Social Work Participation Research Articles

Social Workers as Elected Officials: Advocacy at the Doorstep

ABSTRACT This article highlights the importance of social work participation in the political arena through the seeking of elected office. Social workers have a rich history of involvement in political activities, yet little is known about social workers holding elected office. Through a review of the literature, this article has found that social workers are often hesitant to run for elected office due to many barriers. This article focuses on the recurring perceived barrier that social work skills do not prepare professionals for political positions. Using the author’s personal experience as an elected official, this article highlights how core social work values and skills can, in fact, uniquely prepare social workers to become involved in the ultimate advocacy role as an elected official. Areas for enhancing social work education regarding political action and preparation are discussed.

Effect of Atrial Septal Defect in Adults on Work Participation (from a Nation Wide Register-Based Follow-Up Study Regarding Work Participation and Use of Permanent Social Security Benefits)

Low work participation is well known in patients with chronic disease but has not been described in patients with atrial septal defect (ASD). In this nation-wide cohort study, we report the first long-term follow-up of use of permanent social security benefits and work participation in adults with ASD. All Danes born before 1994 and diagnosed with ASD from 1959 to 2013 (n = 2,277) were identified from the Danish medical registries. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to compare the risk of receiving permanent social security benefits in the ASD patients compared with an age- and gender-matched general population cohort. Using the DREAM database, we calculated work participation score and proportion of patients working or not working at the age of 30 years. Median follow-up from ASD diagnosis was 23.4 years (range 0.2 to 59.3). ASD patients had a higher risk of receiving permanent social security benefits (hazard ratio 2.3 [95% confidence interval 2.1 to 2.6]) compared with the comparison cohort with 24% of the ASD patients receiving permanent social security benefits at the end of follow-up compared with 12% of the comparison cohort. At the age of 30 years, the proportion not working was 28% in the ASD cohort and 18% in the comparison cohort. In patients with ASD, 23% of those without a job had a psychiatric diagnosis. In conclusion, the risk of receiving permanent social security benefits was twice as high in patients with ASD and the work participation score was reduced compared with the background population.

Radical Experiences of Portuguese Social Workers in the Vanguard of the 1974 Revolution

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the contribution of social workers to the Portuguese democratic transition in the 1970s. Their involvement in urban social mobilizations and in the cooperative movement will offer a perspective on the participation of social workers alongside the Revolutionary process and how they, through engaging with social mobilization, grass-roots initiatives and socio-political activism deployed practices consistent with radical social work frames. It is argued that the Revolution provided the structural conditions for social workers to engage with radical practice and that their intervention constituted a form of agency for socio-political transformation while influencing professional self-representations and professional agency.

A Study on the Participation of Social Work in the Refinement of the Social Governance

After years of political and economic system reform and rapid conomic evelopment, profound changes have taken place in the social structure and pople's way of life in our country. At the same time, with the continuous deepening of the social transformation in China, the contradiction between the growing needs of the people for a better life and the unbalanced and inadequate development has deepened, so it is urgent to innovate the social governance model, means and contents. Social work plays a unique role in the process of participating in social governance, and its role is outstanding in the refinement of social governance. By using the method of literature research and combining with the experience of social work first-line service, this paper probes into the agreement between social work and social governance, the inevitable trend of social work participation in social governance refinement and the new requirements for social work by social governance refinement, and finally puts forward the path of social work participation in social governance refinement development: service refinement promotes governance refinement and constructs a new pattern of co-governance sharing.

Pojmovno-kategorijalni aparat socijalnog rada u oblasti maloljetničkog prestupništva kao odraz teorijskih pristupa

Starting from the fact that theories of social work form a specific language, the subject of research is the conceptual-categorical apparatus of social work in the field of juvenile delinquency, as an indicator of theoretical foundations in the practice of social work. The basic research question is whether the conceptual-categorical apparatus of the profession of social work reflects traditional theoretical conceptions (positivist and structural-functional) or contemporary (existentialism, interactionist-constructivist, and radical-critical). By means of analysing the contents of 100 official documents collected from five centres for social work in the Republic of Srpska, we identify the key terms, the frequency of using these terms, and the context in which they are used. The results of the research show that the conceptual-categorical apparatus of the profession of social work reflects the positivist-structural-functionalist theoretical conceptions. The traditional approaches in social work, those of correctional-protective social work and the medical model of social work discourage any sort of active participation of social workers. The development of science of social work, the promotion of social work education, and new professional staff should advance the profession in accordance with the basic postulate of modern social work - the production of social changes.

Time-use and environmental determinants of dropout from organized youth football and tennis

BackgroundMany adolescents drop out of organized sports. Lack of motivation and competing priorities are known as important reasons for dropout. However, time use factors as well as environmental determinants have been largely neglected in the current literature on dropout from youth sports. The aim of this study is to investigate how (changes in) time use and characteristics of the physical environment determine dropout from football and tennis among adolescents.MethodsData on time use and background characteristics were collected through online surveys in 2015 and 2016 among adolescents aged 13–21 (N = 2555), including both the dropped outs and those who still continued membership of their football or tennis clubs. Physical environmental determinants (travel distance to the sports club, and neighbourhood density) were measured objectively. Binary logistic regression analyses were carried out for football and tennis separately to examine the associations between time use (time spent on various activities and changes related to the school and job situation), and environmental factors on the probability of dropping out from sports.ResultsTime spent on sports outside the context of the sports club, and time spent on social or voluntary activities at the sports club was positively associated with continuing being football and tennis members. Tennis players who changed schools or participated in two sports at the same time had a higher probability of dropping out, whereas tennis players who travelled greater distances from home to the tennis club were less likely to drop out.ConclusionsDeterminants of dropout differed between football and tennis. However, time use variables were important predictors of dropout from football as well as tennis, whereas environmental determinants hardly contributed to the prediction of dropout. To keep youths involved in organized sports, this study recommends that sports professionals should: 1) offer flexibility in training and competition schedules, 2) stimulate participation in social activities and voluntary work at the sports club, 3) pay special attention to their needs and preferences, and 4) encourage possibilities to practice and play sports outside of regular training hours, for instance at the sports club or at playgrounds or parks in the neighbourhood.

Participação como foco de aprendizagem na educação permanente no Sistema Único de Assistência Social

O artigo sistematiza experiências de pesquisa, ensino e intervenção das autoras em processos de educação permanente com trabalhadores do Sistema Único de Assistência Social. Apresenta referências teóricas e éticas da pedagogia da problematização como método ativo de reflexão dos trabalhadores nos processos de educação permanente. Recupera a trajetória histórica da participação como diretriz das políticas sociais pós Constituição de 1988. Analisa limites dos espaços institucionalizados de participação. Contextualiza o desafio da participação como método e resultado do trabalho social. Apresenta gradientes de participação como analisadores da participação nos serviços para oferecer possibilidade de reflexão e aprimoramento das práticas profissionais na assistência social.

Representation in the Care Planning Process for Nursing Home Residents With Dementia

ObjectivesFederally mandated assessments of nursing home (NH) residents drive individualized care planning. Residents with cognitive impairment may not be able to meaningfully communicate their care needs and preferences during this process—a gap that may be partially addressed by involving surrogates. We describe the prevalence of family participation in the care planning process for long-stay NH residents with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. DesignRetrospective study using administrative data made available as part of an ongoing pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial. SettingA total of 292 NHs from 1 large for-profit NH system. ParticipantsLong-stay NH residents in 2016. MeasurementsWe identified all care planning assessments conducted in 2016 for long-stay NH residents. Cognitive functioning was defined using the Cognitive Function Scale. The Minimum Data Set was used to determine whether a resident, family member, and/or legal guardian participated in the assessment process. Certification and Survey Provider Enhance Reporting system data was used to identify facility-level correlates of family participation. Bivariate and multivariable hierarchical regression results are presented. ResultsThe analytic sample included 18,552 long-stay NH residents. Family member/representative participation varied by degree of resident cognitive impairment; 8% of residents with no cognitive impairment had family or representative participation in care planning during 2016, compared with 26% of residents with severe impairment. NHs with more social workers had greater family participation in care planning. Available NH characteristics do not explain most of the variation in family participation between NHs (residual intraclass correlation = .57). ConclusionsOnly a minority of family members and surrogates participate in NH care planning, even for residents with severe cognitive impairment. The association between social work staffing and participation suggests family involvement may be a measure of quality improvement capacity. Our findings suggest a lack of voice for a vulnerable population that may have implications on the quality of care received at the end of life.

Building consensus on user participation in social work: A conversation analysis

Summary In order to understand how mutual understanding was achieved in discursive interactions between the welfare service users and service practitioners, conversation analysis was conducted in four discussion panels set up for building consensus on the appropriate structure for user participation in service management. Conversations in eight panel discussion meetings were audio-taped for analysing the talks-in-interaction therein. Drawing on the conversation analysis, the article uncovers the dynamics of consensus building among participants from different epistemic communities. Findings The study identifies the extent of divergence in views among stakeholders, which could have been obscured by the pressure to acquiesce in platform of face-to-face coordination. In the contest for truth between the welfare service users and service practitioners, personal experience has not been accepted as legitimate resource for supporting truth claims. Having limited argument resources on issues of service management, the welfare service users perceived argumentation in panel discussion a threatening venture that they chose to avoid. Avoidance was also a strategy that panel participants employed to maintain mundane interactions in the face of looming dissents. The article argues that the Habermasian communicative ethics are not panacea to the problem of coordination between the welfare service users and service practitioners. An agonistic model of democracy is called for to shift the objective of communication from gauging consensus to encouraging articulation of disagreements in the intricate user participation project. Application The article provides a new direction for developing the user participation imperative to address necessary pluralities among stakeholders of welfare services.

Theory, social work methods and participation

Summary This paper examines the use of theory in social work methods geared towards promoting participation of vulnerable groups, a subject that has been barely – if at all – researched empirically. The study comprised an analysis of 46 methods documented in the database of the Netherlands Institute for Social Development and interviews with social workers and educators. Findings Social work methods for participation are interspersed with theoretical notions. While the study shows that there is no shortage of theories in this field, what is more problematic are their use and integration. Incorporating theories in such a way that they provide an underpinning of the work method poses a challenge. Many theories appear to be presented out of window dressing, deviate from their original source in the literature, or are narrow in their paradigmatic focus, overlooking alternative theories that could promote or offer better nuanced participation perspectives. Applications The paper proposes criteria for a ‘theoretical underpinning’ and provides suggestions for a proper use of theory in social work methods.

Social work: Integral to interprofessional education and integrated practice

Abstract Although the debate on US health care reform is ongoing, existing policy has expanded access to preventative and treatment services through new models of integrated care. This has resulted in the creation of interprofessional healthcare teams comprised in part of social workers who undertake brief behavioral health intervention, care management, and service referral. To promote patient care and population health, integrating social workers onto interprofessional teams requires educating all members of the healthcare team on the roles and functions of social workers. A case vignette is included to demonstrate how interprofessional teams can use the skills of social workers to offer brief, evidence-supported interventions and inform team-based care. Suggestions are offered for moving forward to increase the participation of social work in IPE and practice settings.

Evaluating social work supervision

INTRODUCTION: The question of whether the practice of professional supervision is effective, and how its effectiveness can be measured, has been debated by both social work and other professions. This study explored how practitioners, supervisors and managers in Aotearoa New Zealand currently evaluate the supervision they receive, provide and/or resource. The study was interprofessional involving counsellors, mental health nurses, psychologists and social workers. This article focuses on the findings from the social work cohort.METHODS: Through an on-line Qualtrics survey participants were asked: 1) how they currently evaluated professional/clinical supervision; and 2) how they thought professional/clinical supervision could be evaluated. Data were extracted through the Qualtrics reporting functions and thematic analysis was used to identify themes. A total of 329 participants completed the survey of which 145 (44%) were social workers. FINDINGS: A majority of the social work participants reported that they evaluated supervision in some form. No culture or policy emerged regarding supervision evaluation, but social workers expressed interest in training and resources to assist evaluation and some saw a supportive and endorsement role for the professional or regulatory bodies. An unexpected finding was reports of unsatisfactory and harmful supervision.CONCLUSION: Evaluation of supervision is an activity with which social workers engage, but further research is needed to explore how evaluation can be embedded in supervision practice. More critically, a broader audit is required to reconsider the definition and model of social work supervision in Aotearoa New Zealand and the environments within which supervision occurs.

“You won't take away my children!” families' participation in child protection. Lessons since a best practice

Users' participation in Child and Family Social Work is widely acknowledged as a central and hard-to-reach issue for successful and effective intervention. The article considers a methodological proposal in pursuing participation, called Participative and Transformative Evaluation (PTE) that uses instruments and data as a means of reflection and negotiation between all the actors involved, in order to justify choices and make decisions. The PTE is realised inside the Programme of Intervention for Prevention of Institutionalization (P.I.P.P.I.), involving 144 child care and protection cases (198 children) in nine Italian cities, in order to prevent out-of-home child placement and reduce child neglect. Inside the P.I.P.P.I. a series of case studies were developed to achieve an in-depth understanding of the effective processes undertaken by participants with families. The case selected for this article has been chosen because it reflects a best practice in using the PTE as well as the participation path and is undertaken following the indications of the Critical Best Practice. It allowed an in-depth understanding of the mother's and professionals' viewpoints about what built the success in their practice. During the discussion three components are considered: the technical solutions offered by research or science (technical components) become meaningful when participants not only apply them, but act upon them, building, internally, the meanings to be enacted (internal component). In the case study this came about through dialogue between people, and through negotiation and reflection on competence, visions and values (communicative component).

Grand challenges for social work

As the current UK government ‘dismantles for improvement’ as part of the neoliberal project (Tunstill, 2016), this article introduces the concept of the Grand Challenge Initiative, which seeks to identify ambitious yet achievable goals for society that mobilise the profession, capture the public’s imagination and require innovation and breakthroughs in research and practice to achieve change and real transformation. This article outlines a clear rationale for a Grand Challenge Initiative approach within the UK, draws upon the experience from other professions and social work within the US, and finally calls for broad and deep participation of social work thought leaders and practitioners to participate in and identify the Grand Challenges facing our society and social work today.

Perceptions of health care social workers in Ontario: challenges and facilitators to reflective practice

Background: Reflective practice in health care social work ensures that social workers provide effective and efficient services to clients as well as maintaining their mental and physical health. In this study, we aim to determine how health care social workers engage in and describe reflective practice and challenges related to their reflective practice in their work in the health care system.Methods: We used the Reflective Dialogue Rating Scale (RDRS) developed by Marion Bogo et al. to structure qualitative face-to-face interviews with 23 health care social workers employed in a hospital in a large urban area in Ontario, Canada.Results: Findings illustrated that all participants regularly engaged in reflective practice in order to carry out everyday social work activities, promote ethical practice, and to enhance the provision of services to their clients. The social worker participants consistently agreed that as a profession they faced challenges maintaining their knowledge of current research due to few opportunities for professional development, workload competing with educational opportunities, and a work climate that is not conducive to gaining professional development, thereby challenging reflective practice. Supportive working environments include: peer supervision, safe and private spaces to talk to colleagues, a supportive supervisor, and an overall positive organizational culture.Discussion and conclusion: Reflective practice is a key component in health care social work. All 23 social workers stated that they used reflective techniques (such as peer supervision and debriefing) to deal with their own reactions and operated in a purposeful and intentional manner to form therapeutic relationships with clients. As such, participants stated that lifelong learning was paramount in providing quality care to clients.

Unheard voices: researching participation in social work

ABSTRACTThe article draws attention to the loss of contract power of people, especially those with mental disabilities. It shows a gap between policies and ideology of participation on the one hand and lived experiences of participation practices in the care proceedings’ systems on the other. Users’ participation seems to be a trademark of contemporary EU social policy or mental health policy, while children’s participation is the most emphasised part of child-friendly justice discourse, but the question arises whether they really are in place. The national and European research projects conducted by the author and her colleagues in the last years are used to emphasise the most problematic points, but also innovative social work and advocacy practices. The central focus of the article is therefore the author’s recent EU research project ‘Access to Justice for Children with Mental Disabilities’, which has addressed the participation of children with mental disabilities in all stages of the legal processes. In the case of Slovenia, these are mainly taking the place at centres of social work. The findings showed that in spite of the progress towards participation of children in general in social care decisions, children with mental disabilities remain virtually invisible.

Social Work's Participation in the Geriatric Education Centers Educational Evaluation: A Brief Report.

This study was conducted to determine the level and types of participation of social workers in the activities of the Geriatric Education Centers (GECs). Through an online survey of GECs, the level of participation of social work professionals was compared with those in dentistry, nursing, medicine, and pharmacy, during the years 2010 to 2014. Thirty-one percent (14) of the 45 GECs completed the survey. The results found increases in participation for both social workers and nurses for both GEC activities and involvement in leadership positions within the centers. The GECs also identified caregiver and provider education and continuing education as activities in which social workers have had an increased interest in recent years. Implications from this study can inform the programming efforts of the new Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and other geriatric education programs.

Promoting Election-Related Policy Practice Among Social Work Students

ABSTRACT Political involvement is an integral component of the social work profession, yet there is no explicit reference to social work participation in election-related activities in either the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics or the Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Social work education may offer an opportune time to shape crucial patterns of future electoral participation among social workers. This study examines BSW, MSW, and PhD student electoral involvement during the 2012 presidential election and ways social work program administrators across the country encouraged students to acquire skills and experience in election-related policy practice during the election season. Findings indicate that the extent of opportunities offered to students varied widely across programs as well as across types of electoral activities.

Health promotion targeting older people.

Health is determined by behavior in many ways. The most well-known types of health-related behavior – smoking, alcohol use and exercise/eating habits – are only a selection of the behavioral aspects of health. A healthy lifestyle can be promoted by various means, ranging from educational and counseling programs to financial incentives for a healthy lifestyle. These interventions are further offered in various ways, ranging from general legislative measures to programmatic interventions. Health promotion interventions can take different forms, from small projects to large national programs. They can be funded and organized by donations from individuals or NGOs, or through taxation by national governments. In short, health promotion is typified by heterogeneity in every conceivable aspect. Health promotion is meant for the entire population. If a specific group within a population is singled out as the recipient of health promotion interventions, it is because of a valid reason, such as epidemiological concerns or preferences in social policy (e.g. measures targeting vulnerable or disadvantaged groups). This explains the focus of many health promotion activities on youth, citizens of big cities, workers in certain industries or occupations. The elderly have long been neglected as the addressee of health promotion activities. The need to promote health among older people was first highlighted in the 1990s [1]. Before that, it was commonly assumed that the older generations were not a good target for health promotion as it was thought it was too late to change their lifestyle. Requiring the elderly to radically change their diet and start exercising was perceived as disturbing to their peace and wellness. Therefore, it was only after 2001, when WHO experts unanimously stated the importance of a healthy lifestyle at every stage of life, health promotion measures targeted to the elderly started to grow in numbers. Evidence has shown that exercising, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, participating in learning activities and integrating in the community can help to inhibit the development of many diseases and prevent the loss of functional capacity, thus improving quality of life and lengthening life expectancy. Most of these health promotion activities among the elderly focus on the relatively younger seniors. Within the group of those aged 85+, the emphasis is more on appropriate medical attention from physicians and care givers rather than on their health behavior. Health promotion targeted to older people differs significantly from that addressing younger generations. This partly stems from the fact that the health of older people is generally less than perfect [2]. Seniors are more likely to be suffering from chronic conditions and multi-morbidities, and their functional capacity is frequently limited [3]. This implies that the health promotion programs for the elderly have to account for these limitations in health and daily activities, and require more involvement of professional health promoters and more individualized approaches. The prevalence of certain lifestyle issues is also higher among the elderly. Elderly people are – for example – more likely to suffer from loneliness and social isolation. Also, because of their relatively shorter remaining life expectancy, the focus is more on health promotion activities that yield immediate effects. That is why health promotion programs for older people in European countries are mainly implemented at the local level by primary health care providers and nurses, and by NGOs, self-governing public authorities and voluntary organizations. These programs sometimes lack sustainable sources of funding. Health promotion strategies for the elderly generally have three basic aims: maintaining and increasing functional capacity, maintaining or improving self-care [4], and stimulating one’s social network [5]. The idea behind these strategies is to contribute to a longer, independent and self-sufficient quality of life [6]. It should be noticed that there is an additional objective to be considered: the significance of social participation and integration of the elderly to maintain quality of life at old age [7]. There is ample evidence to support the claim that social bonds and social activities, e. g. continuing professional work, learning activities later on, participation in cultural events and social work and maintaining * Correspondence: stellag@onet.pl Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health Economics and Social Security, Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum, ul. Grzegorzecka 20, 31-531 Krakow, Poland Full list of author information is available at the end of the article

Eco-social work and community resilience: Insights from water activism in Canada

Summary Only recently has social work begun to grapple with its place in relation to environmental issues. While considerable progress has been made in bringing environmental considerations into the centre of our profession's scholarship and practice, this project is far from complete. Drawing on environmental literature and based on findings of a qualitative case study of water activism in one Canadian city, this paper argues that the concept of “community resilience” provides both a practical and a conceptual framework for advancing social work's engagement with issues of the natural environment and environmental justice through community praxis. Findings In Guelph, Ontario, Canada, water issues are the focal point of considerable community activism. The case study research reveals, however, that while water is the focus, much of this activism is driven by three broad social priorities that reflect ideas of community resilience and which suggest entry points for social work participation in community-based environmental initiatives: self-reliance and sustainability, localization and direct citizen participation, and community. Applications “Community resilience” is increasingly popular in environmental and community development fields as a conceptual framework for assessing and building the capacity of communities to support wellbeing in the face of environmental change, adversity and risk. While the concept of “resilience” is well established in social work, “community resilience” remains under-examined in social work literature. In this paper, the author draws attention to this arena of resilience thinking, highlighting its potential for the integration of considerations of the natural environment into social work scholarship, education, and practice.