Journal of evidence-based social work (2019)最新文献

Building upon existing literature on physical barriers experienced by higher-needs patients and marginalized communities, this paper presents a targeted analysis of qualitative data under a parent study on healthy cities. To optimize equity in access to health care as one of the many life opportunities affected by transportation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with community members reflecting diverse statuses of marginalization in addition to both mental and physical health challenges (n = 17), supplemented in dialogue with global policymakers (n = 5). Participant responses reveal how transportation time, costs, and risk strongly determine the actual confines of the world where they experience sufficient autonomy to access life opportunities. How these daily opportunities intersect with research on food deserts, education deserts, childcare deserts, and health care deserts indicates that physical barriers can emerge as a baseline consideration affecting ongoing experiences of socio-structural determinants. Most notably, the act of accessing care in itself, when involving transportation, can also present its own health risks requiring further integrated care services - given the body of evidence on injury, crime-related mental health stressors for marginalized groups, in addition to longitudinal public health concerns related to cardiovascular health and climate change risks. Access to both mental health care and physical health care can both be linked to urban development, intersecting with socioeconomic positionality amidst urban-rural environments - as physical access emerges with significant intersections with social work that is sensitive to the housing and employment needs of families. A four-part framework for integrated health care toward equitable outcomes in social work concludes the study.

Purpose: Internal female migrant workers (FMWs) in Asia, often employed in low-paid informal sectors, face unique vulnerabilities concerning sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Limited access to services, sociocultural taboos, and workplace discrimination contribute to adverse health outcomes.

Aim: To synthesize available evidence on knowledge, attitudes, practices, and access to SRH services among internal FMWs in Asia, and to identify gaps for future research and policy reform. Materials and Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey & O'Malley's six-stage framework. A literature search across six databases - Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane Reviews and Google Scholar (2010-2024) - yielded 41 eligible studies across eight Asian countries. Inclusion criteria focused on internal FMWs aged 15 to 49 years working in informal sectors.

Results: The findings reveal poor SRH knowledge, liberalizing sexual attitudes, and risky sexual and reproductive practices. Barriers to SRH access were cultural, structural, institutional, and interpersonal. Contraceptive use was inconsistent; high rates of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions were reported.

Conclusion: The review highlights the urgent need for culturally sensitive, gender-responsive SRH interventions for internal FMWs. Targeted education, employer involvement, improved policy enforcement, and stakeholder collaboration are essential to advance SRH equity in Asia.

Purpose: This study examined factors associated with the physical and mental health of Queer and heterosexual Master of Social Work (MSW) students, with emphasis on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Protective and Compensatory Experiences (PACEs), aggression, and Physical and Emotional Sibling Violence (PESV).

Methods: A nationwide survey of MSW students (N = 480) assessed demographics, childhood experiences, health histories, and current well-being. Independent t-tests, chi-square analyses, correlations, and logistic regressions were used to compare Queer (n = 264) and heterosexual (n = 216) participants.

Results: Queer students reported significantly higher ACEs (abuse, neglect, total) and PESV, along with fewer PACEs, compared to heterosexual peers. They were more likely to report a family history of mental illness, to have sought mental health treatment, and to rate their physical health as fair or poor. Logistic regression showed that higher ACEs and prior mental health treatment predicted poorer physical health, while more PACEs were protective. Poorer physical health, family history of mental illness, and Queer identity were predictors of mental health treatment-seeking.

Discussion: Findings highlight the compounded impact of childhood adversity, identity-related stigma, and family mental health history on Queer MSW students. While PACEs provide some buffering effects, they may not fully offset the heightened risks associated with discrimination and early-life adversity.

Conclusion: Queer MSW students experience disproportionate burdens in both physical and mental health. These results underscore the importance of trauma-informed, identity-affirming supports in graduate social work education to address disparities and promote student well-being.

Purpose: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that armed conflicts burden children, comprising nearly half of the population in most war and conflict regions. Despite experiencing trauma from exposure to armed conflict, some children experience positive psychological change as well. The study aims to systematically review existing literature to explore the factors that promote posttraumatic growth in children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict.

Material and method: This systematic scoping review followed five consecutive steps specified in the Arksey and O'Malley framework. Exploring six databases, PubMed, Science Direct, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science, we identified and assessed 51 articles, of which seven satisfied the inclusion criteria.

Results: The review findings suggest that the mean prevalence of posttraumatic growth in children and adolescents exposed to armed conflict ranges from 2.50 to 81.84 as per the posttraumatic growth inventory total scores (using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory), with possible scores ranging from 0 to 105. Demographic factors and posttraumatic stress, religious and cultural practices, and social support were suggested to be associated with posttraumatic growth.

Discussion: Overall, varied degrees of growth were found to be a recurring phenomenon among survivors of armed conflict. The study found that sociocultural context was one of the crucial factors associated with posttraumatic growth.

Conclusion: We dive into the potential implications for practical applications, policy development, and the direction of future endeavors.

Purpose: Accelerated demographic aging, alongside the digital transformation and ongoing development of information and communication technologies (ICTs), presents both challenges and opportunities for the digital inclusion of older adults.

Materials and methods: This qualitative study, conducted in the Community of Madrid, examines the experiences of men and women aged over 65 years in terms of ICT use, focusing on digital skills, intrinsic and extrinsic barriers, and the impact of ageism on their technological literacy.

Results: The findings indicate that although there are benefits to digital connectivity, significant obstacles remain, such as ageism, a lack of sustained community support and inaccessibility in key digital environments.

Discussion: The results align with the two main theories that underpin the article; however, the primary phenomenon that serves as the central focus following an in-depth analysis is ageism, including in its self-inflicted form.

Conclusion: The results highlight the urgent need for policies and interventions that promote digital literacy. The evidence shows that digital inclusion for older adults becomes achievable when tailored training is provided.

Background: Intimate partner violence is a pervasive issue in the United States, and survivors frequently experience co-occurring problems such as substance use disorders. Domestic violence shelters play a crucial role in providing safety and support. However, little is known about the extent to which shelters implement substance use management practices. This study examined the utilization of substance use management practices (SUMPs) across Kentucky's domestic violence shelters.

Methods: In July 2020, an online survey was conducted with executive directors from all 15 agencies operating domestic violence shelters in Kentucky. SUMPs were examined and compared between shelters in rural and urban locations.

Results: Most directors reported routine use of substance use screening tools by their domestic violence programs. Overall, programs implemented a medium level of SUMPs and policies aligned with harm reduction. Urban shelters tended to implement more SUMPs and be more aligned with harm reduction compared to shelters in rural locations.

Conclusions: Most participating domestic violence shelters included routinely screen for substance use and implement SUMPs aligned with harm reduction. However, a quarter of programs do not routinely screen for substance use. Some programs, especially those in rural areas, are lacking in their implementation of SUMPs. Shelter staff should inform survivors of available resources, communicate substance-related practices and policies to community partners who may need to refer survivors to shelter, and use emerging evidence to leverage support for funding and resources for survivors. Future participatory research that includes survivor and front-line staff perspectives is needed to drive practice and policy change.

Purpose: There is a dearth of literature examining the paraprofessional substance use disorder counselors (SUDCs) and their responsiveness to evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) training. This study examined pre- and post-training knowledge related to three established SUD interventions - Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

Materials and methods: Undergraduate students enrolled in a SUDC training program (N = 63) participated in brief, evidence-based workshops and completed structured pre- and posttest surveys evaluating knowledge related to workshop content. Paired sample t-tests were estimated with 1000 bootstrapped samples to examine changes in knowledge from pre- to posttest and Hedges' g and common language (CL) effect sizes were calculated.

Results: Results showed a statistically significant increase from pre- to posttest in participants' overall knowledge scores across all three evidence-based interventions. The largest effects on knowledge were noted for the DBT workshop.

Discussion: The results of this study suggest that brief workshops on evidence-based SUD interventions such as SBIRT, MORE, and DBT present a promising avenue for undergraduate students in a SUDC training program to acquire knowledge essential for practicing as paraprofessional SUDCs.

Conclusion: There is currently an insufficient number of SUDCs to meet SUD treatment needs across the United States. Substantial growth in SUDC workforce needs is also projected by 2030. Well-trained paraprofessional SUDCs can provide one approach to expanding access to SUD treatment in coming years.

Purpose: Supported Education Programs (SEPs) are innovative initiatives to empower persons with Severe Mental Disorders (SMDs) to successfully reintegrate into the educational system. The purpose of this study is to determine how, for whom, why, and in what circumstances SEPs help in academic reintegration of persons with SMDs.

Materials and methods: Realist synthesis was conducted in keeping with the six steps of Realist and Meta narrative Evidence Synthesis Evolving Standards (RAMESES) guidelines by using four databases (PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCO host, OVID). The analysis focused on building an explanatory framework of what works, for whom, in what context, and how in SEPs for people with SMDs.

Results: SEPs were comprehensive and focused on participants' academic and psychosocial aspects. Mechanisms that worked for the success of SEPs were integrated approaches, bridge programs, augmenting cognitive remediation, psychosocial interventions as part of SEPs, and collaboration with education, health, employment, and rehabilitation - integration of classroom teaching and internship, availability and accessibility of a multidisciplinary team, availability of funding.

Discussion: SEPs are an essential intervention under the ambit of psychosocial rehabilitation for persons with SMDs. This review provides compelling evidence of mechanisms for the effectiveness of SEPs in addressing the multifaceted needs of individuals with SMDs. By fostering academic success, vocational stability, and psychosocial well-being.

Conclusions: SEPs would be delivered through an individualized case management approach. Tailored to each client's specific context and needs, mechanisms must be implemented to facilitate academic reintegration under contexts.

Purpose: This scoping review provided a broad overview of the research evidence on the impact of peer support programs for informal caregivers of adults with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Materials and methods: Four online databases were used to identify records from inception to 28 August 2024. Quantitative and qualitative original research publications were included if participants were informal caregivers of an adult with moderate to severe TBI, and receiving peer-to-peer support from other caregivers with lived experience. The Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklists were used to chart and report data.

Results: Five studies with heterogeneous designs were included. A total of 191 adult caregivers participated, and were mostly female (n = 143) family members (n = 101) or significant others (n = 80). All peer support programs included a TBI-related education component, and were mostly social support groups (80%) delivered online (60%). A range of different measures and outcomes related to wellbeing and quality of life were evaluated. Overall, 80% of studies reported at least one significant quantitative outcome or qualitative impact.

Discussion: Findings on the impact of caregiver peer support interventions were mixed, and may be attributable to the diverse nature of intervention features.

Conclusion: Overall, peer support has a positive impact on outcomes of wellbeing and quality of life for caregivers of adults with moderate to severe TBI. Future peer support programs would benefit from cultural adaptions for translation to international settings.