<p> The purpose of this project was to fund a mobile wellness program for the homeless in Los Angeles County, California. This program will collaborate with service providers in the selected planning areas to promote and support the services of the program to the homeless. The host agency of this proposed project is the John Wesley Community Health Institute, located in Los Angeles County, California. </p><p> After conducting a review of the literature, the grant writer designed a program to provide primary care, behavioral health, and case management services to the homeless population. Specifically, this project will fund a mobile health clinic to offer services to four Service Planning Areas (SPAs) in Los Angeles County. The Annenberg Foundation was determined to be the most appropriate match for funding of the project. </p><p> The actual submission or funding of this grant was not required for the successful completion of the project.</p><p>

<p>Older Latinos often resist discussing their end-of-life plans and are least likely to have completed any advance health care directive documentation with their family. The absence of these discussions or creating documented wishes can cause family members to become even more overwhelmed and confused when a loved one is terminally ill and immediate health care decisions need to be made. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand factors preventing older adult Latinos from participating in conversations regarding end-of-life planning with other family members. Results from 13 interviews revealed that older Latinos were willing to engage in end-of-life care planning conversations with family, but they often lack sufficient information and support to do so. Specific barriers to end-of-life planning for Latinos include a lack of information on advance directives, language and communication barriers, and spiritual beliefs regarding decision-making when one is terminally ill. Directions for future research and social work implications are discussed. </p>

<p>"Harm reduction," or services aimed at reducing the negative effects of high-risk behavior, like drug use, is a fledgling social movement and relatively new type of service provision in the United States. Although it contains guiding principles, it also has many different manifestations. The varying ways in which harm reduction can be implemented reflect the numerous ways in which it can be defined, and this has been a major point of critique in recent literature. Although many sources speak about its definition, very few explore how harm reduction workers actually define their work, and I would argue that harm reduction is actually defined on a daily basis by those performing it. This study explores how service providers both define and practice harm reduction in their everyday activities at a syringe exchange program facility. </p>

<p> The purpose of this thesis was to develop a grant proposal to fund a support group for Asian Indian adults in the Orange County area of California. The goal of this group would be to increase decrease stigma about mental illness through the provision of mutual aid and psychoeducation. The Mental Health Association of Orange County was the host agency for this program. The funding agency selected was Kaiser Permanente Thrive in Orange County. </p><p> Based on the review of the literature, integrating concepts of collectivism, the Hindu religion, and explaining mental illness in the context of medical symptoms are all important components of the development of a culturally sensitive support group for Asian Indians. The program would encourage participants to share their experience with mental illnesses in the context of the Asian Indian culture. </p><p> The actual funding of this grant proposal was not necessary to complete the project.</p><p>

Background: Child abuse in South Africa is a significant public health concern with severe negative outcomes for children; however, little is known about risk and protective factors for child abuse victimisation. This thesis investigates prevalence rates, perpetrators, and locations as well as predictors of physical, emotional and sexual child abuse victimisation. It also examines the influence of potential mediating and moderating variables on the relationships between risk factors and child abuse. Methods: In the first study, a systematic review of correlates of physical, emotional and sexual child abuse victimisation in Africa was conducted. The review synthesised evidence from 23 quantitative studies and was used to inform the epidemiological study. For study two to four, anonymous self-report questionnaires were completed by children aged 10-17 (n=3515, 57% female) using random door-to-door sampling in rural and urban areas in two provinces in South Africa. Children were followed-up a year later (97% retention rate). Abuse was measured using internationally recognised scales. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multivariate logistic regressions, and mediator and moderator analyses. Results: The first study, the systematic review, identified high prevalence rates of abuse across all African countries. It identified a number of correlates which were further examined using the study data from South Africa. The second study found lifetime prevalence of abuse to be 54.5% for physical abuse, 35.5% for emotional abuse, 14% for sexual harassment and 9% for contact sexual abuse. Past year prevalence of abuse was found to be 37.9% for physical abuse, 31.6% for emotional abuse, 12% for sexual harassment and 5.9% for contact sexual abuse. A large number of children experienced frequent (monthly or more regular) abuse victimisation with 16% for physical abuse, 22% for emotional abuse, 8.1% for sexual harassment and 2.8% for contact sexual abuse. Incidence for frequent abuse victimisation at follow-up was 12% for physical abuse, 10% for emotional abuse and 3% for contact sexual abuse. Perpetrators of physical and emotional abuse were mostly caregivers; perpetrators of sexual abuse were mostly girlfriends/boyfriends or other peers. The third study found a direct effect of baseline household AIDS-illness on physical and emotional abuse at follow-up. This relationship was mediated by poverty. Poverty and the ill-person’s disability fully mediated the relationship between household other chronic illnesses and physical and emotional abuse, therefore placing children in families with chronic illnesses and high levels of poverty and disability at higher risk of abuse. The fourth study found that contact sexual abuse in girls at follow-up was predicted by baseline school drop-out, physical assault in the community and prior sexual abuse victimisation. Peer social support acted as a protective factor. It also moderated the relationship between baseline physical assault in the community and sexual abuse at follow-up, lowering the risk for sexual abuse victimisation in girls who had been physically assaulted from 2.5/1000 to 1/1000. Conclusion: This thesis shows clear evidence of high levels of physical, emotional and sexual child abuse victimisation in South Africa. It also identified risk and protective factors for child abuse victimisation which can be used to inform evidence-based child abuse prevention interventions.