A combined, multiple-methods action research strategy is constructed and used to assess teams of personnel working in and around group homes for mentally retarded adults and young offenders in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador between August, 1983 and January, 1987. Grounded in the practise experiences and previous research of the author, the question "what works?" is developed both as a contextual framework for the examination of teamwork as a component of professional practise and as a contextual feature of group care. The question is used to guide categorization and organization of differences amongst 51 sample teams in order to isolate valid and reliable measures of team work functioning. Drawing from four distinct theoretical traditions comprising core knowledge of human behaviour in the social environment, multiple methodologies for differentiating within and amongst teams are combined to triangulate data around the central research question. A methodology for the collection and analysis of data which are thought to represent the "lived experiences" of sample subjects is developed and used to illuminate the phenomenological alignments of team members. Qualitative themes in the reports of on- and off-the-job satisfactions and frustrations for sample subjects are examined for teams and for occupational groupings. Separate measures of Level of Organizational Change and Prevalence of Stressful working Conditions are developed and used to examine the interplay between these variables and other preselected variables. The assessment procedures and the typology of team functioning developed by Fulcher (1983) are replicated. Specific flaws and limitations in Fulcher's methodology and design are overcome through the use of a different theoretical orientation, extensions and refinements of the methodology, changes in instrumentation and by replicating his findings with a more homogeneous sample. Four of the team styles of adaptation are empirically validated and their descriptions refined. Both linear and non-linear statistical analytic methods are used to test for correlation and association between and among preselected variables. The Heimler/Fulcher Work Orientation Schedule, which serves as the basis for Fulcher's interpretative categorization of teams, is subjected to tests of reliability and validity and found to meet predetermined expectations. Through the use of an international, comparative data base, norms for team satisfaction and ratio of frustration to satisfaction for this instrument are empirically validated. Further research using Fulcher's typology along with the Work Orientation Schedule is indicated. Field observation recordings, sample subjects' personal narratives, the social policy and corporate contexts in which the study takes place, and a mythical, yet ultimately necessary, experiment which takes place in the future are all used to illuminate and ground the findings in the action research process.

Vård och omsorg är den största arbetsgruppen i Sverige och står även för den största andelen sjukdomsfall, främsta orsaken till sjukskrivningar inom vården är orsakade av den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön. Syftet med studien var att undersöka medarbetarengagemang för personal inom vård och omsorgsarbete, som en del i den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön. Frågeställningarna var hur engagemanget ser ut hos medarbetare inom vård- och omsorg och hur engagemanget kan öka. Tidigare forskning har visat att kombination av teorier gällande engagemang och motivation har skapat en djupare förståelse inom området. Därav grundade studien sig på teorier både kring engagemang och motivation. 10 semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med undersköterskor på vård- och omsorgsboende, för att studera medarbetarnas subjektiva upplevelser kring engagemanget. En tematisk analys skedde. Resultatet visade att samtliga respondenter upplevde sig engagerade i arbetet. Diskussionens huvudpunkter var dock att de fanns indikationer på att nivån av engagemang hos medarbetare kunde vara en annan än individens upplevda nivå av engagemang. En annan slutsats var att chefer och medarbetare tillsammans kunde påverka medarbetarengagemanget positivt bland annat genom en bra tvåvägskommunikation. Dock kom skribenterna fram till att för få respondenter deltog för att kunna dra generella slutsatser kring engagemang. / The healthcare industry is the largest working group in Sweden and accounts for the largest proportion of illness cases, the main cause of sick leave in healthcare is caused by the organizational and social work environment. The purpose of the study was to investigate employee engagement for staff in health care and social work, as part of the organizational and social work environment. The questions were what the engagement looks like for employees in health care and social work and how the engagement can increase. Previous research has shown that a combination of theories of engagement and motivation has created a deeper understanding in the field. Therefore, the study was based on both theories of engagement and motivation. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses at nursing and care homes, to study the employees' subjective experiences about engagement. A thematic analysis occurred. The result showed that all respondents felt engaged in the work. However, the main points of the discussion were that there were indications that the level of engagement of employees could be different from the individual's perceived level of engagement. Another conclusion was that managers and employees together could have a positive influence on employee engagement, for example through good two-way communication. However, the authors concluded that too few respondents participated to be able to draw general conclusions about engagement.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / A significant body of literature has accumulated in the last decade that provides evidence of the growing health care disparities among racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The literature suggests that Black adults share a disproportionate burden in death, disability, and disease. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine report, Unequal Treatment, showed that racial-ethnic disparities in health cannot be entirely attributed to problems of health care access, clinical performance, or patients’ personal characteristics. Many studies have shown that institutional and individual level discrimination that Blacks face in the health care system impacts their health status. This study used secondary data analysis to examine how primary care experience impacts self-reported health status and health care utilization among Black adults. Data were from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) implemented by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Specifically, MEPS Panel 10 (2005-2006) and Panel 11 (2006-2007) data were used in the analyses. The final sample comprised of N=15,295 respondents ages 18 and over. Logistic regression analyses were carried out using Stata Statistical Software, version 11. The study results reflect the disparities among Blacks and Whites on self-reported health and health care utilization. Blacks were 15% less likely to report good health status compared to Whites and had 0.11 less expected office-based doctor visits. Respondents who had better primary care experience had 0.05 times higher expected office-based doctor visits than respondents who did not have good primary care experience. Health care Social Workers should advocate for structural changes in health policy that will take into account the historical marginalization and contemporary inequities that continue to encompass the lives of many Black Americans.