strategy in 2023, recognizing the role of social workers across different systems, including health and social care, educational and corrective systems. This scoping review aims to generate key learned lessons and suggestions for social work professionals across different settings in the UAE. The JBI's Participants, Concept, Context (PCC) framework was used to generate the scoping question: What can be learned from a review of scientific and grey literature on SUD in the UAE's various ethnic and religious groups? The scoping review examined the scientific and grey literature on SUD published for the UAE between 1971 and January 2023 in English or Arabic. Screening, deduplication and data extraction were done using Endnote and Covidence software. Inter-reliability was examined using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Sixty-two manuscripts were eligible for data extraction and qualitative analysis. Results are reported according to the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Findings will be contextualised within the socio-ecological model and a strengths-based perspective to provide a framework for Social work intervention.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Alcohol abuse, Substance dependence, United Arab Emirates; ScopingrReview
#1339 |
Cannabis Use in Canadian Youth Post-Legalization: Perspectives of Youth, Parents, and Service Providers
Toula Kourgiantakis1
;
Shelley Craig
2
;
Eunjung Lee
2
Canada legalized recreational cannabis use to protect youth; however, youth cannabis use rates\\ have increased, and this is a serious public health concern. Youth cannabis use is linked with adverse effects including psychosis, anxiety, depression, suicidality, hyperemesis, and intoxications. Criticisms have emerged regarding the limited public education efforts post-legalization (e.g., 48% of Canadians have never seen a public health message on cannabis). Knowledge plays a role in influencing cannabis consumption rates, with higher usage when a substance is perceived as less harmful. Parents serve as vital sources of support for youth but often feel disempowered in addressing cannabis use. Service providers play a crucial role in addressing cannabis use, but there are gaps in their knowledge, skills, and comfort levels. The aim of this study was to explore how youth, parents, and service providers perceive youth cannabis use in Canada since legalization.This qualitative study employed a community-based participatory research approach and collaborated with a community partner, Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR). We conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed data using thematic analysis. The sample included 88 participants (n=31 youth, n=26 parents, and n=31 service providers).\\ We identified the following themes: (1) concerns about risks and harms, (2) minimization of risks and harms, (3) reduced stigma, except for youth in equity-deserving groups, (4) youth are using cannabis to cope with mental health concerns, (5) inadequate public education, (6) social workers need more training and education, (7) there is inequitable access to services, (8) most service providers do not screen or assess cannabis use, (9) parents are excluded from treatment, and (10) youth-centred harm reduction approaches are needed.Canada has one of the world's highest rates of cannabis use, and legalization occurred without adequate public education, training for service providers, and equitable access to treatment. Implications for social workers will be discussed.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Cannabis use, youth, parents, social workers, social work education and practice
16:10 - 17:10
Area_15
Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship and People´s Economy
#0307 |
ESCUTA (LISTEN) ! another economy is possible: a case study centred on entrepreneurship and Peoples´s Economy
ESCUTA (EMPREENDEDORISMO SOCIAL COMUNITÁRIO UNIVERSITÁRIO TRANSNACIONAL - AÇORES) was a European Project (Erasmus+ KA203 - Higher Education Strategic Partnership) with a special focus on social entrepreneurship based on the international cooperation established between Universities and NGO´s from Portugal (Azores), Spain and France.The project started on 1 September 2020 and finished on 31 July 2023. Results will be presented as a case study that aims to demonstrate the benefits of knowledge creation when the strengths of universities and NGO´s are linked together for the co-creation of the People´s Economy.The term "people economy" does not have a universally accepted definition, but it generally refers to an economic system or approach that prioritizes the well-being and empowerment of individuals and communities. Emphasizes the importance of human capital, social relationships, and inclusive growth. People's economy is related to a social and solidarity economy, which is more based on social equity, environmental sustainability, quality of life than just in profit. It recognizes that economic success should be measured by how well it serves the needs and aspirations of people rather than solely focusing on financial metrics.The project was based on knowledge transfer from universities to NGO´s and vice-versa and allowed the develop socioemotional skills of social work students. It was based on a project-based methodology and on social and emotional learning. It offered the possibility to develop activities centered on equal opportunities and help their participation in their own communities in identifying and idealizing entrepreneurship solutions and participating in the construction of initiatives capable of making the community more innovative, autonomous, resilient, and sustainable. The case study allows understanding the value of social networks, trust, and community cohesion as an important factor for sustainable economic development, resilience, social inclusion, empowerment, and the well-being of future generations.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social Entrepreneurship, People´s economy, Social work, Innovation, Social and emotional learning;
#0932 |
Exploring pathways to social innovation strategy: a potential solution for developing evidenced based theories of change
Tiffany Laursen1
1 - University of Illinois Urbana Champaign School of Social Work.
Within theme #15 (innovation, social entrepreneurship, and people’s economy) there lacks an understanding of how to comparatively analyze which conditional configurations of a theory of change are necessary and sufficient when developing a social innovation strategy. Without this knowledge, students in social innovation and social entrepreneurship (SISE) courses struggle to provide evidence that the theory of change they develop has the capabilities to address the social problem they are trying to resolve. Without grounding theories of change in evidence, social ventures are inclined to redundancy and ineffectiveness; frail service models overextend the promise of social change outcomes to various stakeholders including partners, funders, and beneficiaries. Addressing the gap, this exploratory intervention study examines the pathways to building evidenced based social innovation strategies when incorporating Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) into theory of change curriculum in an undergraduate SISE course. QCA is a method of inquiry that combines qualitative case study methods with Boolean algebra and set theory to explore cases of complex causality. It does this by exploring a full range of conditions within a set of cases to reveal patterns that are deemed necessary and/or sufficient for a specific outcome. This study incorporates QCA into the intervention by teaching SISE students the QCA method as a tool to comparatively examine their theory of change within evidence from other theory of change models. QCA is then used to analyze the pathways to evidenced based social innovation strategy before and after the students learn and apply the method. The findings have implications for the ways in which we develop theories of change in SISE education and practice.
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social Innovation, Theory of Change, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Social Entrepreneurship
#1039 |
Investments in the Social Service Workforce Caring for Children and Families: A Three-Country Assessment
A strong, well-trained social service workforce (SSW) consisting of diverse categories of social workers and other social service personnel with different levels of training and qualifications is necessary for the wellbeing of children, families, persons with disabilities and other groups facing difficult circumstances or challenges. The U.S. Government is committed to investing in strategies to support the SSW in keeping with its Advancing Protection and Care for Children in Adversity (APCCA) strategy and implementation plan. This whole-of-government approach aims to ensure comprehensive and coordinated efforts to strengthen systems for protecting and caring for children worldwide.\ USAID’s Children in Adversity Team engaged\ Data For Impact (D4I) to assess activities that it supports across three countries – Armenia, Cambodia, and Rwanda – that involve strengthening the SSW and broader system related to child care and protection. The goal of the assessment was to identify specific approaches that USAID and country partners should consider advocating for and making future investments in, which will contribute to a more robust SSW and overall sustainable social services systems in these three countries, and as applicable in other countries. Guided by global and country-level advisory groups, the assessment involved a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, including a review of relevant country-specific and global documents, a secondary analysis of existing aggregate data, and primary data collection through key informant interviews and focus group discussions at national and sub-national levels. Findings on approaches to planning, developing, and supporting the workforce invested in to date, their advantages and disadvantages to sustainable workforce and social service system development, and perceived changes at the child- and household-level were validated among these groups and informed recommendations and level of priority across the three countries and globally.
Keywords (separate with commas)
social service workforce, child welfare, family welfare, child protection, sustainable systems development, social protection
#1040 |
Layering Impactful Support in Troubling Times: Bespoke supportive employment and housing for youth experiencing multiple barriers to housing and employment
Tackling youth homelessness has always been challenging, but the polycrisis (pandemic, climate, housing, overdose and staffing crises) has exasperated issues. This is a devastating phenomenon for young people, who face decreased job opportunities, increased expenses, increased debt loads, increased climate anxiety and delayed or interrupted entrance into the workforce—all factors that increase this demographic’s sensitivity to economic fluctuations. As an offshoot, these challenges have troubled social workers and other social justice practitioners, researchers, and policymakers wanting to make change. While many groups have called on policymakers to prioritize vulnerable populations to make further investments in programs specifically for young people facing barriers to ensure they are not further let down by the system, they often lack effective examples of practices that support individual youth, their families and their communities.\ In looking to creative approaches to tackle the barriers to housing and employment faced by diverse young people, little attention has been paid to the role a collaboration between not-for-profit, governmental and private sector can bring to redress this issue. To remedy this gap, this session examines research-based findings from one not-for-profit organization that provides a supportive employment and housing program to youth experiencing barriers to housing and employment. The Work2Live program is delivered in Whistler, Canada. Its approach to cultivating supportive employment for youth-at-risk of homelessness is unique in the partnerships it has fostered with employers, service providers, government services and the community. Through a government grant, this program has expanded and focused efforts on understanding and creating effective supports for both employers and participants. This has ripple effects for employees beyond participants. The program illustrates how one organization has traversed issues created by the polycrisis while furthering a collaborative and reciprocal approach with the community to provide support to diverse young people experiencing multiple barriers to housing and employment.
Keywords (separate with commas)
supportive employment, youth homelessness, collaborative support
17:10 - 18:10
Area_15
Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship and People´s Economy
#1371 |
The Art of Social Value Creation: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Promote Socioeconomic Inclusion in South Africa
The 21st century development approaches continue to maintain an economic and political hegemonic trends. The implication being investments models that are primarily premised on maximization of profit and accumulating wealth for a few and disenfranchising the majority. Consequently, this phenomenon has resulted to high income disparity and inequality among the rich and the poor in the world, south Africa notwithstanding. South Africa as a community continues to battle with pernicious legacy of apartheid, which manifest through gender inequality, poverty, a culture of violence, and unemployment of women and youth. It is prudent therefore to question the dominant exorbitant profit-making and wealth accumulation investment models and philosophies, and suggest alternatives for creating and distributing wealth inclusively. This paper is premised on a positive de-constructive narrative to rethink about the global convention socioeconomic development approaches, which have arguably contributed to increasing inequality, cultural erosion, loss of human dignity and a threatened social sustainability especially in Africa. Therefore, rethinking on the way governments and entrepreneurs invest in their communities is a subject of concern in the current dispensation in South Africa. \ Social work has a primary mandate to ensure socioeconomic inclusion and empowerment of individuals, families and communities.Through an empirical evidence, this papers focuses on how investing in people can facilitate socioeconomic emancipation and inclusion. Using data from selected social enterprises in South Africa, the authors shall advance the social entrepreneurship paradigm by conceptualizing and contextualizing social value creation and its concomitant social impact in communities. \ The paper challenges social services practitioners to undergo a paradigm shift in designing and implementing inclusive and social value orientated models and approaches of development.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
Social enterprise; Social entrepreneurship; South Africa; Social Value; People-centrism
#1525 |
Integrated Social Work Practice: A Global Imperative for Sustainable Social Action
In a world marked by increasing globalization and cultural diversity, social work faces evolving challenges that necessitate innovative approaches. Integrated social work practice emerges as a critical practice method for global solutions by bridging levels of practice and intentionally intervening at more than one level when appropriate. Integrated social work practice provides a holistic approach that transcends the traditional and clinically oriented boundaries that have evolved within the field by fully embracing the person-in-environment perspective. Not only does it integrate practice levels, but it promotes multidisciplinary interventions to address complex societal issues such as poverty, discrimination, and unequal access to resources. Social workers engaged in integrated practice work collaboratively with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to identify root causes of social issues and to develop sustainable solutions while addressing the immediate needs of the focal client system. This presentation will offer a primer to integrated social work practice and how it can offer sustainable solutions to the pressing challenges of our time and by advancing human welfare on a global scale.\
Keywords (separate with commas)
integrated practice, sustainable solutions, global solutions\
