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As the professoriate grows increasingly diverse and contingent, the co-teaching relationship must be examined. There are often salient power differentials between and among co-teachers associated with their position in the academic hierarchy and their social identities. This related power can affect the co-teaching professional relationship, student learning, and the retention of faculty from under-represented backgrounds in academia. This paper identifies power-related pitfalls in team teaching and offers specific strategies for avoiding them.

As the professoriate grows increasingly diverse and contingent, the co-teaching relationship must be examined. There are often salient power differentials between and among co-teachers associated with their position in the academic hierarchy and their social identities. This related power can affect the co-teaching professional relationship, student learning, and the retention of faculty from under-represented backgrounds in academia. This paper identifies power-related pitfalls in team teaching and offers specific strategies for avoiding them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the authors examined how maternal health workers (MHWs) perceive the health risks of extreme heat exposure to pregnant women and fetuses. The authors conducted interviews with 12 MHWs (including midwives and doulas) in El Paso, Texas. Using qualitative analysis, the researchers identified numerous themes. Although heat was not communicated as a major health risk, participants expressed some concern with growing heat exposure and communicated standard protective measures. While all participants were familiar with some heat illness symptoms, they were generally unaware of their clients' vulnerability. MHWs' minimal heat-risk knowledge leaves pregnant women and developing fetuses at risk of preventable harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research skills are vital to students' professional careers and must be cultivated in the social work curriculum. While students and faculty may hesitate to participate in a course-based research project, the authors believe that the Photovoice method is easily adapted to a variety of class and student needs. Photovoice is a field-oriented and qualitative research method that visually documents and communicates community assets and needs. The first purpose of this article is to offer Photovoice as a potential model for instructors to implement a course-based research project. The second purpose is to quantitatively assess changes in students' reported confidence in social work topics and research activities. Data revealed that the students reported increased confidence in the majority of the content and research evaluated; content examples include economic justice and determinants of social inequalities; research examples include analysing data for patterns and identifying the limitations of research methods. The data illustrate the pedagogical power of Photovoice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing empirical evidence documents the potential risk of extreme heat exposure to pregnant individuals. These risks include adverse birth outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. Climate change will exacerbate extreme heat exposures to a large portion of the global population, and pregnant individuals need to understand the risks and protective measures needed. Maternal health workers are a key mechanism for conveying this information to pregnant individuals. The authors assess a training of maternal health workers in El Paso, Texas, through two research instruments. First, eight maternal health workers completed an educational workshop and consented to participation; pre- and post-test workshop data are reported. Second, and subsequent to the workshop, a focus group was undertaken with six maternal health workers; directed content analysis was used to synthesize and report patterns from this qualitative data. Assessments indicated that a training session can improve provider knowledge of maternal heat--health risks and can encourage providers to discuss heat risks with patients/clients. This pilot project offered an approach to raise awareness of extreme heat among maternal health workers. The authors encourage the development of similar trainings in other communities to improve the safety of pregnant individuals in warm regions and areas experiencing extreme heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists predict that natural disasters will occur with increasing frequency and severity. Although hospitals provide the backbone for medical response during a disaster event, disasters increase demand for medical care and simultaneously reduce medical systems’ abilities to provide that care. This study considers the role that out-of-hospital midwives (birth-center and home-birth midwives) could play as disaster responders for the vulnerable population of pregnant women, new mothers, and infants who have timesensitive, specialized medical needs. Drawing on qualitative data, we examine midwives’ commitment to respond, their preparedness measures, and the barriers to disaster response that they perceive. Many midwives believed that their model of care prepared them for natural disaster response, and they expressed a deep commitment to assist their own clients, other mothers, and infants. However, all midwives in the sample identified two barriers to their potential disaster response: limited social networks and low occupational status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out-of-hospital midwives' occupational practices can be interpreted as "dirty work" because of their responsibility to touch women's genitals and the perceived danger of providing healthcare separate from a hospital. Thus, midwives experience prejudice in their interactions with healthcare providers and the public alike. Using 30 interviews with out-of-hospital midwives, this research explores sources and forms of prejudice and techniques with which participants managed their stigmatized professional identity. Specifically, midwives used strategies of information control, including controlling disclosure and controlling interactions. While previous research documents such techniques, I add theoretical complexity by expanding our knowledge on concealable stigmatized identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]