When Is Research Good Evidence? Issues in Reading Research

Although using published research is only one part of the evidence-based practice process, clinical social workers more often doubt their abilities in this area than in client assessment or in the individualizing of treatment approaches to fit client preferences, values and resources. This article reviews the nature of research and the reason it is often a preferred source of information; common flaws to watch for in published research; types of research studies and how different kinds of studies are viewed by those interested in treatment outcome research; and the elements of a published research report that must be considered when deciding on its usefulness for decision-making about practice. It will also include discussion of the controversies that surround these topics, which are significant. While readers will have been introduced to these topics in their professional education, when knowledge is not used it is often not well-remembered. Few clinicians find that reading, assessing, or conducting research is part of their daily work, which is one reason why the discussion of evidence-based practice and other approaches to the use of research in clinical practice can be anxiety-provoking. This “refresher” emphasizes that critical thinking skills, which clinicians often have in abundance, are the single most important element in using research to inform practice.     

Research methods with disabled populations

Although social work and related fields need more research involving people with disabilities, such studies can pose special challenges due to lack of understanding of disability issues, the disempowerment and invisibility of many who are disabled, and communication barriers. This article discusses ways of eliminating bias and maintaining ethical safeguards when designing and conducting research on people with disabilities. Participatory action research, which engages those studied in the design and conduct of research, is discussed as a model, as is the use of qualitative methods. Recent methodological innovations in survey research with deaf populations are also described and illustrated.     

Factors affecting the development of social work and its professionalisation process: the case of Greece

This article discusses some of the factors that have shaped the development of social work in Greece and analyses its present level of professionalisation. There were four main factors: (i) the familialist-statist social care model in which social work operates in Greece; (ii) reluctant state support related to a complex set of specific political, social and economic conditions; (iii) the pressure of new needs in recent years as a result of the aging population, family changes and increasing numbers of immigrants; and (iv) the European Union's financial support and regulatory role in various social policy sectors. The present status of the profession indicates a satisfactory protection of professional rights, a slow but steady improvement in the educational process, but also limited occupational control.     

Policy, Practice and People: Current Issues Affecting Clinical Practice

This commentary highlights current policy issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the US with implications for mental and behavioral health care and social work services. These issues include conversion or reparative therapies, especially for young people, and conscience clauses that may exempt some students and practitioners from serving LGBTQ people and their families. While not a “policy” per se, emerging knowledge about health disparities that affect LGBTQ people will also be summarized because of its relevance to practice; many of these concern mental health and behavioral health. Finally, some resources for making health care organizations more responsive to the needs of LGBT people are identified.     

Activity Participation and Well-Being Among European Adults Aged 65 years and Older

Increasing evidence suggests that different patterns of activity participation confer several positive well-being outcomes through the later years of life. The aim of the present study is to examine the likelihood of higher well-being linked with a socially engaged lifestyle with a view to extending prior research. Data on a nationally representative sample of adults aged 65 and older from eleven European countries (n = 7025) was drawn from the first Wave of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, 2004/5). Socially and productively oriented activities were administered as salient aspects of activity participation and were rated on frequency of involvement. Well-being was defined by the clustering of six indicators including life satisfaction, quality of life, self-rated health, psychological distress, chronic diseases and Body Mass Index (BMI). The effect of activity participation on the clustering of well-being indicators was estimated according to complex samples ordinal regression models. The overall pattern was that of a significantly increased likelihood for frequently active participants to present multiple presence of positive well-being outcomes (p < 0.05). This held true not only at the individual level but also across most SHARE countries. Although the findings of the current analysis cannot identify the direction of causality of the observed effects, they still lend some support to the reasonable conjecture that old-age activity engagement matters for individuals’ wellbeing and testify to the suggestion that public health and social care interventions should consider the respective potential well-being gains and therefore foster the facilitation of activities and attachments.     

Members of the human body prone to musculoskeletal damages: a comparison between the sector of transportation and footwears production

This study present areas of the body more prone to develop diseases by musculoskeletal efforts, ie, RTD, in two companies of Paraiba, Brazil. To this end, was made a comparative analysis with respect to the type of work performed (standing, sitting) and the parts that suffer most discomfort after a day's work in a footwear industry and a bus transportation company. The quanti-qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 227 employees in the period 2008 to 2009, having as methodological the tool diagram of painful areas of Corlett and Manenica. It was concluded that the areas most affected by musculoskeletal disorders are located in the neck (9,2%), backs (23,6%), shoulders (14,5%) and legs (11,3%), being usually caused by inappropriate postures, repetitive movements and work station no adequate the anthropometry of the users. Thus, we recommend the adoption of ergonomic measures that enable a healthy and safe environment for workers.     

The Role of the Initial Attracting Quality in Marriage: Virtues and Vices

This study reports on the relationship of the initial attracting quality to the present most annoying quality between spouses in a sample of 30 men and 30 women married (not to each other) from two to eight years. The initial attracting quality (Virtue) and the most annoying quality at present (Vice) were assessed by questionnaire and interview and sorted into one of five categories based on Norman's (1963) five personality factor system. The findings suggest that the initial attracting quality and the most annoying quality at present are related in that the latter is an exaggeration, implication or the opposite of the former.