Social Work Intervention Research Articles

Research on Service Strategies for Social Work Intervention in the Difficulties and Needs of Families with Children in Difficulties--Based on the empirical research in District L of Jiangsu Province

In order to properly solve the global problem of children in difficulties, social work should be involved to play a role. Based on the field investigation of families with children in distress in L District of Jiangsu Province, it is found that families with children in distress generally have needs for economic help, self-realization, future placement and care services, and their social support network resources are complementary to their needs. The research suggests that social workers can rely on the media of social support network to achieve intervention from five aspects: promoting policy improvement, carrying out skills training, providing care services, promoting community participation and establishing mutual help groups.

A Structured Template for Social Work Psychosocial Assessments and Formulations in Healthcare

ABSTRACT Previously, substantial inconsistencies existed in relation to social work documentation in medical records across Queensland Health. A structured, adaptable social work psychosocial assessment template, developed for use across Queensland Health, is introduced in this article. This template comprises six title headings and encompasses nine psychosocial domains. Importantly, a “Care Needs and Choice” domain encouraged promotion of the “patient voice”, while a Clinical Formulation section and matrix encouraged analysis and assessment of the presenting situation as conceptualised through the social work lens. We propose that, together with AASW guidelines and resources (e.g., AASW Practice Standards, 2023), utilisation of this template can help social workers articulate their professional identity and demonstrate their unique contributions to holistic, person-centred psychosocial healthcare. IMPLICATIONS A structured adaptable template can assist social workers to document psychosocial assessments in the medical record. Use of this template can help demonstrate the professional scope of social work practice and social workers’ unique contributions to person-centred care. The template promotes consideration and documentation of the “patient voice”, and the Formulation matrix encourages critical thinking and analysis to inform social work interventions.

Social Work Graduates as Youth Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) in Türkiye: An Intersectional Analysis

This research investigates the experiences of social work graduates as youth who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) by employing an intersectional perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 social work graduates who are unemployed for at least a year. The findings encompass three key themes: being NEET, the reasons for being NEET, and solutions proposed by social work graduates as NEET. The findings evaluate the shared experiences among participants while endeavoring to elucidate how these experiences diverge concerning various social categories. From an intersectional perspective, the results expose disparities in the NEET experience, considering factors such as gender, marital status, being a parent, class, social capital, geographical location, and societal perceptions. The research is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge concerning educated NEETs and the unique strength of it lies in the absence of previous investigations pertaining to NEETs as social work graduates. It is advised that individual and structural factors should be considered in analyzing the experience of being NEET and that micro, meso, and macro social work interventions should be developed in terms of these factors. Furthermore, future research endeavors can focus on evaluating the efficacy of interventions and conducting comprehensive mixed-method studies.

Study on the Correctional Treatment of Juvenile Delinquency and Social Work Intervention Mechanisms in China

Based on specific analyses of cases of juvenile delinquency, it is found that the reasons why minors commit criminal acts are to a large extent related to their own special psychology, and that correcting minors for their special psychology and guiding them towards a healthier, more positive direction is of significant value to the effective education of juvenile delinquents. At the present stage of analysis, crime correction is no longer the exclusive responsibility of judicial personnel, but social workers and volunteers can also actively join in, and their participation will make the actual effect of juvenile crime correction significantly better. The article analyses the corrective treatment of juvenile delinquency and the involvement of social work, with the aim of better preventing juvenile delinquency in the future and enabling them to embark on the right path in life.

A Process Evaluation of a Palliative Care Social Work Intervention for Cancer Patients in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Background: Assessing and Listening to Individual Goals and Needs (ALIGN) is a palliative care social work intervention that aims to improve delivery of goal-concordant care for hospitalized older adults with cancer discharged to skilled nursing facilities. Objective: Explore processes through which ALIGN may improve delivery of goal-concordant care to substantiate the conceptual model grounding the intervention and to inform mechanistic hypotheses of how the intervention might be effective. Design: A process evaluation triangulating findings from patient and caregiver interviews with a matrix analysis of ALIGN social worker notes. Setting/Participants: Patients (n = 6) and caregivers (n = 13) who participated in a single-arm pilot study of ALIGN in the United States and 113 intervention notes (n = 18 patients) written by 2 ALIGN social workers. Measurement: Qualitative thematic content analysis Results: Themes included the following: (1) ALIGN helped reconcile participants' misaligned expectations of rehabilitation with the reality of the patient's progressive illness; (2) ALIGN helped participants manage uncertainty and stress about forthcoming medical decision making; (3) the longitudinal nature of ALIGN allowed for iterative value-based goals of care discussions during a time when patients were changing their focus of treatment; and (4) ALIGN activated participants to advocate for their needs. Conclusions: ALIGN offers support in prognostic understanding, communication, and decision making during a pivotal time when patient and caregivers' goals have not been met and they are reassessing priorities. A larger trial is needed to understand how these processes may improve the ability of participants to make value-based decisions and aide in delivery of goal-concordant care. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT04882111.

Where will older adults reside? Evidence from Calgary, Canada

The population is rapidly aging both globally and locally, but the aging process varies by community and over time within a given region. In this study, we examined the spatiotemporal trends of aging communities over the course of more than two decades (1996–2019) in Calgary, Canada, using the emerging hotspot analysis technique. We also forecasted the aging population in communities of concern for the next decade using forest-based regression. The findings demonstrate that the city has experienced decentralization of its aging population at the community level over time. This trend will continue to be observed in the foreseeable future owing to the recent influx of younger generations into central locations and increased life expectancy, along with people's willingness to age in community. The outcomes of this study provide a clearer picture of the trajectory of aging at the community level and help decision-makers prioritize communities for planning and social work interventions to ensure aging in community. Furthermore, our methodology can be used to understand spatiotemporal trends in aging communities in other locations.

Religio-political influence on social work practice in contemporary India

ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore the intricate relationship between religio-political influence and its impact on social work in contemporary India. The escalating trends of majoritarianism, homogeneity, the instrumentalization of religion for political power, growing inequality, and the prevalence of caste-based violence have contributed to an alarming increase in intolerance among various religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups. These challenges, primarily driven by religio-political factions in India, pose significant obstacles to effective social work practice and intervention. The question arises: Can social work disentangle itself from religion and religio-political influence, or should a new narrative be developed within social work practice to address these concepts? This article underscores the pressing need for a fresh perspective that integrates religion, religio-politics, and their influence on social work. New narrative can facilitate the development of effective strategies and interventions that mitigate the adverse effects of religio-political factions while promoting social justice and inclusivity. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the necessity of reimagining the relationship between religion, religio-politics, and social work in India. Thus, social work can play a crucial role in fostering positive societal change, addressing inequality, and countering the rising tide of intolerance fueled by religio-political influences.

Social and health Problems of the contemporary World, Background and Perspectives

The current volume of the Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Journal is devoted to diverse social and health problems, defining the causes of these problems and finding solutions. The authors of the contributions are scientists, experts, and scientific and pedagogical staff from universities and research institutes. In the modern era, we are confronted with an array of social and health challenges that demand urgent attention and innovative solutions.

Economic Empowerment for Enhanced Health Equity: A Qualitative Study of Women Living with HIV in Wakiso District, Uganda

Women living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle for health equity while also facing the constraints of economic hardship and patriarchy. In this article, we describe the experiences of women who participated in economic empowerment groups for women living with HIV in Wakiso district, Uganda. Fifty women engaged in economic empowerment groups and ten social worker and community health worker key informants enrolled in the study. Taking a phenomenological approach, we used field notes, qualitative interviews, and focus groups with participants and key informants to describe the experiences of the women who joined the groups. We present the findings including enhanced management of HIV and increased property and business ownership due to economic empowerment group participation. We discuss the findings through an economic empowerment framework and offer implications for social work interventions and research.

The effect of caregivers’ care burden and psychological resilience on the psychosocial adjustment of patients with open heart surgery in Turkey

ABSTRACT This cross-sectional study investigated the effect of caregivers’ care (n = 100) burden and psychological resilience on the psychosocial adjustment of patients (n = 100) with open heart surgery. Patients had poor psychosocial adjustment. Caregivers who felt incompetent in providing care had a higher care burden and a lower psychological resilience than those who did not. In addition, patients whose caregivers had higher resilience and lower burden of care had better psychosocial adjustment. The results of this study compellingly demonstrate the importance and necessity of supportive and preventive clinical social work interventions to enhance patients’ adaptation to a new lifestyle and compliance with treatment during the cardiac rehabilitation process, and reduce the burden on caregivers.

Tribal Education in Kerala and Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-4: Prospects and Challenges

Education is a key indicator of development and a fundamental right for all individuals. The state plays a crucial role in providing basic and higher education to its citizens, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or financial status. Education serves as a social capital essential for individual and community development. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 emphasizes access to quality education, ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all. This paper examines the prospects and challenges of achieving SDG 4 among tribal communities in Kerala. Tribal communities face unique obstacles in accessing quality education, such as geographical remoteness, linguistic barriers, cultural differences, and gender discrimination. Despite Kerala’s high literacy rate, tribal education lags behind that of the general population. Through a multi-dimensional approach, this study explores the prospects and challenges of tribal education using a case study method. Both primary and secondary data were utilized, with primary data gathered through interviews with students benefiting from the post-metric hostel scheme, tribal promoters, counsellors, social activists, and educationists. The paper highlights government interventions and constitutional frameworks promoting tribal education. It also provides social work interventions and other suggestions to strengthen tribal education and achieve SDG 4.

Evaluation of coping strategies of parents of children with cystic fibrosis

ABSTRACT This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted to evaluate the coping strategies of parents of children with cystic fibrosis. The research sample is the parents (n: 112) who presented to Thoracic Medicine Department at Hacettepe University Pediatric Hospital between 3 April 2021 - 28 May 2021 and volunteered to participate in the study. Sociodemographic Data Form and Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (COPE Inventory) were used in the collection of data. The study examined coping strategies according to children’s characteristics such as age, sex, education, and parents’ independent variables such as employment status, income status, number of individuals and children in the family, communication with other families, social and financial support. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Research findings show that religious coping was the most frequently preferred coping strategy, and behavioral disengagement was the least commonly used coping strategy. Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies were also commonly used. Social work interventions and strategies play an important role in helping parents to adopt positive coping strategies and improve their skills.

Spiritual Needs of the Elderly and Social Work Intervention in the Context of Healthcare Integration

As a new type of pension service, the combination of medical and nursing services has increasingly become a new trend in the development of China's pension industry with its advantages of combining pension services and medical services. In this paper, we analyse the spiritual needs of the elderly in healthcare-integrated institutions from four levels, namely, emotion, social interaction, culture and entertainment, and respect, and put forward corresponding intervention strategies in combination with the professional concepts of social work, aiming to enhance the spiritual and psychological adaptation of the elderly in healthcare-integrated institutions.

Study on the Mental Care of Rural Empty Nest Elderly under New Urbanization

Today, with the continuous acceleration of new urbanization, the number of rural empty nests is also increasing year by year. The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposes to improve the basic old-age insurance for urban and rural residents, improve the elderly care system, and ensure that the elderly have a place to take care of. Under the development of this era, it is necessary to protect rural empty nest elderly this group, but we not only pay attention to their material guarantee, but also notice their spiritual care. For the spiritual care of rural empty nest elderly, we should analyse their spiritual demands monolithically, and build a three-dimensional comfort system that is "government-led, fund investment, social worker intervention, self-regulation, and neighbourhood assistance" to solve their spiritual demands.

Exploring the establishment of a collaborative medical and social worker intervention model in home-based hospice shared care for the elderly

Exploring the establishment of a collaborative medical and social worker intervention model in home-based hospice shared care for the elderly

Please help me, I am drowning! The cry of parents of adolescents with a substance use disorder.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are on the rise among adolescents worldwide, including in South Africa, causing a significant challenge to parents. Regardless of the difficulties associated with SUDs in adolescents and their impact on parents, current studies on substance addiction have focused on diverse fraternities, excluding social work services for parents of adolescents with SUDs. To develop an in-depth understanding of social work services provided to parents of adolescents with SUDs. The study was conducted in two districts, Capricorn and Waterberg, in Limpopo province, South Africa. A qualitative research method using exploratory and descriptive designs was employed. The scheduled interview guides facilitated semi-structured interviews with 11 social workers and 8 parents. For data analysis, Tesch's eight steps were used. Six themes emerged from the study: (1) social work interventions for parents, (2) family and community-related obstacles, (3) organisation-related obstacles, (4) substance use intervention strategies received by parents, (5) parents' coping mechanisms in dealing with adolescents with SUDs and (6) factors hindering access to social services. The findings show that the government, particularly the Department of Social Development as the custodian of social services, is obliged to develop and design standard guidelines for services to parents of adolescents with SUDs and to provide uniform services to social workers. The study benefits the social work profession, particularly in the field of substance abuse because it generates effective parameters for services for parents of adolescents with SUDs.

PSYCHO-SOCIAL CHALLENGES FACED BY SENIOR CITIZENS –CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

The geriatric population of India keeps increasing because of medical advancements in ageing. The senior citizens face lot of psycho-social challenges which includes rejection by their own children, various forms of abuses, loneliness, being uncared of their illnesses and left unloved. The list goes on. The researcher selected a specific Old age home in Madurai, to study the psycho-social challenges faced by the Senior Citizens inspite of providing them food, clothing and shelter along with medical needs they require. The researcher adopted Explanatory Case Study design put forth by Robert K Yin (2003) and did the case study among two cases. The case study analysis was done by the researcher and the case study is presented using Brian Budgell (2008) methodology for the case study presentation. Interview was the technique used by the researcher to collect data. It was found that the cases were having interpersonal relationship problem, adjustmental problem, health issues like hyper tension and diabetes, Social isolation, forgetfulness and decrease in hearing ability. The researcher suggests through the case study analysis, to help senior citizens feel better by providing proper caregivers, enhancing family support and by adopting certain social work interventions to reduce their stress.

Trauma as the ‘Belief That the World is a Dangerous Place’: The Obfuscation of Systemic Violence in Social Work’s Discourses of Trauma

Abstract The concept of psychological trauma has been taken up widely in popular culture and in diverse academic fields including social work. In this work of poststructuralist discourse analysis, we used methods of close reading to examine a random sample of thirty social work articles on trauma (published 2010–2020). Our aim was not to refute the salience of the concept nor to establish its true meaning and correct usage, but to critically examine its discursive functions; what does ‘trauma’ do in social work? In our analysis, the progressive aims of the discourses of trauma—to counter pathologisation and confer legitimacy to harms that have been marginalised—are unrealised. ‘Trauma’ is deployed in multiple, often contradictory ways and the slippages between intent and function work to construct the trauma-laden as non-normative, damaged subjects, and legitimate objects, thus, of social work scrutiny and intervention. Social work’s discourses of trauma undermine their own efforts to centre a structural analysis. If ‘to perceive the world as a safe place’ is a signifier of normative, non-traumatised functioning, then what does ‘trauma’ do when applied to the racialised, gendered, colonised and marginalised, for whom the world is not a place of safety but of material and psychical violence?

Social Work Intervention and Practice in Different Settings

Social Work Intervention and Practice in Different Settings

Existential Social Work in Coping with Death and Grief

AbstractThis article delves into the use of existential social work in coping with death and grief. After defining death and grief, the article explores individuals' attitudes towards death and the theoretical perspectives related to death and grief. The article further examines the fundamental concept of existentialism within the context of coping with death and grief. The article then considers the theoretical basis of an existentialist approach to social work evaluation and intervention. It highlights the importance of an existentialist approach in the process of coping with death and grief, as it encourages individuals to confront the reality of death and find meaning in life. Ultimately, the article contributes to the field of social work by providing insights into the theoretical foundations of existential social work in the context of death and grief. In order to enhance understanding, this article includes a case example, contributing to a deeper understanding of the practical application of existential social work in dealing with death and grief.