Experiences in a Hospice:

No abstract available for this article.     

Social Workers' Experiences of Fear

Correspondence to Dr Martin Smith, Emergency Duty Team, Katherine Knapp House, Stretton Close, Tylers Green, Bucks, HP10 8EW, UK. E-mail: msmith{at}buckscc.gov.uk Summary This paper argues that the impact of fear on social workersand social work practice is a relatively neglected topic thatdeserves attention. With this in mind a sample of 60 employeesof social services departments comprising home carers, rehabilitationofficers, receptionists, residential workers in children's homes,special hospital social workers and social workers working inNorthern Ireland were asked to talk of a time in their workwhen they had experienced fear. Eighty-two fears were reported.These comprised fear of being assaulted, fear of being killed,fear of losing control/being overwhelmed, and fear of disapprovaland rejection by seniors and managers. The social workers interviewedappreciated talking openly about their fears in a manner andcontext that was acceptable to them. It is recommended thatfurther work be undertaken to build upon this research so thatfear in the professional context becomes acknowledged as a realityand the need to share the experience becomes an accepted partof practice.     

Experiences of Women on Public Assistance

Although much has been written regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of the various antipoverty programs, very little information is available on the recipients' perceptions of and experiences with these programs. This article addresses this issue and presents qualitative results of interviews with 8 recipients of both cash assistance (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and in-kind assistance (e.g., Section 8 housing). The average age of the participants was 37.5; all were females with children from 2 to 5 years old. Overall, the major themes that emerged include lack of work programs, difficulties in forming a permanent family life with a partner, feelings of shame and disrespect, an insecure future, and a sadness regarding life's outcome. These findings suggest that antipoverty programs should focus not only on financial concerns but also on the individual's desire to be a contributing member of society.     

Social Workers' Responses to Experiences of Fear

Correspondence to Martin Smith, EDT c/o Social Services Department, Easton Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 1NH. E-mail: msmith{at}buckscc.gov.uk Summary This paper follows on from the paper ‘Social workers’experiences of fear’, written by the same authors, reportingon a research study that showed how social workers interviewedexperienced fears of assault, death, losing control and rejectionfrom their seniors during their working hours. Now, from thesame study, examples are given that illustrate ways in whichparticipants were affected by, and responded to, these fears.Substantive quotations from in-depth interviews are providedshowing effects of fears as being physical, cognitive and emotionaland as manifesting themselves differently with the passing oftime. Also given are examples of what it was that participantsfound to be helpful, or unhelpful, when attempting to deal withtheir fears and particular attention is paid to supervisionin this respect. The paper argues that drama therapy literaturehas much relevance to the management of fear as participantsoften reported different parts of themselves performing roleswhen affected by and responding to fears. Implications for socialwork training are considered in this light. Generally, it isclaimed that the more social workers can learn about fear andits manifestations and implications in their work, the betterthey will be able to respond to it and deal with it.     

社会地位、生活境遇与焦虑

本文运用定量研究方法,探讨了人们的社会地位和遭受不公正对待的生活境遇在焦虑形成中的作用。研究表明,社会地位（包括客观地位和主观地位）和生活境遇对焦虑的产生具有明显的影响,社会地位低的群体和生活境遇中遭受过不公正对待的人,更易产生焦虑。这些由社会地位和生活境遇等因素导致的焦虑对于个体的影响是偏向消极的;在社会因素的持续作用下,具有焦虑特征的个体增多,焦虑有可能从个体的心理问题转化为社会的心理问题。     

英国议会监督预算制度及借鉴

监督政府预算是议会的重要职能。英国作为议会之母,其预算监督制度在世界上较为完善,梳理和回顾英国的预算监督制度将为我国人大预算监督工作提供重要的启示。在系统地总结英国议会监督预算的主体、内容和程序以及审批的基础上,分析了可供我国借鉴的议会监督预算的做法。     

社会工作实习教育的经验探索

社会工作实习教育是社会工作专业教学体系重要环节,但现状是实习教育普遍薄弱。本文以＂青涩三叶草＂青少年成长小组为例,反思该项实习活动经验,尝试对社会工作实习教育发展进行一些有益探索。     

拉美政党在民主过渡中的作用--墨西哥的经验

新世纪初,墨西哥的民主过渡取得了重大进展,通过选举平稳地从官方党一党长期执政的总统制过渡到由原反对党任总统、多党参政的制度。墨西哥政党在民主过渡中起了重大推动作用。反对党的上台并不意味着民主过渡的完成,墨西哥要实现真正的政治、经济、社会的民主还需要走很长的路。     

Prison Experiences and Psychological Distress among Older Inmates

This study investigates relationships between older prisoners’ social experiences and their levels of distress. One hundred and seventy-three older prisoners (aged ≥ 50 years) from 8 Australian prisons were administered the Kessler Psychological Distress (K10) Scale, with additional information collected via individual interviews. Psychological distress scores were significantly associated with measures of self-reported safety (p < .001), prison victimization (p < .05), perceived social support from staff (p < .01) and inmates (p < .001), current employment (p < .05), and level of exercise (p < .001) among older inmates. Findings suggest that strategies for improving sense of safety, social support and level of exercise may ameliorate distress among older prisoners.     

Experiences of Caregivers in a Dementia Simulation Program

Abstract

Objectives: Simulation-based training has been used in health care to increase clinical knowledge and skills and understanding the experience of others. There is a lack of research in exploring experiences of caregivers of people with dementia in a dementia simulation program and its potential benefits on caregivers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore experiences of caregivers of people with dementia who participated in a dementia simulation program, called Dementia Live?.

Methods: Fourteen caregivers were interviewed after participation in DL, and thematic analysis using NVivo 11 software was used.

Results: Three themes emerged, including: (i) the Dementia Live? as an eye-opening experience; (ii) the perceived benefits of the Dementia Live? on themselves; and (iii) recommendation of the Dementia Live? to other caregivers.

Conclusions: Dementia simulation programs such as the Dementia Live? may help caregivers to have more empathy, understand better about the behaviors and feelings of people with dementia, and to use strategies that can help when working with people with dementia. Further experimental research is needed to examine effectiveness of the dementia simulation program on caregivers and people with dementia.     

社会工作实习教育的经验探索

社会工作实习教育是社会工作专业教学体系重要环节,但现状是实习教育普遍薄弱。本文以"青涩三叶草"青少年成长小组为例,反思该项实习活动经验,尝试对社会工作实习教育发展进行一些有益探索。     

论社会主义建设的三条基本经验

通过反观社会主义运动的实践,总结社会主义运动的基本经验,为今后的社会主义建设提供理论参照.经过反复筛选认为,高扬实践观点,坚持实践标准;高扬生产力观点,坚持生产力标准;高扬群众观点,坚持群众标准是我们应当永远记取的最基本的经验.这三条是马克思主义理论中最本质、最高层、最具恒久意义的东西,是马克思主义的真理观、历史观和价值观的核心观点,是我党制定思想路线、政治路线、组织路线的哲学依据和检验这三条路线是否正确的根本标准.     

The Survival Experiences of People with Depression in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems, yet it is a challenge for service practitioners to establish a relationship with those that suffer in silence. Relatively few qualitative studies have been conducted in East Asia to understand the illness experience of people with depression and their interaction with service practitioners. This study delineates the struggling and surviving experiences of 4 qualitative interviews with people with depression in Taiwan and their comments on service provision. It is found that all participants lived with depression by developing their own coping strategies. Moreover, the participants preferred a friend-like relationship with service provider and some service practitioners' attributes can enhance the interaction and relationship with depression sufferers. Future research is needed to investigate depression sufferers' preferences on professional relationship in different societies and search for effective ways to work with seemingly “apathetic” sufferers.     

Client Experiences of Trauma-Informed Care in Social Service Agencies

This paper describes a qualitative study of individual client interviews (n?=?26) from four social service agencies to understand how clients experience trauma-informed care services and implementation challenges. We used the Fallot and Harris framework to explore client experiences of the five core concepts of trauma-informed care (safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment) using semi-structured interview questions with each client. The four agencies consisted of: refugees (n?=?4), substance abuse (n?=?8), older adults (n?=?12), and maternal/child health (n?=?2), and the agencies varied in size, service goals, and clientele. The results of the study suggest that clients’ experience of these concepts was shaped by the actions of other clients, and these experiences were either mitigated or hindered by actions of the agency employees. Agency policies either supported or enhanced their experiences as well. The results also suggest that it was challenging for agencies to provide for all of the trauma-informed care (TIC) concepts at the same time. We discuss the implications of these findings for social service delivery in a range of agency types. Future research should examine the effects of trauma-informed policies on client experiences of each TIC domain.