Social work in public health
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Soc Work Public Health · Jan 2019
Neighborhood Perceptions of Gun Violence and Safety: Findings from a Public Health-Social Work Intervention.
Efforts to reduce gun violence have moved away from models that rely solely on law enforcement approaches, toward public health-focused models of intervention. This paper discusses urban gun violence from a public health and social work perspective, examining a method to interrupt, reduce and prevent gun violence at the community level. ⋯ Five key findings emerged from the data analysis: 1) Violence was viewed as significant, widespread and a source of despair and hopelessness; 2) Residents perceived a lack of resources and opportunities within the community; 3) There was general consensus regarding the program's importance to the community; 4) There were several obstacles and challenges to program implementation as identified by participants; and 5) Community involvement and shared responsibility were viewed as central to the reduction of gun and related violence. Recommendations for practice and policy changes and the potential role for social work in future collective efficacy and social change initiatives are also discussed.
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Soc Work Public Health · Jan 2019
How Social Welfare and Health Professionals Understand "Race," Racism, and Whiteness: A Social Justice Approach to Grounded Theory.
Social welfare and health professionals continually practice within communities, either directly as practitioners or indirectly by supervising students and co-workers. The current study investigated how social welfare and health professionals conceptualized race, racism, and whiteness in health disparities discourse. ⋯ The analysis revealed four theoretical categories that characterized facets of how social welfare and health professionals' understand race, racism, and whiteness: (1) self-defined skin color; (2) (pre)judgments and discrimination; (3) privilege and power; and (4) conceptual conflation and unfamiliarity. The findings suggest more emphasis during training and in workplace settings on concepts such as power, inequities, and structural racism may significantly improve the efficacy and scope of REHD interventions by expanding social welfare and health professionals' understanding of race, racism, and whiteness beyond interpersonal level interactions.
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Soc Work Public Health · Jan 2017
Values that Fathers Communicate to Sons about Sex, Sexuality, Relationships, and Marriage.
African American males between ages 13 and 24 are disproportionately affected by unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV/AIDS; indeed, they account for 50% of HIV infections among all youth. Clear communication between parents and their youth about sex is associated with higher rates of sexual abstinence, condom use, and intent to delay initiation of sexual intercourse, which can prevent STIs and unintended pregnancy. However, barriers exist for parents to educate their youth about sexual health. ⋯ African American fathers (N = 29) who had sons, ages 10 to 15 years, participated in five focus groups across metropolitan and rural North Carolina communities in barbershops. A qualitative content analysis revealed four themes regarding areas that fathers imparted their values onto their sons to protect them from sexual health risks: (a) sex, (b) sexuality, (c) relationships, and (d) marriage. The findings have implications for social work and public health practice.
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Soc Work Public Health · Nov 2016
Comparative StudyA Comparison of Opioid and Nonopioid Substance Users in Residential Treatment for Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders.
The past decade has seen a marked increase in the illicit use of opioids, as well as a doubling of the percentage of individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorders. However, little is known about the differences between opioid users and nonopioid users in residential treatment. Further, no studies have been published that compare opioid users and nonopioid users in treatment for co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. ⋯ To examine within-group changes in substance use, addiction severity, and mental health across time, linear mixed-model analyses were conducted with facility, year, age, gender, and race included as covariates. The authors found more similarities than differences between the two groups on baseline characteristics, treatment motivation, length of stay, and outcomes on measures of substance use, addiction severity, and mental health. The results demonstrate that though opioid users entered treatment with higher levels of substance use-related impairment, they were just as successful in treatment outcomes as their non-opioid-using peers.
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Soc Work Public Health · Oct 2016
A Value-Critical Choice Analysis of a Policy to Prevent Suicide in Veterans and Service Members.
A few years after the advent of the Global War on Terror, veteran and service member suicide emerged on the national forefront as a public health issue of significant concern. This social policy analysis applies a value-critical choice model to the military suicide prevention provisions mandated by Section 2 of Exec. Order No. 13625 (2012): Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families. Results reveal that the suicide prevention provisions mandated by the order have not been fully and effectively implemented and the goal of reducing military suicide remains elusive.