Search

Families with a parent and child concurrently receiving cancer treatment are not common, but their needs are typically more complex than families with only one member in treatment. They have a heightened sense of loss, vulnerability, and mortality. The study purpose was to: (1) describe quality of life, social support, resiliency, and loss for these families; and (2) describe how healthcare teams can support these families.This was a qualitative study with 20 oncology social workers who had worked with families with a parent and child concurrently receiving treatment for cancer within the past five years. The interview included questions about the emotional, social, financial, and other needs of these families, as well as their social support, quality of life, loss, and resiliency.Three themes emerged from the data: 1. Increased demands on the family with a concurrent cancer treatment, including emotional, financial, and logistical challenges for the ill parent and child and for the healthy parent and siblings; 2. Greater resilience and coping skills were experienced by some families; and 3. Implications for the healthcare team, including emotional distress in treating these families, challenges in treatment adherence, and providing the necessary support to these families.Supporting these families is challenging for social workers and other members of the healthcare team. Understanding the emotional, financial and logistical needs of these families, and coordinating their care across the adult and pediatric teams, will better support the patients, as well as the healthcare providers who work with them.

This article explores factors associated with referral of children with a femur fracture to a social worker by an orthopedist for suspected child abuse.This retrospective chart review study included 131 children younger than 5 years who sustained a femur fracture and were hospitalized in a major 495-bed hospital located in the northern-central Israel from 2009 to 2021. Data on children who were referred to a social worker by the treating orthopedist and those who were not were compared.More than half the children studied (58.8%, n = 77) were referred to a social worker by an orthopedist for suspected child abuse. However, only a fifth of these cases were eventually reported to the authorities. Male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.44), younger age of the child (OR, 0.95), and spiral femur fracture type (OR, 5.30) increased the likelihood of referral. In addition, treatment of the child by an orthopedic specialist (as compared with an orthopedic resident; OR, 3.12) and lengthier professional experience of the treating orthopedist (OR, 1.08) increased the likelihood of referral.Younger male children presenting with a spiral femur fracture have a higher likelihood to be referred to a social worker because of suspected child abuse by treating orthopedic specialists with lengthier professional experience. The findings point to the need to improve the capacity of orthopedic residents to report child abuse.

Sosyal hizmet uzmanları ağır iş yükleri ve sürekli serviste olma konusundaki toplumsal beklentiler yüzünden genellikle öz bakım uygulamaları konusunda başarısız olurlar. Yoğun çalışma temposu kendilerine yeterli zaman ayıramamayı ve kendilerine karşı yetersiz öz-bakım davranışı sergilemelerine neden olur. Bu çalışmanın iki temel amacı vardır; sosyal hizmet uzmanlarının ikincil travma ve kaçınılmaz stres durumlarına nasıl hazırlandıklarını incelemek ve uzmanların öz bakım uygulamalarına etkileyen faktörlerin neler olduğunu araştırmaktır. Bu konuyu incelemek için öyküsel alan taraması tasarlanmıştır. Bu alan taramasına dahil edilme kriterini karşılayan 8 çalışma incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, sosyal hizmet uzmanlarının öz bakım faaliyetlerine katılımında örgütsel öz bakım desteği önemli bir etken olduğu görülmüştür. Bu çalışma, sosyal hizmet kurumlarının öz bakım uygulamalarına katılmalarında farklı faktörlerin göz önünde bulundurulması gerektiğini ve bu faktörlerin de uzmanların öz bakım uygulamalarına katılımlardaki motivasyonlarıyla ilişkili olduğunu önermiştir. Bu makale, sosyal hizmet uzmanlarının ikincil travma stresini azaltmalarında öz bakım becerilerini nasıl uyguladıkları ve uygulamalara nasıl katılım gösterdikleri konusundaki tartışmalara katkıda bulunmaktadır., Social workers often fail to practice self-care due to the heavy caseloads and societal expectations about being always on the service, which does not let them have sufficient time to do self-care activities for their well-being. This study aimed to examine how social workers prepare for the inevitable stresses and secondary trauma and what the key factors of participation in self-care practices are for them. To examine this issue, a narrative style literature review was designed. According to the literature review, in 8 studies meeting inclusion criteria, organizational self-care support was the important factor for social work professionals’ participation in self-care activities. The synthesis of the literature review suggested that human services and social work agencies should recognize multiple factors of attending self-care practices and its relationship with the degree of motivations in their engagement in self-care. This article contributes to the debates around how social workers apply and engage in self-care practices in the reduction of secondary traumatic stress.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought widespread devastation across the United States, exacerbating existing health inequities rooted in the social determinants of health. Social work is the key workforce tasked with providing social care in healthcare settings. In September 2019, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released a landmark Consensus Study Report, Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care: Moving Upstream to Improve the Nation’s Health. The report describes a framework for addressing key care needs that articulates five “As for action” (5As)—awareness, alignment, assistance, adjustment, and advocacy—that are critical to social care. Drawing from a series of focus groups conducted with 55 social workers employed in a large urban pediatric quaternary hospital, this study qualitatively examines the utility of this framework in characterizing social care activities during the pandemic response and recovery efforts. Findings suggest that the 5As framework is both applicable to pandemic social work practice and an accurate encapsulation of the core elements of hospital social work practice, even if social workers themselves may not necessarily be aware of that conceptualization. Future implications for social work practice in arenas of awareness, adjustment, assistance, alignment, and advocacy are also discussed.

This paper reports findings from a qualitative study on the triggers of hospital social workers' moral distress at a large southern U.S. health system. Moral distress occurs when ethical conflict cannot be resolved in a way that aligns with an individual's personal and professional values and ethics. Participants indicated that moral distress derives from both individual interactions and the culture and climate of health systems. For example, participants expressed how sources of moral distress derived from client-centered decisions, such as end-of-life care and patient autonomy; interpersonal dynamics, including team or supervisory conflict; structural issues, such as insurance barriers or internal hospital policies; and organizational values, such as perceptions of institutional support and validation. Implications of this research suggest that health systems need to foster positive ethical environments that nurture clinicians' health and mental health through programs that aim to increase moral resilience, promote empowerment, and foster wellness.

Obiteljsko nasilje globalni je problem koji se javlja u brojnim obiteljima te na taj način ugrožava dobrobit njezinih članova. Put do donošenja odluke o napuštanju nasilnog člana obitelji može biti dug te za to vrijeme žrtva proživljava brojna traumatska iskustva. U kasnijem rješavanju istih, osiguravanjem sigurnosti te osnaživanju žrtve za preuzimanje kontrole nad vlastitim životom ulogu imaju brojni stručnjaci iz raznih sustava, među kojima su i socijalni radnici. Socijalni radnici, u svom radu sa žrtvama, izloženi su slušanju i radu s traumama žrtava što povećava rizik iskustva indirektne traume te, posljedično, profesionalnog sagorijevanja. Isti se mogu prevenirati ranim i kontinuiranim intervencijama, točnije kontinuiranom brigom o mentalnoj dobrobiti socijalnih radnika. Jedan od načina brige za dobrobit istih je redovita i kvalitetna supervizija. Kako bi supervizija predstavljala zaštitni faktor u odnosu na indirektnu traumu i profesionalno sagorijevanje, važno je da ista ispunjava očekivanja socijalnih radnika. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio dobiti uvid u očekivanja i neposredna iskustva od supervizije socijalnih radnika koji rade sa žrtvama obiteljskog nasilja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo šest socijalnih radnica s kojima su provedeni polustrukturirani intervjui kroz koje se ispitivalo koja očekivanja socijalne radnice imaju od supervizije te kakva su njihova neposredna iskustva s istom. Rezultati su pokazali kako socijalne radnice od supervizije očekuju dobivanje podrške od strane grupe, razmjenu iskustava s istom, rad na unapređenju profesionalnih kompetencija i osobnih kapaciteta, emocionalno rasterećenje, unapređenje odnosa u timu, profesionalno vođenje te mjesto od povjerenja. Vezano uz iskustvo, rezultati ukazuju kako socijalne radnice imaju iskustvo ventiliranja u superviziji, dobivanja grupne podrške, slaganja sa supervizorom, iskustvo profesionalnog razvoja, rada na osobnom razvoju te korištenja kreativnih metoda u supervizijskom radu. Vidljivo je kako je dosadašnja supervizija ispunjavala njihova očekivanja što dodatno ukazuje na neophodnost osiguravanja i dostupnost iste kako bi mogli nastaviti pružati što kvalitetniju brigu i usluge., Domestic violence is a global problem that occurs in many families and thus endangers the well-being of its members. The path to making the decision to leave the perpetrator can be long, and during that time the victim goes through many traumatic experiences. Numerous specialists from various systems, including social workers, play a role in later solving of traumas, by ensuring safety and empowering the victim to take control of their own life. Social workers, in their professional work with victims, are exposed to listening and working with victims' traumas, which increases the risk of experiencing indirect trauma and, consequently, professional burnout. These can be prevented by early and continuous interventions, more precisely, by continuous care for the mental well-being of social workers. One of the ways of caring for their well-being is regular and quality supervision. For supervision to be a protective factor in relation to indirect trauma and professional burnout, it is important that it meets the expectations of social workers. Therefore, the aim of this research was to gain an insight into the expectations and immediate experiences from the supervision of social workers who work with domestic violence victims. Six social workers participated in the research, with whom semi-structured interviews were conducted, through which the expectations of social workers from supervision and their immediate experiences with it were examined. The results showed that social workers expect support from the group, exchange of experiences with the group, work on improving professional competences and personal capacities, emotional relief, improvement of team relations, professional guidance, and a place of trust from supervision. Regarding experience, the results indicate that social workers have experience of venting in supervision, receiving group support, agreeing with the supervisor, then experience of professional development, work on personal development and use of creative methods in supervision. It is obvious that the supervision met their expectations, which further indicates the necessity of ensuring availability of the same in order for social workers to be able provide the highest quality care and services.

This article focuses on the reconstitution of the social professions’ itinerary in Portugal during the I and II Republic, during the period that unfolds between its foundation (1910), the constitution of Estado Novo (1933-1945) and the succession of Salazar (1968), exploring, in particular, the visitadoras (visitors) as one of the central and paradigmatic characters of the constitution of social professions. The paper carries out an historiographical reconstitution based on secondary sources, exploring, especially, the influential figures and movements in the establishment of these emerging professions, the dynamics of rupture and continuity between its pivotal periods, international influences, as well as its gender dimension., Ensaia-se neste artigo a reconstituição do itinerário das profissões sociais na vigência da I e II Repúblicas, privilegiando o período que se desenrola entre a sua fundação (1910), a constituição do Estado Novo (1933-1945) e a sucessão de Salazar (1968), explorando sobretudo as visitadoras como uma das figuras centrais e paradigmáticas das profissões sociais em geral e das profissões do trabalho social em particular durante este período. Esta reconstituição historiográfica, baseada em fontes secundárias, explora em particular os movimentos e figuras influentes na institucionalização destas profissões emergentes, as dinâmicas de rutura e continuidade entre os períodos charneira, as influências internacionais, bem como a dimensão de género.

Ensaia-se neste artigo a reconstituição do itinerário das profissões sociais na vigência da I e II Repúblicas, privilegiando o período que se desenrola entre a sua fundação (1910), a constituição do Estado Novo (1933-1945) e a sucessão de Salazar (1968), explorando sobretudo as visitadoras como uma das figuras centrais e paradigmáticas das profissões sociais em geral e das profissões do trabalho social em particular durante este período. Esta reconstituição historiográfica, baseada em fontes secundárias, explora em particular os movimentos e figuras influentes na institucionalização destas profissões emergentes, as dinâmicas de rutura e continuidade entre os períodos charneira, as influências internacionais, bem como a dimensão de género., Análise Social, Vol. 50 No. 214 (2015)

U postupku posvojenja, stručni tim na čelu sa socijalnim radnikom donosi diskrecijsku ocjenu o kompatibilnosti posvojenika i potencijalnog/ih posvojitelja. Obzirom na teorijsku povezanost stavova i ljudskog ponašanja, cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati odrednice stavova socijalnih radnika o istospolnim zajednicama kao posvojiteljima. U istraživanju su sudjelovala 134 socijalna radnika (95,5% žena), u rasponu dobi od 23 do 64 godine (M = 33,63; SD = 9,25; C = 31, IQR = 10). U skladu s očekivanjima, istraživanje je pokazalo da su negativnim stavovima o istospolnim zajednicama kao posvojiteljima skloniji socijalni radnici muškog spola (M-W U = 124, p, In the adoption process, an expert team led by a social worker makes a discretionary assessment of the compatibility of the adopted person and the potential adopter. Considering the theoretical connection between attitudes and human behavior, the goal of this research was to examine the determinants of social workers' attitudes about same-sex couples as adoptive parents. 134 social workers (95.5% women) participated in the research, in the age range from 23 to 64 years (M = 33.63; SD = 9.25; C = 31, IQR = 10). In line with expectations, the research showed that male social workers are more prone to negative attitudes about same-sex unions as adoptive parents (M-W U = 124, p

Tyrimas atskleidė, jog socialiniams darbuotojams, dirbant su moterimis patiriančiomis fizinį smurtą artimoje aplinkoje, kyla daug iššūkių. Dažniausiai susiduriama su tokiais iššūkiais, kaip nukentėjusiųjų baimė, įstaigų nenorėjimas bendradarbiauti, nepasitikėjimas institucijomis, moters nenoras keisti situacijos, motyvacijos stoka, problemos sumenkinimas. Tyrime taip pat nustatyta socialinių darbuotojų teigiama patirtis, kai moterys vis daugiau kreipiasi pagalbos į pagalbos moterims padalinį, kai patiria fizinį smurtą, pradeda suvokti ir atpažinti smurto apraiškas. Rezultatuose išryškėjo ir tai, kad socialinių darbuotojų neigiama patirtis siejama su žmogaus nenorėjimu priimti pagalbą, moterų istorijomis, kaip yra prieš jas smurtaujama, atvejo individualumas, kad socialiniams darbuotojams tenka susidurti su įvairiomis skirtingomis situacijomis., The study revealed that there are many challenges for social workers working with women experiencing physical domestic violence. Challenges such as fear of victims, reluctance of institutions to cooperate, lack of trust in institutions, woman's reluctance to change the situation, lack of motivation, belittling of the problem are usually encountered. The study also found that the positive experience of social workers is that women increasingly seek help from the women's support unit when they experience physical violence and begin to understand and recognize the manifestations of violence. The results also revealed that the negative experience of social workers is associated with people's reluctance to accept help, women's stories of how they are abused, the individuality of the case, that social workers must face various situations.

Die bejaardebevolking neem wêreldwyd toe. Gevolglik vergroot die vraag na geskikte mediese sorg, maatskaplike bystand, maatskaplike dienste en versorging. In Suid-Afrika word maatskaplike dienste aan ouer persone hoofsaaklik deur twee maatskaplike diensberoepe gelewer, naamlik maatskaplike werkers en maatskaplike hulpwerkers. Hierdie praktisyns moet oor die nodige kennis van en gepaste houding teenoor ouer persone beskik ten einde effektiewe gerontologiese dienste te lewer. Internasionaal, maar ook in Suid-Afrika, is 'n leemte geïdentifiseer met betrekking tot 'n studie wat praktisyns se kennis van en houding teenoor ouer persone verken en beskryf. Hierdie artikel poog om die volgende navorsingsvraag te beantwoord: "Wat is professionele persone in maatskaplike diensberoepe se kennis van en houding teenoor ouer persone?" 'n Deursnit opnameprosedure is gevolg met praktisyns (N=140) verbonde aan een private welsynsorganisasie. Drie-en-sestig respondente (N=63) het die aanlyn vraelys voltooi. Respondente se kennis van veroudering is verken met Palmore 's First Facts on Aging Quiz in multiple-choice format. Houding teenoor ouer persone is ooreenkomstig Fraboni's Scale of Ageism beskryf. Respondente het swak gevaar in hul oorhoofse kennis van veroudering met 'n gemiddelde punt van 9.4 uit 25 (s=2.6). Met 'n teoretiese reikwydte van 29 tot 145, het ouderdomsdiskriminasie laag gemeet (x=80.6; s=11.8). Voorts is die impak van nege faktore op respondente se gemiddelde kennis van en houding teenoor ouer persone bepaal met behulp van parametriese toetse. Beide voortgesette professionele ontwikkelings-inisiatiewe en supervisie is bekende kontekste in maatskaplike diensberoepe. Aanbevelings word gedoen om praktisyns se kennis van en houding teenoor ouer persone te verbeter met die oog op effektiewe gerontologiese dienste. Worldwide the population of older persons is growing. Relatedly, there is an increasing demand for suitable medical care, social security (e.g. government grants), social services and care. In South Africa, the focus of this study, social services to older persons are mainly provided by two social service professional groups, namely social workers and social auxiliary workers. This paper argues that practitioners in the social service professions must have appropriate knowledge and a fitting attitude towards older persons to provide effective gerontological services. This argument is aligned with an international commitment by signatories to the UN Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 to change the way people think, feel and act towards age and ageing in order to ensure the delivery of integrated person-centred gerontological services. In South Africa, older persons are considered a vulnerable group on which social services must focus (cf. Framework for Social Welfare Services, 2013). There is also specific legislation in this regard, namely the Older Persons Act 13 of 2006, as amended. After consultation of various international and national databases, it was confirmed that, in contrast to various surveys among students in the helping professions, there is still a lack of studies that explore and describe professionals' knowledge of and attitude towards older persons. According to the available literature, there is only one study within the South African context that dealt with the attitude of medical practitioners towards older persons (Ntusi & Ferreira, 2004). With this knowledge gap in mind, the research question that this study seeks to answer is as follows: "What are professionals in social service professions' knowledge of and attitude towards older persons?" This study was undertaken within the ambit of the modernisation theory. A cross-sectional survey was implemented with social service professionals in the employ of a private South African welfare organisation with a footprint over five of the nine provinces. The total population of 140 professionals was invited to complete a web-based survey. Sixty-three respondents (N=63) responded to the invitation and answered the questionnaire in full via QualtricsXM, a web-based programme. Section 1 comprised a holistic profile of the respondents. In Section 2, the knowledge of respondents pertaining to older persons and ageing was determined by means of Palmore's First Facts on Aging Quiz in multiple-choice format. Incorrect answers determine positive or negative bias towards ageing. Section 3 determined the respondents'attitudes towards older persons, using Fraboni's Scale of Ageism. The scale measures overall attitude/ageism, and three sub-scales, namely antilocution, avoidance and discrimination. More specifically, this study determined the impact of nine factors (i.e. age, area of childhood residence, growing up with an older person, qualification, completed course in gerontology, working exclusively with older persons, considering working with older persons, province of employment, and task description) on the knowledge and attitudes of respondents by calculating either the independent T-test or the one-way ANOVA. Both scales were found to be valid and reliable within the South African context. After written permission from the management of the welfare organisation, the research ethics committee of the university provided ethical approval for the study. Based on the profile of the respondents, this study mainly offers a glimpse of female persons in their middle years, with an average of 15 years of experience as social workers and practising in family-centred services. The results show that the respondents have poor overall knowledge of ageing with a mean of 9.4 out of 25 (SD=2.6). In answering the quiz, incorrect answers tended toward negative bias towards older persons. Overall the respondents hold positive attitudes toward older persons with a mean of 80.6 out of 145 (SD=11.8) for ageism. Furthermore, the sub-scales antilocution (x=25.2) and avoidance (x=24.9) scored around the midpoint, while discrimination scored high (x=30.4). Three factors were identified as having a statistically significant impact on the respondents' overall knowledge of ageing: "Age group" (p=0.02), "Qualification" (p=0.03) and "Taskdescription" (p=0.03). Furthermore, "Growing up with an older person in the household" had a statistically significant impact on the subscale "positive bias" (p=0.02). In addition, "Currently working exclusively with older persons" showed a statistically significant impact on both the overall attitude/ageism (p=0.04) and antilocution (p=0.04) measured among the respondents. With reference to the factors that showed a statistically significant impact (p

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the lives of pediatric oncology social workers. Challenges include difficulty building rapport with the use of telephone/computers, lack of clarity around who is designated as “essential”, structural challenges, isolation, and witnessing distress. This study aimed to describe the ways that the pandemic has personally impacted pediatric oncology social workers. Methods: Participants were recruited through the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers (APOSW) listserv. In total, 101 participants from 31 states and the District of Columbia completed an online survey containing quantitative and open-ended questions. Qualitative data analysis included thematic analysis of participants’ optional survey responses to three open-ended questions. Results: Fifty-seven of the participants provided responses that revealed 3 first level codes and 11 second level codes. First level codes were developed a priori from the questions: Experiences that stay with you, Wisdom gained and Impact on your work. Pandemic-related challenges caused moral suffering and professional challenges for participants but also created opportunities to find meaning in their work. Conclusion: Data illuminated moral suffering, unrecognized resilience, new ways of maintaining self-and family care, and creative approaches to care of children with cancer and their families at diagnosis, during treatments and at the end of life.

The refugee crisis has been keenly felt by communities as they perceive the new arrivals as threats to the community’s resources. Preparing the community for future arrivals can help, as can involving the community in the welcoming of refugees. This study explores how social workers engage communities to support refugee resettlement programs. Social workers are on the frontlines of providing services to refugees while also managing the fears and needs of the community members. A community that was once welcoming can become reactionary and xenophobic. This is a qualitative study using the content analysis of 32 social workers in four countries: the United States, Iceland, Switzerland, and Germany. Key factors influenced social workers’ facilitation of community integration among new arrivals and community members: prior experiences with displaced populations, social workers’ expectations, and strengths within the community. Social workers need training and support to include communities in resettlement services. Training and policy implications are discussed. Communities can be a partner in the resettlement process if care is given to work with the community before the arrival of new refugees.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not only limited to physical health but also extends to various aspects of everyday life. The present study proposes that the prolonged pandemic can lead to pandemic–work conflict (PWC). The article examines how the pandemic interferes with work, the association between PWC and mental health, and the underlying mechanism of this process. A total of 303 full-time social workers in Hong Kong responded to measures on PWC, psychological capital (PsyCap), and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Data were collected between February and April 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak was beginning to worsen; 15.8 percent and 14.9 percent of the participants reported mild to severe anxiety and depression, respectively. Time-based PWC was positively associated and strain-based PWC was negatively associated with PsyCap, which was in turn negatively associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. PsyCap was a significant mediator of these relationships. The findings suggest that the relationship between strain-based PWC and psychological distress can be explained by PsyCap, whereby the depletion of psychological resources may contribute to anxiety and depressive symptoms. Positive psychological resources may be an intervening point for promoting mental health among the social services workforce.

Demand for systematic linkage of patients to behavioral health care has increased because of the widespread implementation of depression screening. This study assessed the impact of deploying behavioral health social workers (BHSWs) in primary care on behavioral health visits for depression or anxiety.This quasi-experimental, stepped-wedge study included adults with a primary care visit between 2016 and 2019 at Cleveland Clinic, a large integrated health system. BHSWs were deployed in 40 practices between 2017 and 2019. Patients were allocated to a control group (diagnosed before BHSW deployment) and an intervention group (diagnosed after deployment). Data were collected on behavioral health visits (i.e., to therapists and psychiatrists) within 30 days of the diagnosis. Multilevel logistic regression models identified associations between BHSW deployment period and behavioral health visit, adjusted for demographic variables and clustering within each group.Of 68,659 persons with a diagnosis, 21% had a depression diagnosis, 49% an anxiety diagnosis, and 31% both diagnoses. In the period after BHSW deployment, the proportion of patients with depression who had a behavioral health visit increased by 10 percentage points, of patients with anxiety by 9 percentage points, and of patients with both disorders by 11 percentage points. The adjusted odds of having a behavioral health visit was higher in the postdeployment period for patients with depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=4.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]=3.50-5.41), anxiety (AOR=4.27, 95% CI=3.57-5.11), and both (AOR= 3.26, 95% CI=2.77-3.84).Integration of BHSWs in primary care was associated with increased behavioral health visits.

The study sought to explore the challenges and enhancement of medical social workers in public health facilities in Nigeria, with particular reference to Delta State, Nigeria. A phenomenological and exploratory research design was adopted for the study. An unstructured in-depth interview (IDI) guide was used for data collection. Lack of legal backing, inadequate facilities, unfavorable organizational structure, lack of graduate medical social workers, inadequate recognition of the role of medical social workers, domineering attitude of medical professionals, inadequate remuneration, lack of means of transportation, and inadequate motivation, were the challenges facing social workers in the public health care facilities. This study, to enhance medical social workers recommends, amongst others, that social work education and practice should be legalized and given the needed professional status in Nigeria. All health professionals, including medical social workers, should imbibe the values/ethics of interprofessional teamwork in public health facilities. Professional medical social workers should be engaged in all Nigerian public health facilities.

Leadership skills are a critical component of effective social work practice in interdisciplinary healthcare and mental healthcare settings. Over the last two decades there has been increased attention to the importance of social work leadership skills for clinical practice. Moreover, social workers display essential leadership skills when supporting individuals and communities amid large-scale crises such as pandemics, natural disasters, wars, and other sociopolitical crises. Currently, there is an absence of literature on social work leadership skills for effective practice in healthcare and mental healthcare settings during times of crisis. To bridge this knowledge gap, this scoping review aimed to synthesize and map the current literature on social work leadership competencies in healthcare and mental healthcare amid crises. Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework for scoping reviews guided this project. Six academic databases were searched, and a total of nine articles met inclusion criteria. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurrent themes among these articles. Results highlight that leadership was defined as both a role and a skill set, and identified collaboration, connection, and shared learning as key leadership competencies for social workers. Implications for social work practice, education, and research are discussed.

This article analyses the level of secondary traumatic stress in Portuguese social workers. Social workers practice their profession in conditions that generate stress and trauma on a daily basis; this is triggered by clients’ anxiety, threats to the integrity of the professionals, and situations that have a negative impact on professional practice. This study was conducted in organisations registered under the Social Charter, which coordinates institutions of social policies operationalised in Portugal. A Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) index was used to obtain data regarding practitioners’ practice for the characterisation and identification of situations of trauma experienced by clients, and their impact on social workers. Questionnaires were sent to the organisations via email, and in return 872 were answered by social workers. The results reveal a score of 2.65 on the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and this appears more apparent in the Arousal dimension, followed by Avoidance and lastly Intrusion. Furthermore, it is evident that the conditions of professional practice and the sector in which professionals work generate STS because they significantly expose social workers to the traumas of the most vulnerable clients. The professionals recognise these incidences, which feasibly denotes that there is a possibility to avoid and act against STS by stimulating professionals’ internal resilience and psychological capital, increasing professionals’ access to professional supervision and improving working conditions in the organisations where they practice.

Dans cet article nous interrogeons les conceptions sous-jacentes du métier qui se révèlent dans les messages que des éducatrices de MECS s’adressent dans leur cahier de transmissions au sujet des problèmes que posent, à leurs yeux, les adolescents qu’elles accompagnent. Ces écrits proviennent d’éducatrices qui sont perçues et qui se perçoivent comme « polarisées », les unes considérant les autres comme laxistes et se donnant le bon rôle et ces dernières considérant les premières comme rigides et autoritaires. L’étude de ces prises d’écriture, au fil de l’eau, qui interviennent parfois dans les minutes qui suivent les incidents auxquels les éducatrices se confrontent permet d’observer le travail de description (et ce faisant de mise en sens) qu’elles réalisent pour rendre ce qui s’est passé tout à la fois : lisible, saisissable à l’aune du rôle dont elles se réclament et commensurable au regard des autres événements qui secouent l’établissement. La polarisation documentée par ces écrits ordinaires invite à penser que le travail social en MECS n’est pas toujours aussi flottant, indéterminé et dépourvu de lignes normatives qui sont tenues que ce que suggèrent des analyses sociologiques en termes de singularités des situations et d’indécision ou d’hésitation des professionnels quant à l’action qui convient. In this article, we examine some professional conceptions which appears in messages written by six social workers specialized in child protection in their liaison book. Specifically, we are interested in messages in which the team describe the problematical behaviours of the teenagers into the children house. We compare their different judgments about teenager’s behaviour with the ways in which they consider to each other, at meetings, as lax or severe. The study of the messages confirms the existence of a difference in the way the six social workers apprehend and describe the problematical behaviours of teenagers. Nevertheless, these messages (written on the fly) also makes it possible to identify many commonalities in the way social workers apprehend their mission and their audience.

L’auteur s’intéresse à la manière dont certains travailleurs sociaux sont affectés par leur situation de burn-out, des points de vue physique, psychologique et professionnel. Quels sont les changements personnels profonds qu’ils connaissent lorsqu’ils sont confrontés à l’expérience d’un burn-out et lorsqu’ils doivent déployer certaines de leurs ressources pour résister et faire face à leur situation (coping) ? Ce changement doit aussi être relié aux transformations socio-politiques comme la Nouvelle Gestion Publique (NGP) qui impacte et traverse la question du burn-out dans de nombreuses professions (agents administratifs, personnels médicaux, travailleurs sociaux, etc.). L’auteur confronte les définitions expertes du burn-out avec celles qui émanent de professionnels concernés par ce syndrome. Il relève les diverses causes et manifestations que ces derniers avancent pour parler de leur syndrome. À partir de ses investigations de terrain, fondées notamment sur des entretiens avec des travailleurs sociaux en burn-out, l’auteur propose de mieux considérer certains éléments significatifs qui sont parfois minorés dans les travaux internationaux sur le sujet. The author is interested in how some social workers are affected by their burn-out situation, from a physical, psychological and professional point of view. What are the profound personal changes they experience when faced with facing the experience of burnout and when they have to deploy some of their resources to resist and cope with their situation (coping)? This change must also be linked to socio-political transformations such as the New Public Management (NGP) which impacts and crosses the issue of burnout in many professions (administrative agents, medical staff, social workers, etc.). The author confronts expert definitions of burnout with those emanating from professionals concerned with this syndrome. He notes the various causes and manifestations that they put forward to talk about their syndrome. Based on his field investigations, based especially on interviews with social workers in burn-out, the author proposes to better consider some significant elements that have sometimes been underestimated in international work on the subject.

Au Québec, les familles ont accès à des services sociaux dispensés par différents milieux de pratique. Les travailleurs sociaux sont parmi les principaux intervenants à offrir leur soutien professionnel aux familles, en collaboration avec d’autres soignants et intervenants du domaine de la santé et des services sociaux. Suite à une expérience professionnelle de travailleuse sociale auprès des familles pendant plus de sept ans, ce contact avec celles-ci joint à nos réflexions, nous ont poussée à vouloir faire une place à la voix des parents utilisant ces services. Comment les parents se représentent-ils le travail social? Quel est leur point de vue, suite à leurs propres expériences d’intervention sociale? Cette étude se veut un espace afin de présenter le regard des parents vis-à-vis du travail social, pour mieux saisir la légitimité accordée aux pratiques d’intervention sociale. Le corpus de données repose sur les récits de douze parents recueillis lors d’entretiens semi-directifs. Ces parents ont en commun le fait d’avoir eu une ou des expériences avec le travail social. Cette étude met en lumière leur propre rapport au travail social, à partir d’un point de vue qui est le leur. La ligne directrice de cette recherche est inspirée d’une anthropologie de l’éthique, qui laisse place à l’analyse des morales en présence dans la rencontre. L’analyse se divise en deux grands thèmes principaux : soit la légitimité morale de l’intervention sociale et les dynamiques morales entre parents et travailleurs(es) sociaux(les). La première partie d’analyse montre les facteurs qui influencent l’appréciation qu’ont les parents de l’aide qui leur est offerte, ainsi que du parcours inhérent à cette rencontre particulière. Dans un deuxième temps, une éthique de la reconnaissance est utilisée pour discuter les résultats de l’étude. Les valeurs, les normes et les savoirs qui se négocient entre parents et intervenants(es) sont explorés. Ultimement, cette étude qui se veut un plaidoyer pour la voix des parents donne à voir comment les uns et les autres définissent un univers de sens moral à travers un rapport aidant/aidé précis, celui entre parents et travailleurs(ses) sociaux(les)., In the province of Quebec, families have access to social services from various resources. The social worker is a key participant among these resources, along with several other collaborating health professionals. Having been a professional social worker from 2007 to 2014, in the Montreal area, my experiences have led me to contemplate the lives of those families I’ve had the privilege of working with and helping to the best of my capabilities. These reflections led to questions and to this thesis, which aims to give a voice to parents who have experienced Quebec’s social services in the past and in the present. How do they reflect on these experiences? This master’s thesis will provide a rare insight into these experiences, from the parents/families’ point of view. The data collected is based on the personal stories of twelve parents. The interviews were conducted one on one, with open and close-ended questions, in order to provide as much space for the interviewee to best express themselves and their experiences with social services. This study will provide a unique and definitive perspective from the point of view of the parent. The guiding principle of this research takes inspiration from ethical anthropology, and it allows for an analysis of the morals present during the meeting. The analysis is divided into two main themes: the moral legitimacy of the social intervention, and the moral dynamics between parents and social workers. The first part of the analysis will show the factors that can influence the parents’ opinion about the help that is offered to them. Also, as well as the journey that is defined within the meeting will be explored. In the second part, we will use the ethics of recognition to discuss the results of the study. Here we will explore the values, norms and knowledge that are negotiated between parents and social workers. Ultimately, this study, which is meant as advocacy tool for the voices of the parents, wants to reveal how the ones and the others can define a universe of moral sense throughout a precise relationship, the one between social workers and parents.

Research regarding the intersection of social work and integrated care has recently increased. Although research specific to the role and engagement of social workers in integrated care is promising, research regarding attitudes toward social workers on integrated behavioral health (IBH) teams remains scant. This study provides perspective regarding healthcare professionals' attitudes toward the role of social workers on IBH teams. A survey was constructed and distributed to health professionals (n = 104) from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work. Mixed methods were used to evaluate survey findings. Results suggest attitudes toward social workers on IBH teams are generally favorable.

As COVID-19 rapidly overwhelmed the world in 2020, medical social workers have fought against the disease on the front lines as a member of medical teams, but little is known about the impact of the pandemic on their mental health. This study investigated the resilience, perceived social support and professional quality of life of medical social workers in Mainland China under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire survey was applied to 319 respondents and the results showed that informal support was positively related with compassion satisfaction (r = 0.67, p .01) and negatively correlated with job burnout (r = -0.51, p .01) while formal support was positively associated with compassion satisfaction (r = 0.61, p .01) and negatively associated with job burnout (r = -0.44. p .01). Resilience was positively correlated with compassion satisfaction (r = 0.56, p .01) and negatively correlated with job burnout (r = -0.49, p .01). Nevertheless, neither perceived social support nor resilience was associated with secondary traumatic stress. The regression results further highlighted the role of informal social support on job burnout. Measures should be taken to enhance the professional quality of life for medical social workers during a public health crisis .

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities in access to healthcare and mental health, often forcing healthcare social workers into ethical and moral dilemmas as they endeavor to provide equitable, humanistic care to their patients and caregivers. The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore how COVID-19-related personal and professional grief and losses impacted healthcare social worker's distress and resilience. Participants were recruited through healthcare social work professional organizations from September-November 2020. Participants (

This study aimed to scope the psychological support practices of Australian health professionals providing supportive care to adults with primary brain tumor.Health professionals from multidisciplinary organizations and cancer support services completed an online survey focused on psychological support for people with brain tumor (PwBT) and family members, and perceived barriers or gaps in support provision.107 professionals, mainly from psychology (45%), nursing (20%), and social work (10%) backgrounds, completed the survey. Scope of practice differed according to discipline, with psychologists and nurses most likely to screen for psychological distress (71%-76%), and psychologists more typically providing at least one psychological support session (78%). Psychologists were more likely to screen for cognitive impairment (31%), whereas nurses and social workers more commonly provided family-based support (62%-73%). Psychological support was more frequently provided in the long-term management phase (78%) than early post-diagnosis/treatment (45%). System-level barriers to accessing psychological support were most frequently identified, which included limited resources and funding, insufficient staff time, lengthy waitlists and costs, poor service coordination, and lack of staff with brain tumor-specific training.The provision of psychological support for PwBT varies according to discipline, setting and management phase. Further research on different models of psychosocial care is needed to inform strategies to address organizational and policy factors impacting professionals' scope of practice.

How citizens behave toward public sector workers is crucial for the well-being and performance of workers. Scholars have mainly focused on understanding negative citizen behaviors, such as aggression. We study a positive behavior, namely compassionate behavior. We study real compassionate behavior in the form of writing positive encouragement messages that are distributed to social workers in the field. We test if showing difficulties faced by public sector workers results in citizens writing more encouragement messages. We also test if bureaucrat bashing results in less encouragement messages. Using a preregistered experiment among a representative sample of Canadian citizens (n = 1,264), we find that showing public sector workers' struggles and imperfections makes citizens almost twice as likely to write an encouragement message. Hence, showing your weakness can be a strength. Bureaucrat bashing, however, has no effect. Results show that citizens can be stimulated to act more positively toward public sector workers.

This study characterizes pre-hematopoietic cell transplant psychosocial assessment practices with adult patients at centers in the U.S. An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe the content and process of assessment including the high risk factors that influence transplant eligibility and how eligibility decisions are made.Psychosocial professionals (one per center) were invited to participate by sharing their center's practice. The questionnaire was developed by the researchers and pre-tested with a group of hematopoietic cell transplantation social workers. Univariate statistics were used to describe the sample as well as the content and process of psychosocial assessment. Content analysis was conducted on textual data.A total of 90 centers had one psychosocial professional that responded. There was general consistency among centers about the major psychosocial components that are assessed, but variation occurred regarding what, if any, standardized measures were used. Approximately half of centers that used standardized measures used the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation, Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale, or Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for transplantation to rate overall psychosocial risk. Most respondents (86%) reported that their center has declined an otherwise medically eligible patient due to psychosocial risk factors. Risk factors most frequently reported as potentially influencing eligibility included no caregiver/poor support system, illicit drug use, and serious, untreated mental illness.Study findings provide a fuller understanding of psychosocial assessment practices, including the challenging ethical issue of psychosocial eligibility, and will help inform best practices.

Background: Neurocognitive deficits from childhood cancer treatment are common, long-standing, and negatively impact multiple domains of life leading to challenges with schooling and education. The purpose of this study is to describe caregiver-reported experiences of neurocognitive effects from therapy and to understand the roles clinicians play in this domain in the United States. Methods: An explanatory mixed-methods study of 174 caregivers of children with cancer provided insight into how clinicians provided information on neurocognitive effects of treatment and their experiences with school-related resources. Clinicians provided descriptions of how they provide this information and assist families with accessing services or transition back to school after therapy. Results: Caregivers identified that physicians, nurses, and social workers primarily provide information regarding neurocognitive effects of treatment. Over half (55.9%) of families seek additional information elsewhere and 49.4% report doing so because the information they received from their team was inadequate. Nearly 40% of caregivers report accessing school supports feels like a constant fight and over 40% were not offered homebound educational services by their school. Qualitative interviews with providers found that clinicians focus on therapy-related physical symptoms of treatment and only discuss neurocognitive effects when prompted by families or when children are returning to school. Discussion: Clinicians’ focus on physical symptoms and just-in-time thinking when it comes to providing education or school-related services may explain why families endorse infrequent education on the topic and challenges with school reintegration. Improved education for clinicians on this topic, integration of interdisciplinary teams, and new clinical practice models may improve the family experience.

Across cultures, the majority of individuals will have a sibling relationship in their lifetime. Of particular importance to parents and children is the transition to siblinghood, which refers to the process wherein a child becomes a sibling. Although many parents are concerned about how their children will adjust during the transition to siblinghood, scant empirical work on this subject exists. Available empirical work on the transition to siblinghood has stemmed from developmental psychology; however, social work researchers have yet to deeply explore this body of work. The transition to siblinghood is a topic that is rife with opportunity for social work researchers, who have the ability to study this transition from culturally sensitive, person-in-environment, and social justice perspectives. This article provides an overview of the elements and importance of the transition to siblinghood, introduces a theoretical framework relevant to social workers, reviews existent empirical work on the transition to siblinghood, and elucidates limitations in the literature that social work researchers are adept to address. The article concludes with four recommendations to researchers who are interested in studying the transition to siblinghood through a social work lens.

Background Social workers on interprofessional teams contribute to treating the psychosocial sequelae of burn trauma patients in cooperation with many other burn-treatment team members. However, the roles and skills exercised by social workers can vary between burn units as well as the skills social work students are taught in their academic programs. Methods A purposive sample of 13 burn unit social workers were interviewed online using semi-structured questions. This qualitative thematic analysis of data was conducted to identify how social workers perceive their roles, responsibilities, and knowledge as they relate to their work with patients and their families in a burn unit. Results Skills, challenges and barriers to rehabilitation, and resources were identified during thematic analysis within and across participant data as factors social workers found to be important for their work in burn units. Conclusion By expanding the body of knowledge about factors that impact social work care for burn patients, Social work academic programs may better understand how to prepare medical social work students for best practices in the care of burn-injured patients, survivors, and families at inpatient and community levels.

COVID-19 has disproportionally affected people living in poverty; new immigrants; and those living in healthcare settings (hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes), shelters, detention centers, and prisons. The pandemic has also significantly impacted social workers who face hidden mental health consequences. The resultant feelings and behaviors are similar to disaster-induced trauma, including excessive rumination, hypervigilance, exhaustion, and excessive crying as a result of the adrenaline-driven fight-or-flight response. This article aims to provide information for social workers to protect their own mental health while caring for their clients and raise awareness about social workers’ needs in frontline duties. It summarizes five challenges for first responder social workers: (1) COVID-19 impacts on resource constraints, (2) employment insecurity, (3) disenfranchised guilt, (4) physical distancing and caution fatigue, and (5) managing self-care. The article offers recommendations to ameliorate distress and promote advocacy efforts for readjustment. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, social workers who provide essential care in the field need self-assessment to better understand the impacts these challenges have on them as helpers. The article ends with recommendations to encourage social workers to apply the strengths-based approach to exemplify their professional values in times of pandemic distress.

Unique challenges exist for hospital social workers tasked with the care of patients experiencing homelessness. These challenges affect patient care, impact social work practice, and emphasize the need to better understand the experience of providing services to this vulnerable population. Research is limited and focuses upon the experiences of unhoused patients and of medical management, not upon the experiences of the social workers positioned to meaningfully impact care. To address this gap, the current study utilized Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine the lived experiences of hospital social workers providing services to homeless patients. Respondents identified fulfilling aspects of this work but also emphasized the deeply personal and professional challenges it engendered. Recommendations were offered for supporting hospital social workers' self-care, incorporating effective practice perspectives, and providing meaningful patient support. Alignment of respondent experiences with literature on compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, work life conditions, and burnout was considered.

The aim: Coverage of the American experience of successful application of professional ethics of social workers in the field of health to solve complex ethical dilemmas in the activity of a social worker. Materials and methods: The methodological basis of the study was the use of an axiological approach in identifying the values and ethics of the professional activity of social workers, a competence approach in determining the competence of a social work specialist in the field of health in matters of professional ethics, an interdisciplinary approach in integrating the ethical competence of a social work specialist in the practice of solving ethical dilemmas in the field of health, including in the process of work of an interdisciplinary team of specialists. Conclusions: The content and specifics of the practical application of the Code of Professional Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers of the USA in social work in the field of health were studied. It was determined that many situations in the practice of social work do not have simple answers when solving complex ethical issues in the field of health. Social workers, in addition to the values, principles and standards of the Code, in making decisions about professional actions in the field of health, must take into account their own beliefs and those of the client. The mechanism for the adjustment of difficult ethical choice cases in the practice of a social worker in the field of health is described.

The aim: Defining the role of health workers and problems in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, outlining ways to protect health and safety in the workplace. Materials and methods: The following methods were used: content analysis of international and domestic legal documents of state and sectoral level on the problem of functioning and social protection of medical and social workers in the COVID-19 pandemic and statistical reporting on the dynamics of their number and wages. Conclusions: With the advent of COVID-19, tensions in the work of medical staff have increased, which has contributed to a reduction in the number of health workers in Ukraine due to death, permanent disability, termination / change of professional activity and migration of medical personnel. It has been found that the slow growth of wages is inadequate to carry out socially necessary activities with a risk to life and health. Fair pay for health and social workers is a necessary but not sufficient component of measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic at the present stage. The International Year of Health and Social Workers should be an opportunity to draw attention to the need to increase investment in education, training and social protection of these professionals and to minimize the risks posed by the pandemic to the economy and development of countries and people’s lives.

Supervision is an imperative practice within the social work field. It provides social workers with support systems, ensures that social workers are adhering to professional standards, and protects clients. Research has also shown that quality supervision can improve social workers’ professional capacity and reduce work stress. However, most of this research has been confined to social workers’ experiences within Western countries and has been largely qualitative in nature. Thus, this study aims to examine the experience of 489 social workers based in Guangzhou, China to understand how supervision affects their negative affect and psychological distress. The findings indicate that supervision not only reduces negative affect and psychological distress amongst Chinese social workers, but also is especially effective for social workers with high job demands. When job demands are high, social workers who receive both individual and group supervision also appear to have lower negative affect and psychological distress as compared to social workers who only receive individual supervision. These findings emphasize the significance of supervision as a buffer factor to reduce negative affect and psychological distress amongst Chinese social workers who face high job demands.

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att utreda och analysera vilka faktorer socialsekreterare på mottagningsenheten för barn och unga beaktar vid bedömandet av inledande av utredning efter anmälan avseende ungdomsbrottslighet. Studien bygger på sex kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar på mottagning för barn och unga i socialtjänsten. Vidare analyserades samtliga intervjuer utifrån tematisk analys. Genom en tematisk analys visar det övergripande resultatet att brottets karaktär, föräldraförmåga, ungdomens beteende, tidigare kännedom och polisens beskrivning av ungdomen påverkar socialsekreterarnas bedömning gällande att inleda utredning på unga som begår brott eller är misstänka för brott. Socialsekreterarna i vår studie klargjorde att brottets karaktär var av betydelse vid bedömning om att inleda utredning, sett till brottets allvarlighet. Föräldraförmåga belystes som en faktor som antingen skapade oro hos socialsekreterarna eller minskade deras oro då föräldrarna uppvisade god föräldraförmåga. De beskrev även ungdomens beteende som en faktor som togs i beaktning vid socialsekreterarnas bedömning, men ungdomens beteende var av störst vikt vid mindre allvarliga brott. Tidigare kännedom om en ungdom resulterade i att socialsekreterarna många gånger bedömda att inleda utredning. Utifrån resultatet kunde vi dra slutsatsen att socialsekreterarnas bedömning inte endast påverkas av själva brottet, utan en helhetsbedömning av faktorer runt ungdomen tas främst i beaktning. The purpose of this essay has been to investigate and analyze which factors social workers, at the reception unit for children and young people, take into account when assessing the initiation of an investigation after a report regarding juvenile delinquency. The study is based on six qualitative semi-structured interviews with social workers who work at reception for children and young people in social services. Furthermore, all interviews were analyzed based on thematic analysis which as an overall, results in showing that the nature of the crime, parenting skills, the youth's behavior, previous knowledge, and the police's description of the youth influence the social workers' assessment of whether to initiate an investigation into young people who commit crimes or are suspected of crimes. Moreover, the social workers in our study clarified that the nature of the crime was important when deciding whether to initiate an investigation, given the seriousness of the crime. Parental ability was highlighted as a factor that either created concern for the social workers or reduced their concern when the parents demonstrated good parenting ability. Similarly, they also described the youth's behavior as a factor, considering the social workers' assessment, but the youth's behavior was of greatest importance for less serious offences. Previous knowledge of a young person resulted in the social workers many times deciding to initiate an investigation. In short and based on the results, we could conclude that the social workers' assessment is not only influenced by the crime itself, but an overall assessment of factors surrounding the young person is mainly taken into account.

Sociālais darbs Sociālā labklājība Social work Social Welfare Bakalaura darba “Sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredze darba vietā” mērķis ir izpētīt sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredzi darba vietā, izvirzot sekojošus uzdevumus - raksturot vardarbības tipoloģiju darba vietā, aprakstīt vardarbības pazīmes un sekas, aprakstīt sociālekoloģisko modeli vardarbības izpratnei, identificēt signālus par piedzīvotu vardarbību ziņošanai, raksturot darba drošību un tās vadlīnijas darba vietā, analizēt ārzemēs veiktos pētījumus par sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredzi, kā arī izpētīt sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredzi. Bakalaura darbs sastāv no 2 anotācijām, ievada, 3 nodaļām, teorētiskās daļas secinājumiem, pētījuma metodoloģijas raksturojuma, pētnieciskās daļas secinājumiem un pielikuma. Darba pirmajā nodaļā tiek atspoguļota vardarbība sabiedrībā un darba vietā, norādot tēmas aktualitāti, to skaitā, skaidrojot vardarbības tipoloģiju, vardarbības pazīmes un sekas, apskatot sociālekoloģisko modeli vardarbības izpratnei, kā arī aprakstīti vardarbības palīdzības jeb brīdināšanas signāli. Otrajā nodaļā aprakstītas darba tiesiskais regulējums, to skaitā sniegts skaidrojums par darba drošību darba vietā un aprakstītas darba drošības vadlīnijas. Trešajā nodaļā darba autore atspoguļo ārzemju pētījumus, kuri atspoguļo sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredzi darba vietā. Darba pētnieciskajā daļā darba autore atspoguļo sociālo darbinieku un to vadītāju viedokli par piedzīvoto vardarbību darba vietā, aptaujājot pašvaldību, valsts, privātā sektora un nevalstisko organizāciju 300 sociālos darbiniekus un 104 to vadītājus. Autore pētījumu “Sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredze darba vietā” veica no 2022.gada 23.oktobra līdz 2.novembrim. Pētījuma mērķis bija izpētīt sociālo darbinieku vardarbības pieredzi darba vietā . Darba izklāstīts uz 60 lapām, ietverot 15 attēlus. Darbā izmantoti 34 literatūras avoti, tam ir 2 pielikumi. Title of the Bachelor's work: “Workplace Violence Experience of Social Workers”. The aim of bachelor's work is to explore the experience of social worker violence in the workplace, setting the following tasks - describe the typology of violence in the workplace, describe the signs and consequences of violence, describe the socioecological model for violence understanding, identify signals for reporting experienced violence, describe work safety and its guidelines in the workplace, analyse research conducted abroad on the experience of violence by social workers, as well as experiences of violence by social workers. The bachelor's work consists of 2 annotations, introductory, 3 chapters, theoretical conclusions, methodology characterisation, research conclusions and attachments. The first chapter of the work reflects violence in society and in the workplace, including explaining the typology of violence, signs and consequences of violence, by studying the socio-environmental model for the understanding of violence, as well as describing the warning signals for violence. The second chapter describes the legal framework for work, including the clarification of job safety at work and the safety guidelines for work. In the third chapter, the author reflects foreign studies that reflect the experience of social worker violence in the workplace. The author conducted a bachelor's work research on "Social workers' experience of violence in the workplace" from October 23 to November 2, 2022. The aim of the study was to explore the experience of social workers' violence in the workplace. The work is presented on 60 pages, including 15 images. The work uses 34 sources of literature and has 2 attachments.

The aim of this paper was to show the challenges of the social worker in the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka in the process of planned discharge and at the same time promoting the right to self- determination of an elderly patient with impaired functioning who has no close family members. The paper presents the tasks of a social worker in the pro- cess of planned discharge, which range from targeted and short analyzes of specific needs, to comprehensive psychosocial assessments and risk assessments of a whole range of social and psychological needs, strengths and stressors. The challenges that were imposed and ultimately overcome were the patient’s lack of social support, different perceptions of the problem and insufficiently transparent communication between stakeholders, the patient’s weakened social capital and physical disability. Therefore, the presentation of the case shows the importance of direct mutual communication of all the mentioned stakeholders, timely exchange and transparency of information. Although, the primary and most important thing is to respect the voice of the patient and enable him to shape the vision of his future life, in accordance with the resources available to him.

The bachelor thesis deals with the burnout syndrome among social workers in low threshold facilities for children and youth in the South Bohemia Region. The aim of the thesis is to find out the frequency of burnout syndrome and what is the prevention of burnout syndrome in social workers in NZDM. The thesis is divided into several chapters. In the first chapter of the theoretical part, the burnout syndrome itself is characterized, the symptoms, the stages, which persons are most at risk of burnout syndrome, what is the prevention, and finally its treatment. In the second part, low-threshold facilities for children and youth are characterized, what are their goals, target group and methods, as well as what competences the social worker has in the facility and what activities he/she performs. The practical part presents the results of quantitative research conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey, which aimed to determine the frequency of burnout syndrome and to find out what is the prevention of burnout syndrome among social workers in low-threshold facilities in the South Bohemia region.

Access to the Swedish welfare state’s last safety net, social assistance, is ultimately determined through discretionary decision-making by social workers. This dissertation examines intersectional patterns and discriminatory bias in social workers’ assessments about social assistance eligibility. Focusing on factors related to applicants’ gender, family and ethnicity, the project comprises four studies, all of which highlight patterns regarding which applicants assessed as being eligible for support. Altogether, the project contributes to an expanded understanding of discriminatory tendencies in how social assistance policies are given practical meaning by the professionals that bring them into force. The first study builds on data covering all social assistance eligibility decisions implemented in 25 municipalities during one calendar month in 2012 (n=472). The remaining three studies build on data from a vignette experiment conducted in 2018, in which just over 1,000 social workers from 19 municipalities, including Sweden’s three largest cities, participated. Results from both sources of data confirm the impression left by previous research that social assistance assessments are gendered. They show that the likelihood of granting assistance is determined through different standards for men and women. In the view of current knowledge gaps, an important contribution lies in bringing the issue of ethnicity bias to light. The results from the vignette experiment indicate that applicants with Arabic-sounding names are responded to with more conditionality than applicants with Swedish-sounding names, and that discriminatory biases related ethnicity are highly intertwined with gender biases. By raising much-needed questions about the assessment of couples, the project also draws attention to the dissonance between the Swedish welfare state’s gender equality regime and the conditions for accessing social assistance. The results indicate that moral judgments about applicants’ gendered family roles affect social workers’ propensity to grant support to couples, and that such judgments take form through ethnicity bias. In terms of theory, the dissertation draws upon feminist and postcolonial perspectives on social policy as well as a street-level bureaucracy perspective on frontline work. Social assistance is understood as part of the welfare state’s wider politics of redistribution, and the quantitative patterns formed by social workers’ individual acts are seen in the light of structural inequalities. The dissertation presents a conceptual model for thinking about social assistance eligibility, emphasising uncertainty as an inescapable dimension of means-testing. A central argument is that eligibility issues decided at the street level cannot be separated from ongoing discretionary processes of policy implementation. While the risk of discrimination in social assistance assessments is inevitable, it tends to be concealed by the administrative arrangements through which policy comes to matter.

Att arbeta inom missbruksvården med klienter med beroendeproblematik kan medföra vissa påfrestningar i arbetsmiljön för den anställda. Antalet studier rörande vilka krav respektive resurser anställda inom missbruksvården upplever i den sociala arbetsmiljön är dock få. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur anställda inom missbruksvården upplever sin sociala arbetsmiljö, relaterat till krav samt resurser i arbetet. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 11 anställda inom missbruksvården och materialet bearbetades med hjälp av en tematisk innehållsanalys. Studiens teoretiska ramverk var krav- och resursmodellen. I studiens resultat återfanns tre arbetskrav: begräsningar i arbetet, emotionella krav samt interpersonella konflikter. Tre resurser i arbetet framkom i resultatet: inflytande på arbetsplatsen, utvecklingsmöjligheter i arbetet och socialt stöd. Resultatet visade att det förelåg en relativt god balans mellan kraven som upplevdes som påfrestningar och resurserna som motiverar och hjälper de anställda i arbetet. Studien kan bidra till en större förståelse kring arbetet inom missbruksvården samt dess utvecklingsmöjligheter.

Children who live with or witness domestic violence are a vulnerable group that is difficult for society to identify and help. The children who live in these conditions can develop psychological consequences which they can carry with them for large parts of their lives. The purpose of this research was to study what professional social workers perceive as significant support for children who have witnessed domestic violence. In our research report, parental role, the first meeting with the children and the development are aspects that are highlighted for the children to receive the right support they need. Society's role to intervene, support and care for children has also been highlighted as crucial points in order for the children to receive the right support. Although this is a more difficult approach since witnessing domestic violence often is a hidden social problem, it is also accentuated that cooperation and care from everyone is important to maintain and protect children's rights. The questions that the research is based upon concern how professional social workers work with children, what obstacles and difficulties exist in the line of work, what is considered good support in working with children who and what professional social workers feel needs to be developed when it comes to support measures for children who have witnessed domestic violence. Four semi structured interviews were conducted with four different social workers with vast experience within the field. The answers we got from the interviews were analyzed via a thematical analysis. The result accentuated how different children are and how they react differently to witnessing domestic violence. The result also showed how important knowledge is in this line of work. The result also showed that social workers thought the support that is given is good but there is room for improvement and development to make the support for kids even better.

Barns våld mot sina föräldrar är ett komplext våldsfenomen med bristande forskning, både nationellt och internationellt. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare runt om i Sverige uppfattar och hanterar ärenden där barns våld mot sina föräldrar förekommer. För att undersöka detta valde vi att genomföra en vinjettstudie i samband en semistrukturerad intervju med fyra socialsekreterare. Resultatet visar att det saknas insatser riktade specifikt mot barns våld mot sina föräldrar och att en hantering av bakomliggande problematik förväntas minska våldet. Att samverka med andra myndigheter beskrevs vara viktigt i arbetet med detta våldsfenomen. Även vissa tendenser att ej betrakta föräldrarna som ideala offer framkom och studiens resultat tyder på att det kan påverka socialsekreterarnas sätt att hantera ärenden där barns våld mot sina föräldrar förekommer.

Folgende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema Scham im Kontext der Beratung in der Sozialen Arbeit. Es werden Beratungsansätze näher beleuchtet, um zu verdeutlichen, dass Sozialarbeiter*innen ihre Beratungskompetenz verbessern können, wenn sie lernen, in der engen Arbeit mit Menschen angemessen mit Scham umzugehen. Es wird die Frage behandelt, welche Herausforderungen sich durch das Schamgefühl von Klient*innen bei der Beratung darstellen und welche Lösungsansätze sich für die Soziale Arbeit ergeben. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen sollten Berater*innen den Umgang mit Scham in der Beratungspraxis optimieren, sich intensiver mit den Ausprägungen von Scham sowie gesellschaftlichen Normen auseinandersetzen und diese kritisch reflektieren. Darüber hinaus sollen auf institutioneller Ebene bessere Rahmenbedingungen geschaffen werden, um einen besseren Umgang mit Scham zu ermöglichen. The following paper deals with the subject of shame in the context of counseling in social work. Methodological approaches to counseling are examined to illustrate that social workers can improve their counseling skills by learning to deal with shame appropriately in their close work with people. Therefore, the question is addressed: what challenges arise due to the feeling of shame in clients during counseling, and what solutions are available to social work? To address this question and lead to an informed conclusion, I have used reliable and related sources from books and Empirical Research Studies, which are listed at the end. Consequently, the results show that counselors should optimize their handling of shame in counseling practice. They should then see the whole picture of shame as well as societal norms and critically reflect on them. Furthermore, better institutional conditions should be created to facilitate better handling of shame.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. This thesis explores the ‘doing’ and experiences of social work with persons who have very limited rights to assistance from the welfare state – specifically homeless EU migrants – from the perspective of the Norwegian situation. It is an ethnographic study drawing on fieldwork that took place in Oslo between August 2017 and November 2018. The fieldwork included participant observation in settings where encounters between social workers and persons with severely restricted access to public welfare in Norway took place, participation in biweekly meetings of a collaborating unit set up by the City Government of Oslo to coordinate efforts directed at ‘visiting homeless EEA citizens’, in-depth interviews with interlocutors and various stakeholders and engagement with texts such as policy documents and legal sources. The key question guiding the thesis as a whole is: How does the ‘doing’ of social work in encounters with persons who have limited rights to public social welfare intersect with the Norwegian (welfare) state’s concerns with migration management in general and internal bordering processes specifically? The observations and arguments of the three articles forming part of the thesis accentuate the manifold – seldom straightforward and sometimes conflicting – ways in which Norwegian social welfare policies and the (welfare) state’s concerns with migration management are intertwined and thus how welfare policies and provisions both operate as and create internal bordering practices. Second, the articles show how this intertwinement frames and moulds the configurations of social service provision to, as well as the ‘doing’ of social work with, homeless EU migrants in Norway. In sum, the thesis brings forth how both social workers mandated with administering public social welfare provisions and those who are not get implicated in and contribute to the ‘internalization of borders’ (Persdotter et al., 2021) and ‘welfare bordering’ (Guentner et al., 2016) specifically. Parallelly, the manifold dilemmas this position entails for social workers and the lived experiences of those who are subjected to such bordering processes are explored. A key observation is that these processes are configured and experienced differently for different migrants, and that the regulating and disciplining dimensions are most harshly felt by those most in need of (humanitarian) social services. The study demonstrates that homeless EU migrants are not simply excluded from the country’s welfare system but rather precariously included (Karlsen, 2021) through policies and provisions directed at ensuring bodily survival. In effect, homeless EU migrants in Norway are left dependent on charity-based social service structures to meet their basic needs. The restrictedness, unpredictability and fragility inherent in this form of inclusion contrasts vi with the principles of social justice, entitlements and equality – principles that are considered cornerstones of the Norwegian welfare state. The particular combination of measures of care and control in social welfare policies directed not only at homeless EU migrants but also at migrants with precarious citizenship statuses in general, the study asserts, allows the Norwegian (welfare) state to simultaneously manage migration and retain the nation’s self-image of being caring and compassionate. Welfare policies that are both exclusionary and inclusionary, then, implicate individual social workers, as well as the social work profession, in the differentiation of human worth within Norway’s borders and in internal migration control. Accordingly, my work brings out how the close interrelationship – even interdependency – of the Norwegian social work profession and the national welfare state excludes homeless EU migrants from the mainstream social work field of practice and mandate, including (facilitation of) access to the comprehensive and rights-oriented public social welfare provisions characteristic of the welfare state. Meeting people in precarious situations, who often are visibly poor and live in destitution, while being unable to resort to rights-oriented public social welfare provisions to better such situations appears to create bewilderment and professional insecurity amongst social workers. While asserting that national borders do indeed produce specific ideas of and demarcations between the ‘belonging’/ ‘deserving’ and the ‘nonbelonging’/ ‘undeserving’ inside Norway’s borders, the thesis asks whether the processes of welfare – and moral – bordering that homeless EU migrants are subjected to may also be interpreted both as indicative of wider transformations of the welfare state and as a continuation of the manners in which the Norwegian state and social workers historically have marked ‘the boundaries of organised social solidarity’ (Lorenz, 2006). Consequently, it urges social workers and the social work profession in Norway to scrutinise and monitor carefully whether their entanglement in processes of welfare bordering risks resulting in the (return to the pre-welfare state’s) ‘policing of the poor’ and reflect on potential implications of such a development for a profession mandated with promoting and realising human rights principles – for all. Paper I: Misje, T. (2020). Social work and welfare bordering: The case of homeless EU migrants in Norway. European Journal of Social Work, 23 (3), 401–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2019.1682975 Paper II: Misje, T. (2021). Queuing for food and playing lottery for beds: A parallel social service system and the lived experiences of humanitarian service provision to homeless EU migrants in Norway. Nordic Social Work Research, 11 (2), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2020.1857820 Paper III: Misje, T. (2022). The precarious inclusion of homeless EU migrants in Norwegian public social welfare: Moral bordering and social workers’ dilemmas. Critical Social Policy, 42 (3), 448–468. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F02610183211036580