Social work research: Informing the frontlines and taking the long view

Abstract

One year after the September 11 terrorist attacks, we continue our struggle to understand, to live with courage in the shadow of threat, and to heal. Social workers in the United States and around the world have worked tirelessly in the recovery process. The September 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent bioterrorism attack have mobilized social work researchers as well. Two researchers at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work--Deborah Megivern and David Pollio--are key members of a team, headed by Carol North, MD, and funded through the National Institute of Mental Health's Rapid Response mechanism, studying the mental health effects of bioterrorism attacks on Capitol Hill. Theirs will be among the first data on mental health responses to bioterrorism, and their findings will provide an empirical basis for helping professionals who work with victims in a new era of national threat. No doubt many other social work researchers are engaged in research stimulated by the September 11 tragedy. While we await their empirical findings, Professor Deborah Padgett takes us to the frontlines of lower Manhattan on September 11 and during the following, harrowing weeks. In this issue's Research Notes, she reflects on the disruptions to research that, while only a small part of what occurred on September 11, were nonetheless far from inconsequential. She underscores the importance of approaching subjects in disaster research sensitively and ethically, and she reminds us that this historical event must be taken into account when collecting and analyzing data that--at first glance--might not seem directly related. Finally, drawing on her firsthand observations and considered reflections, she identifies some directions for research that social workers might uniquely and most effectively undertake. Her suggestions remind us of social work's historic and balanced support to both indigenous and professional helping, interpersonal and community action, and collaboration between agencies and researchers. When crises overwhelm, hospital emergency rooms become the frontlines of care for many people who have or can obtain access to no other sources of help. This was vividly the case on September 11 and remains true around the clock, day in and day out. Social workers are key players on this frontline: Once medical crises or physical trauma are stabilized, social workers are called on to connect victims of crisis with sources of more preventive, restorative, and cost-efficient care. Successfully referring clients to appropriate sources of help, so that they follow through and become connected with the referent agency, is one of the most important (Stiffman et al., 2000) yet often unappreciated of social work roles. Indeed a recent study found resource arrangement to be the most frequently pursued outcome by health and mental health social workers (Proctor, Rosen, & Rhee, in press). Loneck, Banks, Way, and Bonaparte's article is important in that it attempts to identify the aspects of social work intervention that are effective in successful referrals. Referral is particularly challenging in work with clients who struggle with the dual disorders of mental illness and substance abuse. This study sheds light on the nature and complexity of the processes of engaging, persuading, and enabling referrals with such clients. Their findings show that provider warmth and friendliness affected the working alliance--that is, collaborative work and agreement on goals and tasks--which was in turn associated with successful referral. Social work research may be unique in its attempt to inform not only action on the frontlines of crisis, but also social policy over the long haul. Articles in this issue attempt to unravel the complex and enduring effects of welfare reform programs and child welfare policy. …