Social Work in Public Health最新文献

For generations, Black Funeral Home Directors BFHDs have operated within the Black community, accumulating extensive knowledge of multiple family generations impacted by firearm-related deaths and possessing decades of neighborhood-level insights. BFHDs can be key allies in developing and implementing premature death and violence prevention efforts. The increasing incidence of chronic disease, suicide, and homicide related to gun violence among Black Americans, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, represents a significant public health threat and social justice issue. The Epidemiological Criminology framework is proposed to understand factors affecting chronic disease risks, premature deaths, and criminal justice responses, allowing for the promotion of social work practice that supports trauma-informed responses, self-care, and healing. This article explores the potential for collaboration between BFHDs and social workers to address the complex issues of gun violence and premature death in Black communities, leveraging the unique position and cultural competence of BFHDs to complement existing efforts targeting high-risk groups.

Given the disproportionate rates of COVID infections among Hispanics, this study explored factors influencing COVID vaccine uptake and inform public health messaging targeting this population. Hispanic participants (n = 80) were part of eight Spanish and English focus groups. Bilingual researchers transcribed interviews verbatim and conducted Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Five themes were constructed regarding factors influencing the community's uptake of the vaccines: (1) Vaccine seen as lifesaving; (2) Difficulty accessing the vaccine; (3) Vaccinated to protect others; (4) Misinformation led to fear and mistrust; (5) Others influenced perception of COVID and uptake of the vaccine. Two themes were constructed regarding factors influencing public health messaging: (1) Trusted sources of information are critical; and (2) Culturally relevant prevention and treatment messaging is needed through social media. Motivated to protect others, culturally relevant community-informed messaging via local trusted stakeholders is necessary for social workers to address health misinformation and reach Texas-Mexico border Hispanics.

Through the broad use of technology such as phones and social media, people are more aware of various instances of police brutality. Specifically, police violence toward Black men continues to garner increased public scrutiny. The paper discusses the historical context of police violence toward Black men and the associated psychological trauma impact. The authors advocate for police reform using the Sanctuary Model of trauma-informed care approach to address the issue. Further, the implementations of trauma-informed care in police training for United States law enforcement and for Black men are presented.

This study investigates socioeconomic disparities in chronic respiratory diseases and the factors contributing to these inequalities, using data from the 2019 Turkish Health Survey. Multivariate logistic regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analyses reveal that 13.10% of adults aged 25 and older in Turkey suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, with a significantly higher prevalence among lower socioeconomic status (SES) individuals. Key risk factors include older age, being female, smoking, and an unhealthy diet, with age and gender being the dominant contributors to SES-related disparities, while smoking and diet play smaller roles. Fundamental cause theory highlights how SES influences health outcomes, demonstrating the need for addressing these mechanisms through the intersection of public health and social work. Social work implications include advocating for systemic change, expanding healthcare access, and developing community programs. Public health efforts should address structural determinants, reduce environmental hazards, and ensure culturally sensitive interventions for vulnerable populations.

A three-stage community needs assessment process is the gold standard in conducting community assessments; however, social workers working in rural communities should consider best practices when working in rural areas. Within the community needs assessment literature, there are no rural specific identified best practices to enhance the experiences of social workers and community members engaged in the process. To identify these field driven best practices, we conducted interviews with professionals who had a history of conducting rural community needs assessments. Four best practices emerged from these interviews (N = 17) including using participatory approaches throughout the needs assessment process, investing in relationship building, using investigator-specific methods that came from experiences in the field, and the use of tools for conducting needs assessments. Social workers should be intentional about their use of foundational macro skills that align with the field driven best practices that emerged in the current study.

This study aims to develop and test a Healthy Aging Scale (HAS) for Chinese elders. Using purposive sampling, 367 older adults in Beijing participated in the questionnaire survey. Four exploratory factor analyses were performed to identify the underlying factor structure of the HAS. The reliability tests and hierarchical regression analyses were employed to check the internal consistency reliability and the criterion-related validity of the HAS. Based on the results of data analysis, the 51 original items of the HAS were reduced to 46 and a five-factor solution was generated for the HAS, including physical functioning, cognitive functioning, an ability to perform activities of daily living, psychological well-being, and a sense of social engagement. The HAS demonstrated both high reliability and high criterion-related validity. The HAS can be applied to the provision of social work services related to the promotion of healthy aging among older adults.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor adolescent mental health. Despite evidence that ACEs may be more prevalent in rural communities, it remains underexplored how region moderates the association between ACEs and mental health, as well as how access to treatment may vary across regions. Data for this study come from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, a state-wide survey of 125,375 adolescents. Results suggest that cumulative ACEs and certain mental health conditions (i.e. suicidality) were more common among town and rural youth compared to city and suburban youth. Even after adjusting for ACEs, town and rural youth who endorsed a mental health problem were less likely to receive treatment compared to urban peers. The findings have implications for social work and public health responses that reduce ACEs, particularly in rural communities, and expand treatment options for adolescent mental health in more remote settings.

COVID-19 presented numerous challenges to medical professional's mental, emotional, and physical health, including burnout and secondary trauma. As social workers served as essential and frontline workers during COVID-19, it is important to investigate the effects of the pandemic on professional burnout and secondary trauma responses. A multiracial sample of 163 medical social workers working across four hospital settings responded to a survey addressing burnout and the impact of COVID-19. Medical social workers in this sample reported high levels of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment and moderate levels of depersonalization. Regression analyses found that hyperarousal scores significantly predicted emotional exhaustion, identifying as Latinx and Black significantly predicted depersonalization, and being older and identifying as White significantly predicted personal accomplishment among medical social workers. Resiliency programs can be developed for medical social workers in direct practice to reduce secondary traumatic stress and increase employee well-being. Future research should employ more rigorous research designs to better understand risk and protective factors for burnout among medical social workers providing direct practice to clients and families.

This cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between three distinct types of racism-based experiences (i.e. hostile, aversive-hostile, and avoidant) and suicide risk among Black emerging adults. Computer assisted surveys were administered to a sample of 300 Black emerging adult college students. Increased exposure to hostile racism was linked to higher risk of suicidal ideation and attempts, whereas an increase in exposure to aversive-hostile racism was associated with a decreased likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation. These findings underscore the complex and multifaceted nature of the relationship between racism-based experiences and suicide risk for Black emerging adults. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed.

This study aimed to examine the impact of Africentric ethnic identity on the relationship between gender and poor neighborhood air quality. Quantitative data were collected from a convenience sample of 122 African American charter school students residing in a northeastern metropolitan area of the United States. Female students reported greater satisfaction with neighborhood air quality and higher Africentric ethnic identity in comparison to male students. Hierarchical regression analysis showed Africentric ethnic identity to operate as a covariate in the relationship between gender and neighborhood air quality. The results showed that Africentric ethnic identity statistically significantly improved the model fit, explaining additional variance in neighborhood air quality beyond gender. Higher Africentric ethnic identity was a function of greater satisfaction with neighborhood air quality in students. Africentric ethnic identity operates as a source of resilience that can help youth combat climate change problems like poor air quality through emotional and mental flexibility.