<p> The disconnect between what evidence-based research indicates is best care for the seriously ill patient and what is delivered is significant. Local communities are charged with addressing the impact of this breakdown in care for their residents. In a system initially designed to cure, medical care is focused now on slowing the progression of complex, chronic illnesses in an aging population. The opportunities for a breakdown in care are significant. This participant action research study explored factors contributing to the breakdown of care for the seriously ill in an isolated, medically under-served County in Northwestern U.S. The combined action research and appreciative inquiry approach in this study focused on what were the actionable interventions community stakeholders considered taking in supporting improvement in the care of the County&rsquo;s population. Purposeful sampling of community providers identified 14 physicians, registered nurses and clinical social workers, who participated in semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed through the theoretical lenses of general systems, complexity, and working whole systems theories. Issues related to trust, turf, and respect emerged as stakeholders minimized the role and effectiveness of others, and overemphasized both the capacity and burden of their agency or profession&rsquo;s ability and responsibility to address the problem. Professional training and position in the medical hierarchy were linked to the perceptions of stakeholders across all work settings and need to be acknowledged in future collaborations across disciplines. County specific recommendations are included along with recommendations for additional research.</p><p>

<p> This study examined attitudes towards intimate partner violence (IPV), endorsement of IPV myths, and self-esteem of undergraduate social work students at California State University, Long Beach. The sample consisted of 42 respondents, who were over the age of 18 and enrolled in the bachelor of social work major. Results indicated that, overall, this sample had high levels of self-esteem, low levels of attitudes accepting of IPV, and low levels of endorsement of IPV myths. Significant results were found indicating that younger students had higher levels of attitudes accepting of IPV. Additionally, students with parents who have less than a high school education had a significantly higher level of endorsement of IPV myths. Finally, there was evidence that the scores on the Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale and the Intimate Partner Violence Acceptance Scale-Revised were positively correlated; the correlation approached significance. Implications for social work practice and directions for future research are discussed further.</p>

This study examined whether the concept of desired outcome in community programs serving adults with psychiatric disorders was a unitary or multifaceted concept and whether, if multifaceted, subject stakeholder group membership or variables of sex, education, age or attitudes were related to subject preferences for types of outcome. A literature review and focus groups were used to establish a broad range of potential outcomes and 47 subjects from six stakeholder groups (clients, family members, direct care staff, directors of programs serving clients with serious psychiatric disorders, DMH personnel who made service funding decisions, and taxpayers) sorted the 82 outcomes in order of their perceived importance. Subject responses were factor analyzed and a five factor solution was interpreted as indicating concerns for (1) increased client self determination, (2) risk reduction and stability, (3) provision for basic needs, (4) increasingly responsible and integrated community living, and (5) increased autonomy through skill development and symptom reduction. Stakeholder group membership was the only subject variable significantly correlated with subject differences in loading on the five identified factors. It was concluded that these differences had important implications for the ability of stakeholder groups to interact productively. That is, if individuals with differing views on the proper goals of the community mental health system fail to understand the nature of their differences conflict and distrust will continue and a coherent sense of mission for the community system will be impossible to attain. The author asserts that it is important for stakeholders to recognize the legitimacy of, and basis for, the views of others with whom they are attempting to work. Steps recommended to use these findings to improve the quality of practice in the field include: acknowledgment of conflicts inherent in differing points of view, clarifying the extent to which custodial care and social control of those with psychiatric disorders are primary functions of the community system, resolution of legal and ethical issues inherent in "ensuring" the care and safety (as defined by others) of those with psychiatric disorders, specification by funders of outcome priorities, and greater use of outcome measurement in program evaluation.

<p> The purpose of this grant project was to obtain funding for a prevention and intervention program that provides services to youth that are at-risk or have been victims of dating violence. The goal of the project is to provide education, resources, prevention and intervention services for these teenagers in hopes of improving their future relationships. Mental Health &amp; Addiction Services for Adolescents (MASA) Youth Services, a project of the California Hispanic Commission on Alcohol &amp; Drug Abuse, Inc. (CHCADA) was selected as the servicing agency for this project. </p><p> An extensive literature review was conducted to examine the need for implementation of a dating violence program. The information gathered and the literature guided the grant writer to develop a grant that will meet the need for the selected population.</p>

<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>

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1976. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Social Work." Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-134).

<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> The purpose of this grant project is to educate and train leaders within the Orthodox Jewish community to act as culturally sensitive first responders to mental health crises within the Orthodox Jewish community. Mental illness is highly stigmatized among this population. Having trained, trusted, and culturally sensitive community leaders capable of identifying individuals and families in need of mental health services increases the chances that they may use these supports. The proposed leadership training program consists of a series of psycho-educational training groups. The educational emphasis will be on understanding and identifying mental illness, educating leaders about stigma, and approaching community members in need of referrals. The Walter and Elise Hass Foundation is the identified potential funding source. A line-item budget and an evaluation tool are included in the proposed program. The actual submission or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the project.</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>