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The purpose of this constructivist research study was to examine the idea of returning to the orphanage system, as a placement option for children who have been removed from their homes. The authors felt that this was especially important since lawmakers have been discussing this option as an answer to the question of welfare reform, and further felt that decisions such as these should not be made without the input of professionals in the social work field.

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Older adults (65+) are one of the fastest growing segments of the population in the United States. Chronic pain is common among this population, and chronic low back pain (CLBP) in particular is the number one pain complaint among older adults. In addition to larger societal and fiscal costs, CLBP is associated with a host of personal negative consequences such as physical disability, poor psychosocial functioning, and decreased quality of life. Despite being a leading health problem in older adulthood, little is known about how older adults actually experience this type of pain. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to understand older adults’ lived experience of CLBP. To improve understanding of CLBP in this understudied population, a qualitative study using a phenomenological method was conducted. Phenomenology, rooted in existential philosophy, is the study of the nature and meanings of phenomena, in which experiences related to the phenomena are the main source of insight. van Manen’s Phenomenology of Practice method specifically guided the investigation with regard to study conception, data collection, and data analysis. Participants were 21 older pain clinic patients living with CLBP who engaged in one-on-one in-depth interviews. Findings suggest that CLBP is an all-encompassing presence in participants’ lives. Seven main themes include: (1) Living a life full of pain; (2) Pain affects everything; (3) With others but a lone in my pain; (4) With pain comes sorrow; (5) Aging painfully; (6) Managing the incurable; (7) You just have to keep going. Implications for social work practice, research, and policy are discussed. By building a deeper understanding of older adult’s experiences and personal meaning of CLBP, social workers may be more able to provide meaningful and effective psychosocial services in the context of interdisciplinary CLBP management.

Older adults account for 20% of new HIV infections in the U.S and 50% of people living with the disease. In part, this is due to people living longer with HIV, greater sexual activity in later life, a lack of condom use, and little understanding about HIV/AIDS. Evidence suggests that healthcare providers can play a key role in the dissemination of information about HIV/AIDS to older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of patient-provider communication of HIV/AIDS on older adults’ intentions to use condoms. The mediating relationships of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceived threat, subjective norms, and self-efficacy were also examined. This study utilized a cross-sectional, web-based survey, administered to adults aged 50 years and older (N=427). Forty-one percent of participants reported no communication with the healthcare provider about HIV/AIDS, yet 87% reported future intentions to use a condom with a new sexual partner. Participants demonstrated high knowledge of HIV/AIDS (M=14.7 out of 18), believed their sexual partner would be agreeable to using condoms (M=24 out of 36), and 91% believed they had the ability to properly use a condom. However, participants did not believe HIV/AIDS posed a threat to their health (M=8 out of 36). Mediation analysis yielded non-significant results. Healthcare providers can provide tailored prevention recommendations to higher risk older adults in order to curb the number of new infections. Additional research is needed with older adults who identify as LGBT, MSM, and older adults of color.

Cancer affects everyone; it does not distinguish between age, race, gender or social background. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it does not only affect the child, but also the family system as a whole. The focus of this study was on the psychosocial aspects that are affected in the family system once a child diagnosed with cancer. These psychosocial aspects included the emotional impact, the spousal impact, the role changes that occur in the family system, the financial impact, the impact on siblings as well as the impact on religion and spirituality. These aspects were investigated by the researcher during the applied study. This applied study used a qualitative approach with a collective case study research design. The research population of this study included families who have a child diagnosed with cancer, who was treated at Nicus Lodge Cancer Treatment Centre in Pretoria which is a CANSA affiliate. The staff at Nicus Lodge selected participants who met the criteria based on purposive sampling, on behalf of the researcher. The researcher used semi-structured interviews and an interview schedule in order to obtain the participants’ experiences of their child diagnosed with cancer and the psychosocial effects it had on them as a family system. Nine participants participated in the study. The interviews were recorded with the permission of the participants and then later transcribed. Creswell’s steps for qualitative data analysis were implemented. By utilizing these measures and tools, the researcher was able to formulate findings from which conclusions and recommendations could be made. From the findings, the following themes and sub-themes were identified, demonstrating the psychosocial effect that a child diagnosed with cancer has on the family system and answering the research question: Theme 1: Protective measures with the sub-themes of religion, support structures and personality. Theme 2: Restrictive measures with the sub-themes of role changes, single parent, multiple children and date of diagnosis. Theme 3: Financial related aspects with the sub-themes of employment/unemployment, supportive employer, transport and medical aid. The findings demonstrated that many different aspects of a family system are affected when a child is diagnosed with cancer. It also demonstrated that a family system that had the necessary protective measures, were able to cope more effectively and maintain their quality of life when their child was diagnosed with cancer. The findings furthermore showed specific focus areas that a social worker in the health care setting, specifically in the oncology field, should focus on which hinder family systems from coping effectively. These focus areas enable the social workers to provide adequate supportive services to the families of a child diagnosed with cancer. Supportive services are imperative when dealing with a family of a child diagnosed with cancer, and this is one of the recommendations of the study and a focus area for future studies. Recommendations from this study can be used by social workers in the health care field to better understand the challenges that families of a child diagnosed with cancer experience and how to effectively address their needs. Social workers can also utilize the recommendations to find ways to make their services known to the communities and improve their intervention and supportive services to these families. It is important for social workers to improve awareness in the community and to provide them with the necessary resources to cope better with the situation. To better understand this paper, certain key terms were used by the researcher. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

Clinicians report that carryover management is one of the most difficult and time consuming problems they face (Johnson, 1972) yet the literature offers little data to assist clinicians in determining what methodologies should be used and which are effective in facilitating carryover. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the type of methodologies utilized by public school clinicians in Oregon to facilitate carryover with clients originally diagnosed as having articulation disorders. A secondary question dealt with the perceived effectiveness of these methodologies.

This study was an analysis of social work practice in a medical setting: analyzing the work of a medical social worker in an outpatient clinic located in a metropolitan area. The primary purpose of this descriptive study was to evaluate the performance of a medical social worker in a Kaiser-Permanente outpatient clinic and to determine if there were possible associations between social work intervention and patient utilization of existing services offered by the Kaiser Health Care system, also referred to herein as Kaiser. Specifically, the study attempted to determine if there were quantitative changes in patient contacts, and utilization of certain services such as clinic visits, telephone contacts, prescriptions, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and physicians seen before and after social worker intervention. If there were changes, what were the direction and quantity? Did changes vary according to type of service? Did patient utilization of medical care vary according to the number of social work contacts?