Cross-Racial Microaffirmations: Concepts and Applications

Policy making can be viewed as a large-scale attempt at social justice leadership intended to address vast inequities that persist and are perpetuated in the U.S. K-12 education system. The study examines the text of the Minnesota Desegregation Rule to discern its underlying discourses as they relate to race, racism, and social justice. The findings highlight discursive practices that undermine social justice progress and antiracist efforts, demonstrating how well-intended social justice efforts can go awry without active engagement of critical lenses. The article argues that critical consciousness and racial literacy are essential in social justice and antiracist policy making and educational leadership.

This chapter provides a summary of important issues regarding racial identity, gender identity, and social justice in psychological assessment. First, a relatively brief overview of psychological assessment’s racist, prejudiced, and oppressive history, which is ongoing, is presented, followed by attempts to move the practice toward equity. The significance of assessing clients’ racial and gender identity in addition to their intersecting identities with racially and ethnically minoritized populations is then discussed, and a forensic assessment case study is presented that demonstrates how an assessor critically focused on race, intersectionality, and justice in this context. Next, a discussion of the common strengths (and importance of assessing these strengths) in racially minoritized communities is provided, with a targeted focus on racial socialization in families. A case study that highlights how an assessor integrated a client’s racial identity and trauma history throughout the process of assessment and case conceptualization is then presented. In conclusion, steps that assessors can take to strive to minimize bias and prejudice and maximize social justice advocacy in practice are recommended.

Growing up with systemic racism in the USA

Organizing health care requires addressing the social determinants of health, broadly defined as the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. However, this is often beyond the scope, expertise, and time of medical professionals. As a result, there is an increasing tendency towards interprofessional collaboration in general, with the involvement of social workers in specific. Given the profession’s expertise in ameliorating social problems with respect to different areas of life, social workers are well-equipped to address social determinants in health care settings. In practice, however, the position, roles, and added value of social work are still rather ambiguous and unclear. It is therefore necessary to generate theoretical grounding and empirical evidence on the role of social work in diverse health care settings. The aim of this workshop is twofold. First, we will present the current state-of-the-art in the literature. Second, we will initiate a dialogue to reflect on the meaning and potential of social work in diverse health care systems. In this way, we want to establish an international dialogue aimed at the exchange of differences and similarities. We would like to engage with both healthcare providers (general practitioners, paramedics, …) as well as policy makers and researchers. The workshop consists of three parts. First, the researchers will introduce the topic. Second, participants will be divided into groups and provided with questions related to a case study. The researchers will join these groups to facilitate and summarize the discussion. Third, the researchers will briefly present their own research findings on the following subthemes: 1) The perception of social work and search for collaboration according to general practitioners in Flanders (Nele Feryn) Through semi-structured interviews, general practitioners were asked about the impact of social problems in their practice, their views on social work, collaboration and perceived barriers to shape this cooperation. 2) The transformative potential of social workers in Doctors of the World (Didier Boost) Based on a critical realist evaluation, the role of social workers in Doctors of the World is explored in Antwerp, Belgium. Doctors of the World, an international humanitarian NGO, aims to realize the right to health(care) for vulnerable communities without access to regular care. In addition to the direct provision of emergency and long-term medical care, the organization strives for structural change and advocates for social justice. This practice can potentially provide an ‘enabling niche’ that aligns with the rights-based focus of the social work profession. 3) The involvement of social workers in Flemish palliative care settings (Brent Taels) Through survey questionnaires and focus groups, social workers in Flemish primary and secondary care settings were asked about their involvement in palliative care and the level of appreciation they receive from other care professionals. These findings form the basis for the future development of an intervention to extend the role of social workers in this field. Time schedule: 10 min. introduction + 15 min. of groupwork + 10 min. plenary discussions + 20 min. presentations of the subthemes + 5 min. closing discussion

Capoeira is often described as an art of resistance. This book asks whether and how such a discourse translates into action, specifically in the context of present-day US society. It argues that there is indeed an identifiable emotional orientation, or affective habitus, cultivated within capoeira groups. In many cases, these groups undertake activities that are focused on antiracist efforts (e.g., supporting the Black Lives Matter movement), but some capoeiristas also use their influence to encourage environmental sustainability or create alternatives to capitalist modes of exchange. The book begins by relaying a basic history of capoeira but in such a way that it highlights key figures and events that capoeiristas focus on when explaining why they think capoeira is synonymous with social justice. The degree to which a group focuses on social justice often comes down to the teacher’s commitments and pedagogical choices, though some individuals arrive at this stance on their own as well through a course of self-study and dialog with the larger capoeira community. The individuals profiled here have all experienced some form of personal growth through capoeira and inspire it in others, whether that is through overt participation in activism (e.g., marches, protests) or through more subtle acts of consciousness raising. Finally, the book concludes with suggestions for future research and recommendations for capoeiristas seeking to make their communities more internally just.

Objective: Psychological safety (PS) is essential for health and social care professionals (HSCPs) working in high-stress environments. While much of the existing research focuses on PS within teams, less is known about HSCPs' lived experiences across diverse health and social care settings. This scoping review aims to synthesise the qualitative literature on PS, identifying key barriers and enablers to its development in health and social care workplaces. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, covering a 20-year period (2004-2024). Eligible studies included primary qualitative research exploring HSCPs' experiences of PS. Screening and data extraction were managed using Rayyan. An inductive thematic synthesis approach was applied to identify key patterns in the data. Results: The review identified several enablers and barriers to PS. The main enablers included (1) feeling safe within the team and (2) personal factors, which encompassed professional skills, experience, social support, and self-care. Conversely, key barriers were identified: (1) the normalisation of traumatic incidents, (2) unsupportive team and management structures, (3) organisational constraints, and (4) a lack of knowledge and training on PS. Conclusions: Understanding the enablers and barriers of PS is critical for improving workplace culture, resilience, and wellbeing among HSCPs. These findings provide a foundation for future research and interventions aimed at strengthening PS at individual, team, and organisational levels across diverse health and social care settings. The results also offer valuable insights for informing policies and practice to ultimately enhance both staff wellbeing and patient care quality.

Reviewed by: Social Justice and International Education. Research, Practice, and Perspectives ed. by LaNitra M. Berger Daniel C. Villanueva LaNitra M. Berger, editor. Social Justice and International Education. Research, Practice, and Perspectives. Washington, DC: NAFSA: The Association of International Educators 2020. 326p. To make study abroad and multicultural engagement more inclusive and transformative for more college students and the communities in which they study, what pedagogical and experiential aspects could be theorized as we enter the third decade of the new millennium? LaNitra Berger’s edited volume suggesting reimagining current study abroad programs and pedagogy through a social justice lens is one of the most recent rewarding answers to this question. Indeed, it will be of interest not only to language and culture faculty in higher education, but also to our colleagues in university administration, particularly study abroad and fellowship advising offices. Berger, an art historian by trade and Senior Director of the Office of Fellowships at George Mason University’s Honors College, frequently researches multicultural international education. Here she has assembled a multidisciplinary group “to address the ways in which the field of international education uses social justice education, curriculum design, and community engagement practices to address inequality and systems of oppression in various forms around the world” (2). The 11-chapter volume is divided into three parts: Social Justice Research, Social Justice in Practice, and 12 brief vignettes from practitioners titled Reports from the Field. Berger centers the collective inquiry around these goals: To provide multiple frameworks for defining and thinking about social justice in international education and to theorize on what educators can do now to take more decisive actions, assess outcomes, and bring more voices together in constructive dialogue about social justice and how it [End Page 263] shapes internationalization on campuses (3–4). Ambitious goals indeed, but the contributing authors capably demonstrate how creative approaches to their fulfillment are possible. Each theoretical approach and case study has fascinating methodological foundations while offering practical pedagogical implications and avenues for further research. Examples include: Shontay Delalue’s interrogation of the dynamics of multiple identities in racialized experiences of African and Caribbean students in the USA (83-109); Malaika Marable Serrano’s case study of social justice-centered programming of study abroad students in the Dominican Republic (155-72); and Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn’s article outlining the myriad considerations at play in encouraging deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing students to study abroad while accommodating their distinctiveness (191–213). Bryce Loo provides useful cultural perspective and pedagogical approaches to suggest ways to make college more attractive and feasible for refugees seeking shelter in the United States (215–45). Finally, praxis vignettes, one in poem form, provide micro-examples of larger pedagogical approaches from universities and colleges that have been found to be effective in the nonprofit space. A primary benefit is the multitude of voices, ethnicities, and perspectives of the contributors, all experienced scholar-practitioners from both public and private universities. Some are teaching and research faculty while others are administrators in various international and study abroad offices. As varied as the projects and viewpoints are, so too are the types of students and their stories. One searches in vain for traditional Eurocentric outlooks, which is all to the good. Another strength is the acknowledgement that no one approach to teaching and modeling social justice, celebrating difference, and effecting change is appropriate for every situation-–the term social justice itself is refreshingly understood to be contested and contextual. Further, although most foundational concepts and assumptions are commonly seen in the U.S. academic context, many contributors take pains to name the fact that the best international social justice pedagogy should not primarily address current U.S. student populations or U.S. administrative priorities in diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Finally, each chapter contains a useful bibliography that encourages further intellectual engagement with the material. (A marginal quibble [End Page 264] might be that there is no comprehensive index at the end of the book.) These admitted strengths of Berger’s volume must be juxtaposed with one major point of concern from the viewpoint of language and culture education. Nearly all essays fail to mention the key role of...

In this essay, I draw on two black theorists of whiteness—W.E.B. Du Bois and the Reverend Thandeka—to examine how white supremacy and white racial identities emerge from and are fortified in the relations of white people to other white people. I use stories told by two white people from a rural, white farming community in Wisconsin—William and Delores—to flesh out and complicate Du Bois’s and Thandeka’s ideas. Unfortunately, antiracist efforts in education and teacher education have mostly ignored the significance of white people’s relations to each other for the production and reproduction of white supremacy. What if our antiracist efforts have been so ineffective, in part, because we have ignored what is going on among white people?

Purpose Within the context of positive psychology, workplace spirituality is explained in this review. The purpose of this study is to analyze both workplace spirituality and positive psychology literature that can further help in developing positive organizational and human qualities. This study looks at the theories of workplace spirituality and positive psychology and analyzes how they relate to one another. Value theory, flow theory and institutional theory shed light on this review. Design/methodology/approach In this extensive systematic assessment of the literature covering the years 2000–2023, the authors carefully reviewed 83 papers about positive psychology and workplace spirituality. The primary goal was to identify the different facets and aspects of positive psychology and workplace spirituality, as well as to know about these concepts, their similarities and differences in an organizational setting. Findings A thorough examination of their important aspects at the individual, group and organizational levels is provided, emphasizing the remarkable parallels between workplace spirituality and positive psychology. Notably, the two fields share a common emphasis on the strategic application of preventative measures to alleviate probable organizational confusion. The study also provides directions for further studies. Research limitations/implications This study examines the connections between workplace spirituality and positive psychology through a systematic literature review, with an emphasis on research questions. Practical implications Organizations stand to lose a great deal from the workplace integration of spirituality and positive psychology. It increases employee well-being, engagement and productivity. It strengthens corporate culture, advances leadership strategies and fosters innovation. These benefits improve the organization’s commitment, output and long-term sustainability and elevate it as a more appealing place to work and develop. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is original and produced after a thorough study of workplace spirituality and positive psychology literature.

BMI is used widely both within and outside of healthcare settings to understand health despite the contradictory evidence around the impact of obesity on mortality in middle age and older adulthood. We examine how BMI impacts reports of older white, Black and Latine women and femmes’ self-reports of ever experiencing discrimination in the health care setting over their lifetime using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) leave behind questionnaire (n=7,614). We also examine if experiencing this type of discrimination in the healthcare setting impacts these women’s mental health. Having ever been unfairly denied health care or treatment was more commonly reported by older Black (n=1,059) and Latine (n=588) women/femmes relative to older white women. Regardless of race/ethnicity, women and femmes with a higher BMI have an increased likelihood of reporting being unfairly denied health care (OR=1.03, p=0.01). Women who report being unfairly denied treatment in the doctor’s office also report more depressive symptoms (ℬ=0.93; p< 0.001). Findings demonstrate that women with higher BMI are at increased risk of experiencing discrimination in a health care setting over their lifetime. This is especially true for Black and Latine women/femmes who are more likely to report discrimination. Anti-racist efforts in healthcare must also address unfair treatment of women and femmes based on their BMI.

Presentation Date: 6/9/2024 Presentation Start Time: 1:15:00 PM Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common genetic disorder in the US affecting nearly 100,000 Americans with the majority of patients identifying as Black. Studies have shown individuals with SCD face stigmatization and often receive low-quality care stemming from institutional racism and implicit bias by providers. Provider biases result from a lack of awareness of their own racial identity, failure to develop an anti-racist or social justice lens, and absence of skills to mitigate racist practices/policies. The Sickle Treatment and Outcomes Research in the Midwest (STORM) network developed an innovative health equity learning series using the Project ECHO ® virtual telementoring model, to educate healthcare providers about implicit bias, racial identity, racism, whiteness, a social justice framework, and strategies for dismantling individual and institutional racist practices. Methods Using the Project ECHO© framework, two Health Equity ECHO cohorts were completed (2022 and 2023) with a series of 7 and 6 hour-long sessions, respectively. A third cohort launched in January 2024 with expected completion in April 2024. The curriculum included foundations for racial justice; race; racism; whiteness/white supremacy and white privilege; white normativity; and actions, applications and implementations to dismantle structural racism. Virtual sessions were held via Zoom© and Canvas Learning Management System was used for supplemental learning materials. Results There were 32 participants in cohort 1 (81% female, 19% male) with approximately half reporting their racial identity as White (n = 15), Black (n = 11), multi-racial (n = 2) and the remaining (n = 4) not responding. There were 25 participants in cohort 2 (100% female, 0% male) with participants reporting their race as White (n = 18), Black (n = 2), American Indian/ Pacific Islander (n = 1), multi-racial (n = 1) and the remaining (n = 3) preferring not to answer. Registrants included physicians, community health workers, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, psychologists, newborn screening coordinators, patient advocates and other multidisciplinary pediatric and adult providers from over 10 states. Participants from cohorts 1-2 (n = 23) completed a demographics form and a six-item survey using a five point Likert scale (very low to very high or strongly disagree to strongly agree) before and after the learning series assessing awareness of racism in the US, awareness of racism impacting patients with SCD in the United States, impact of racism on healthcare delivery, provider effectiveness for caring for white patients compared to patients of color, provider feeling equipped to care for patients of color, and the impact of racism on provider ability to deliver quality care. Participants also provided qualitative feedback about how the series has impacted their work, changes in practice that will be made as a result of the learning series, and what they liked best about the series. Participants noted that they liked the breakout sessions for deeper discussion; lessons were multifaceted and had easily digestible content; there was vulnerability and it was a powerful series. Participants noted that the series provided a new perspective and definition to race, racism, systemic racism and white privilege in a safe space to learn from each other. Participants also proposed being more vocal and echoing patient concerns until they feel they have been address and will work on implementing education for nursing staff and other providers. Awareness of the impact of racism on health care in general as well as specific to SCD increased significantly in all (p = 0.04). There were significant differences in the baseline results between Black and White participants. As such, White participants tended to show greater changes because of training. White participants showed a slight decrease in self-efficacy in caring for patients of color when compared to White patients. Conclusions Feasibility and acceptability data from the Health Equity ECHO cohorts suggest that this is a promising innovative training platform for multidisciplinary healthcare providers and trainees to raise self-awareness about implicit bias and racism, engage in a safe community of practice for self-discovery, and build skills to address inequities within healthcare settings. It provides an educational platform that is easily accessible and applicable for multidisciplinary healthcare providers to engage in reflection for learning about their own biases, as well as provide a safe environment for deep discussions. Future directions include expanding the reach of the learning series.

Psychology has been influential in understanding language learning, from cognitive neuroscience to educational psychology's approaches to designing pedagogy. Positive psychology (PP) is a relatively new subfield that was developed to complement the predominantly clinical "business-as-usual" approach to psychology. Humanistic psychology often takes a predominantly optimistic approach to human nature, whereas PP "regards both the good and the bad about life as genuine". PP and education go hand-in-hand. It has been proposed that promoting well-being in schools can function as "an antidote to depression, as a vehicle for increasing life satisfaction, and as an aid to better learning and more creative thinking". Humanistic psychology influenced the development of PP and had a role to play in second-language acquisition. Motivation has long been a foundational concept in studying the psychology of language learners and there are obvious ties to PP.

Selecting patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that accurately reflect the unmet needs of cancer survivors (CSs) remains a challenge in oncology, as current processes lack a structured methodology. This study aimed to develop and test the feasibility of a replicable, patient-centred framework for PROM selection, ensuring alignment between survivors' lived experiences and standardised outcome measures across diverse healthcare settings. Our methodology integrated qualitative and quantitative approaches, mapping patient-expressed unmet needs onto the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The process involved three steps: (1) identifying survivors' needs through focus groups, interviews and questionnaires, (2) linking these needs to ICF categories using validated methodologies and (3) systematically evaluating existing PROMs based on their coverage of these categories. To demonstrate feasibility, we conducted a feasibility study involving 35 CSs and seven caregivers within the Italian healthcare context. Among the 14 PROMs analysed, the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System (CARES) covered 94.3% of ICF-linked needs, emerging as the most suitable option. The framework's adaptability allows clinicians and researchers to identify context-specific PROMs for diverse populations and healthcare systems. This study provides a robust, evidence-based methodology for optimising PROM selection, bridging the gap between patient narratives and standardised measurement. This feasibility study demonstrates the framework's practical applicability in clinical practice, with potential for broader implementation across diverse healthcare contexts. Its global applicability ensures that survivorship care remains patient-centred, data-driven and contextually relevant. By facilitating the selection of tailored PROMs, this framework enhances patient-centred survivorship care, ensuring that outcome assessments remain relevant to survivors' experiences and improving care quality across different settings. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06236373.

Global epidemiology of emerging Candida auris

Counselor educators in CACREP programs are mandated to include social justice in their training of counseling students. However, counseling preparation programs have failed to adequately train counseling professionals to understand and implement social justice frameworks. Using an exploratory mixed methods design, we explored counselor educators’ educational and training background in social justice concepts as well as their teaching experiences infusing social justice throughout CACREP core curriculum. Strategies counselor educators use to seek knowledge about and incorporate social justice in their praxis are presented. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between counselor educators’ racial identity and their practice of implementing social justice frameworks into their teaching.