abstract: The transition process from high school to college can be filled with many rewards and challenges not only for students, but also for their families. As institutions have continued to evolve to support student success and retention, many universities have added or expanded parent and family program offices. While universities continue to work collaboratively with families promote student success, it is important to understand the how the needs of families may vary. One area to explore is the proximity of students to their family members and how distance may impact the transition for both students and families. A perceived problem in this study was that family members of local students were not as engaged as family members who lived outside the local area. The purpose of this action research study was to better understand and enhance the experience of local families as their students transitioned from high school to college. The study and innovation were grounded in two theoretical frameworks: funds of knowledge and Schlossberg’s transition theory. The innovation developed based upon learnings from these theoretical frameworks included four elements: (a) a family guide, (b) family newsletters, (c) an online family video series, and (d) an updated parent and family website. The study was a mixed methods action research study conducted over the course of one semester. Quantitative data was collected through the use of a presurvey at the start of the academic year and a postsurvey as the semester completed. Qualitative data was collected through individual interviews with local family members. The results of this study indicated that families who participated in at least one element of the innovation reported more knowledge of campus resources, felt more supported by the institution, and were confident in their ability to assist their student in the transition to college. Additionally, implications for practice and areas for future research were explored. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Higher and Postsecondary Education 2019

The study reports on analyses of data collected from the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP) for 5,859 children with Autism (n = 511), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI, n = 522), or Mental Retardation (MR, n = 4826) whose legal guardians applied for support services through the Utah Department of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD). Results indicate that the least to most frequent problem behaviors were (a) destructive to property, (b) hurtful to self, (c) hurtful to others, (d) socially offensive, (e) unusual habits, (f) withdrawal, (g) uncooperative, and (h) disruptive behaviors. The degree of severity varied from problem to problem, with uncooperative behaviors rated as most severe. Males displayed higher frequency and severity for all problem behaviors, except hurtful to self.

Over 43 million Americans suffer from mental illness annually with 40% seeking support from clergy (Polson & Rogers, 2007) who claim to be ineffectively prepared (Farrell & Goebert, 2008). This study investigated if mental health training administered to clergy would increase their knowledge of various mental disorders, alter their opinion regarding helpful resources, grow their self-confidence to help individuals experiencing mental health issues, and increase clergy's willingness to refer out. The theoretical basis for this research was attribution theory that attempts to explain social perceptions (Mannarini & Boffo, 2013) and the struggle individuals (i.e. clergy) have regarding the causation of mental health concerns (Locke & Pennington, 1982) and identification of mental illness symptoms (Miller, Smith & Uleman, 1981). In the within-group study, clergy completed the Mental Health Effectiveness Questionnaire pre and post training to answer the following questions: Does participation in a training workshop affect clergy's knowledge of mental disorders, opinion regarding helpful resources, self-confidence to assist an individual with mental health issues, and willingness to refer to a helpful resource? The majority of participants had experience with mental illness. Unexpected results showed mental health training positively influenced some opinions regarding helpful resources and confidence to assist someone with mental illness. The results of this research may influence positive social change by showing that faith based mental health training may do more than increase confidence to someone to assist and refer an individual experiencing mental health issues. It may also be a means of social support to family members already possessing knowledge of mental illness or indicate that family members are in search of more faith based mental health training.

This qualitative and quantitative study focused on exploring hospice patient’s perceptions of family support. Family support was conceptualized as which family member they expect to receive support from, types of support provided, frequency of support, family communication about medical illness, and type of support that is perceived to be most helpful. Fifteen partcipants between the ages of 70 to 98 were interviewed using purposive sampling. Findings showed that although participants found both physical and emotional support helpful, more than half reported perceiving emotional support as the most helpful. Recommendations for social work practice and research were discussed.

The outcomes of a child protection/family support programme, the Cottage Community Care Pilot Project, were evaluated in this study. The evaluation employed a non-equivalent comparison group design of 'at risk' consenting first-time mothers in the perinatal period with babies up to 6 weeks of age. Ninety-three families were recruited and 58 of these were matched with a trained volunteer home visitor. Analysis of assessment items and questionnaires, reviews of hospital records and the Department of Community Services Child abuse and neglect notification register and focus groups with mothers and volunteers provided the information used in this study. The CCCP had an impact on particular aspects of family function, certain infant and maternal health indices and the families' use of community services, but its contribution to reducing the incidence of child abuse and neglect is less clear. Client and volunteer feedback indicated support for the programme. While home visitation by trained volunteers is not proposed as the total answer for effective child protection or family support, the findings of this evaluation suggest that there is a place for similar programmes. / Master of Science (Hons)

In Sweden and elsewhere there is evidence of poorer cancer survival for patients of low socioeconomic status (SES), and in some settings differences in treatment by SES have been shown. The aim of this thesis was to explore factors which influence cancer treatment decisions, such as knowledge reaped from clinical trials, patient-related factors, and physician-related factors. In a register study of colorectal cancer, all stages, patients were stratified for SES-factors. Differences were seen with regards to clinical investigation, surgical and oncological treatment and survival, with the highly educated group being favored. Survival was better for highly educated patients in stages I, II and III but not in stage IV. In a Scandinavian cohort of newly metastasized colorectal cancer patients, recruitment to clinical trials was studied. Patients entering clinical trials had better performance status and fewer cancer symptoms than those who were treated with chemotherapy outside of a clinical trial. Median survival was 21.3 months for trial-patients and 15.2 months for those treated with chemotherapy outside a  trial. Those not treated with chemotherapy had a median survival of just 2.1 months. Patients in clinical trials are highly selected and conclusions drawn from studies cannot be applied to all patients. In the same cohort, treatment and survival were stratified for education, smoking and indicators of social structure. Highly educated patients did not have a survival advantage. Patients who lived alone were offered less combination chemotherapy and surgery of metastases than other patients and had 4 months shorter survival than those who lived with a spouse or child. In a fourth study, 20 Swedish gastrointestinal oncologists were interviewed on which factors they considered when deciding on oncological treatment. Oncologists feared chemotherapy complications due to lack of social support, and ordered less combination chemotherapy for patients living alone. Highly educated patients were seen as well-read and demanding, and giving in to these patients’ requests for treatment was regarded as a way of pleasing patients and relatives and of avoiding conflict.

Recent years have seen increasing acknowledgment that aircraft accidents affect not only those who are killed or injured, but also the families and friends of victims. Survivors, victims and their families require sensitive treatment in order to help them cope with what has occurred. Following high profile accidents including USAir 427 and TWA 800, the United State of America started a new program which they call it Family Assistance after Air Disaster. After that a several documents providing guidance for dealing with victims and their families were published in Australia, the UK and the EU. However, in the Middle East, there is no region-specific family assistance guidance for dealing with aircraft accidents. As such, operators tend to use plans which have been designed from a western perspective. This means that the impact of culture, ethical sensitivities and religion have not been addressed fully. This thesis explores the differences in dealing with the families of victims after an accident in the Middle East focusing on the Muslim population. Interviews were conducted with experts from airlines, family assistance providers, religious leaders and victim support groups. These were supplemented by a survey of passengers and family members in USA, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to compare and contrast the expectations and needs of those who may be affected by an aircraft accident. Over 300 responses were received and the data were validated through further expert interviews. The results supported the findings of the literature review and matched with the bad experiences documented within case study accidents such as the mid-air collision involving Saudi Arabian Airlines flight 763. The study found that the three factors are inextricably linked, with religion being a strong factor in determining individual’s response to their loss; how they relate to others and the type of support they should be given. Suggestions are made regarding the design of a Family Assistance Centre, staff training, words that should / should not be used; and to explain how people may react.

College is a time marked by a significant level of stress, especially for Latina students. One of the changes that often occurs during an individual's time in college involves one's gender role beliefs, shifting from traditional gender role beliefs to more liberal beliefs. Though a great deal of research has been done to show that college attendance plays an important role in the liberalization of gender role beliefs, little is known about this relationship for Latina students. This is particularly problematic as Latina students face unique challenges on the college campus, including issues relating to acculturation. Because the Latino cultural norms often dictate women to be dependent on their family, a move towards nontraditionalism can create family conflict and intragroup marginalization, both of which can contribute to psychosocial distress in ethnic minority groups. As Latina students face unique educational challenges, and may develop family conflicts, a supportive academic environment may serve to buffer some negative effects. This study conceptualizes this supportive environment as "academic families" which foster family like relationships in the college setting. This study examined the relationships between gender role beliefs, family conflict, family intragroup marginalization, academic family support, and psychosocial distress among a sample of 170 Latina college students to get a clearer picture of how changing gender roles impact this population. A statistically significant relationship was found between gender role beliefs and family intragroup marginalization, as well as between gender role beliefs and family conflict, though different from initially hypothesized. A statistically significant relationship was also found between family conflict and psychosocial distress, though academic family support was not shown to moderate this relationship. Implications for researchers and educators are also discussed.

Syftet med undersökningen var att ta reda på hur anhöriga resonerar kring att deras (o)hälsa har förbättras eller inte vid medverkan i en kommuns anhöriggrupper. I bakgrunden presenteras bland annat tidigare forskning som visat att anhörigvårdare har en sämre upplevd hälsa än de som inte vårdar och att behovet av att ventilera sina känslor är stort. Vidare presenteras att vi lär oss genom kommunikation och samspel med andra människor. Det har gjorts tre kvalitativa intervjuer med anhörigvårdare som medverkat i en kommuns anhöriggrupper. Två intervjuer har gjorts på en kommuns anhörigcenter och en intervju har gjorts i en av informantens hem. Två av informanternas anhöriga har gått bort och en av informanternas anhöriga lever än. Resultatet visar att ett anhörigcenter är en viktig del i anhörigvårdarnas liv för att de ska må bra. De medverkandes psykiska hälsa har förbättrats och de har insett vikten av att ta hand om sig själva och inte bara den sjuka. Anhörigvårdarna värdesätter gemenskapen och personerna i grupperna högt och anser att det är tack vare dem som de orkar med vardagen.

Sammanfattning Undersökningen är riktad till dem som är intresserade av ett väldigt utmanande, nytt och framtidstänkande arbete med sörjande föräldrar. Ambitionen med studien har varit att få en fördjupad kunskap kring family support teamets arbete, roller och funktioner på ett barnhospice. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod har jag uppnått studiens syfte. I undersökningen har jag använt mig av frågeställningarna: Hur beskriver family support teamet sina arbetsuppgifter med obotligt sjuka barn och deras familjer? Samt vilket samarbete finns det mellan family support teamet och de övriga professionerna på Ty Hafan? Studieresultaten har jag relaterat till ett rollteoretiskt - samt organisationsteoretiskt perspektiv. Studiens huvudresultat är att family support teamets arbetare har flera olika roller där rollerna styrs av familjernas behov. Teamet ger ett emotionellt och psykosocialt stöd till barnen som har en obotlig sjukdom, deras familjer och anhöriga samt att delar av teamet handleder de andra teamen på barnhospicet. Teamet har en stor handlingsfrihet, dvs. organisationen (Ty Hafan) har inga speciella riktlinjer som family support teamet måste följa i deras arbete. I studien framkom det att yrkesprofessionerna på barnhospicet fungerar som ett komplement för varandra. Därför måste det finnas ett bra samarbete dem emellan. Den största skillnaden mellan family support teamet och de övriga teamen är att family support teamet är de enda professionella som är kvar i familjernas liv efter barnets död. Teamet finns som ett stöd för familjerna tills familjerna själva känner att de inte är i behov av teamets stöd längre. / Abstract The study is aimed for people who are interested in a very demanding, new and forward thinking work with grieving parents. The ambition with the study has been to gain a deepened knowledge about the family support team’s duties, roles and functions within a children’s hospice. With a qualitative method I have achieved the purpose of the study. In the study, I have been using the following questions: How does family support team describe their work duties with children with life-limited illnesses and their families? Also in what way does the family support team co-operate with other professionals at Ty Hafan? The results from the study have been related to a role theoretical and also organisation theoretical perspective. The study’s main result is that the family support team’s employers have many different work duties, where the duties are being regulated by the families’ needs. The team gives an emotional psychosocial support to the children with a life limited illness, their families and the relatives, also parts of the team guide the other teams in the Children’s hospice. The team have a great freedom of action, i.e. the organisation (Ty Hafan) does not have any specific guidelines that the family support team must follow in their work. It came out from the study that the professionals at the Children’s hospice complete each other. The greatest difference between the family support team and the other teams is that the family support team are the only ones who stay in contact with the families after their child’s death. The team works as a support for the families until they feel that they are not needed anymore.