Access to social protection among people with disabilities: Evidence from Viet Nam

Although people with disabilities are frequently targeted as key beneficiaries of social protection, little is known on their access to existing programmes. This study uses mixed methods to explore participation in disability‐targeted and non‐targeted social protection programmes in Viet Nam, particularly in the district of Cam Le. In this district, social assistance and health insurance coverage among people with disabilities was 53 per cent and 96 per cent respectively. However, few accessed employment‐linked social insurance and other disability‐targeted benefits (e.g. vocational training, transportation discounts). Factors affecting access included the accessibility of the application process, disability assessment procedures, awareness and the perceived utility of programmes, and attitudes on disability and social protection.     

社会医疗保险对老年人健康水平的影响：基于浙江省的实证研究

本研究根据2010年浙江省城乡老年人口生活状况调查的数据认为,对于老年人的社会医疗保险问题,不仅要关注保险覆盖面的扩大,更应关注不同保险项目参保老人之间的健康平等。在揭示医疗服务使用与健康水平负向关系这一主效应的基础上,研究发现,职工医保作为moderator可以改善使用较多医疗服务老人的健康水平,新农合的作用则相反。研究希望对医疗保险的改革思路进行反思,全民医保的改革思路不仅是医疗服务可及性的提高,更应该是不同社群享有平等的医疗福利,并最终促进健康结果的平等。     

Has Transport Infrastructure Promoted Regional Economic Growth？—— With an Analysis of the Spatial Spillover Effects of Transport Infrastructure

在综合考虑多维要素对中国区域经济增长的协同作用的基础上,构建交通基础设施对区域经济增长的空间溢出模型,利用1993．2009年的中国省级面板数据和空间计量经济学的研究方法,实证分析得出以下主要结论。（1）中国交通基础设施对区域经济增长的产出弹性值合计约0．05．0．07,表明其对中国区域经济增长具有重要的作用。（2）中国交通基础设施对区域经济增长的空间溢出效应非常显著,若不考虑空间溢出效应,会高估交通基础设施对区域经济增长的作用。（3）外地交通基础设施对本地经济增长表现为以正的空间溢出效应为主,但是也有空间负溢出的证据。（4）在影响区域经济增长的多维要素中,劳动力与其他公共部门资本存量对中国区域经济弹性的贡献仍然较大,新经济增长因素与新经济地理因素的作用也不容忽视。     

Challenging the exclusion of people with mental illness: the Mental Health Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI)

Without appropriate support, people with mental illness can be excluded from stable housing and social and community participation. Transitional models of support for people with acute mental illness have addressed clinical symptoms and hospitalisation, but they have not facilitated stable housing and community integration. In contrast, individualised housing models aim to improve mental health, housing and community outcomes. These programs are costly and require collaboration between agencies. This article discusses the evaluation findings of one such program – the NSW Mental Health Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI). The longitudinal mixed‐method evaluation assessed whether HASI supported people with high levels of psychiatric disability to improve housing, mental health and community participation. We discuss the challenges clients within the program faced prior to joining HASI and the changes experienced while in HASI. We conclude by drawing policy implications for programs supporting people with mental illness to live in the community.     

Financial access and economic participation of youth with disabilities in China: an exploratory study

Financial access is an important indicator of economic participation and is particularly relevant to asset building among vulnerable individuals in transitional stages of their lives. Drawing on data from a survey of disabled youth (ages 16–25) in Beijing, this study examines determinants of the target group's financial access. It focuses on a range of individual, household and institutional factors that affect breadth and depth of financial access. Quantitative results complemented by field interviews demonstrate a gap between financial access breadth, measured by account holding, and access depth, measured by regular banking activity. Although individual characteristics, especially disability types and severity, have significant effects on the chances that a youth holds an account, household and financial institution factors show stronger effects on regular banking activity than do individual variables. Finally, this article discusses the implications of the study for economic participation and financial capability among youth with disabilities in China.     

Health Disparities and Arab-American Elders: Does Intergenerational Support Buffer the Inequality–Health Link?

This study examines whether social relations with a child influences health disparities among Arab-American elders living in the Detroit metropolitan area (Michigan). Data were drawn from 101 Arab-Americans aged 56 and above. Findings indicate that having less education links to lower self-ratings of health, more chronic illness, and less functional health. Those with lower levels of education who report an excellent relationship with their child have fewer functional limitations than those reporting less than excellent relationships. Elders with less education who perceive emotional support available from their child have fewer chronic illnesses than similar elders without such support. Findings suggest that among Arab-Americans with lower education levels, intergenerational relations seem to confer a potentially significant benefit.     

Gender-Differentiated Experience in the Peer Culture: Links to Intimacy in Preadolescence

This study tested claims that gender differences in intimacy are attributable to gender-differentiated experiences in the peer culture (i.e., male and female 'worlds'). Participants were 188 Canadian preadolescents (10–12 years, 106 girls) who completed questionnaires regarding the intimacy of their same-sex best friendship, intimate support received from peers, and two dimensions of culture–gender composition of the friendship network and participation in communal (i.e., intimacy-promoting) and agentic (intimacy-repressing) activities. Consistent with the 'two worlds' explanation (a) communal activity participation related positively and team sports negatively to same-sex friendship intimacy, but the latter only for boys, and (b) having other-sex friends predicted same-sex friendship intimacy for boys but not girls. The two worlds explanation, though supported, requires revision to accommodate findings that male and female preadolescents' activity participation overlapped considerably, intimate friendships were not limited to intimate contexts, agentic activities potentiated both agentic and communal goals, and peer cultural variables predicted intimacy better for boys than girls.     

Employment status transitions among young adults,with and without disability

Employment is a crucial avenue through which young people with disability can experience material wellbeing and social participation. While the low employment rates of young people with disability are well established, little is known about the stability of employment status – that is, the degree to which individuals remain in or move in and out of employment. This article uses longitudinal data from a large Australian national data set to investigate the transitions between full‐time, part‐time and non‐employment for young people with and without disability. Considerable mobility was found between employment states for both young people with and without disability, with young people with disability more likely than their peers without disability to transition to reduced levels of employment and less likely to transition to increased levels of employment. Social background and contextual factors predicted employment for young people with disability; however, disability represented an additional penalty even after taking these factors into account. Findings suggest a need for social policy targeted specifically towards the barriers to maintaining and increasing employment experienced by young people with disability.     

Working‐age people with disability and labour force participation: Geographic variations in Australia

To examine geographic variation in labour force participation rate (LFPR) of working‐age people with disability in Australia and associated factors. This study uses Australian Census 2016 data at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and engages multiple linear regression to explore the relationship between the dependent variable,= LFPR of people with disability, and diverse independent variables that reflect collective characteristics of people with disability and their non‐disabled peers within SA2. While LFPRs for people with disability varied greatly by SA2, people with disability had considerably lower LFPR than their non‐disabled peers in all areas. The LFPRs tended to be higher in SA2s with higher percentages of people with disability who had completed year 12 or gained post‐school education, with higher household income, and where a higher proportion of people with disability mainly spoke English at home. These results indicate that where people live matters. Geographic variation in LFPR for people with disability is associated with geographic variation in their educational attainment and other social and community characteristics of the areas in which they live. This study contributes towards gaining a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the factors that influence LFPR of people with disability in relation to their local community environment.     

Aging With a Severe Mental Illness: Challenges and Treatments

Severe mental illness (SMI) impacts many different facets of individuals' lives. As they age, those with SMI experience increased physical illnesses, functional impairment, cognitive deficits, and social disability. To promote more effective social work practice with this population, this article highlights the major biopsychosocial and family issues of aging with a psychiatric diagnosis. In addition, intervention approaches that have demonstrated efficacy are summarized along with ways to coordinate services across multiple service delivery sectors. Finally, future directions in practice and research are presented to develop additional methods of support for older adults with SMI and their families.     

Reported Coping Strategies and Depressive Symptoms Among African American and White Residents of Congregate Housing

Chronic health conditions and living in congregate housing, both stressors and losses, are risk factors for late life depressive symptoms. We examined self-reported coping strategies and their associations with depressive symptoms among residents of congregate living facilities. Despite demographic differences between the African American and the White participants, reported coping for the 2 groups was similar, though more African Americans reported spiritual coping. Participants who reported coping through either positive attitude and adaptations or activity participation had fewer depressive symptoms, after controlling for demographics, health, functioning, and other types of coping.     

A Long‐Term Disability Care and Support Scheme for Australia: Opportunities for Disability Sector Reform

Social insurance schemes in Australasia have a long‐standing involvement in leading systemic change as well as funding services for eligible scheme participants. Establishing a long‐term disability care and support scheme for Australia provides opportunities to remove barriers to community access and improve the employment participation of all Australians with a disability, and to increase the use of evidence in policy development and in the delivery of disability supports. Using the examples of successful models in Australia and New Zealand, the authors will propose a model for the development and management of a long‐term disability care and support scheme that enables sector reform in employment participation, barriers to access and participation in all aspects of community life, and funding of disability research to benefit all Australians with a disability.     

The experience of sole mothers balancing paid work with care for a child with a disability

There are increasing numbers of families in Australia headed by sole parents, but little is known about the experiences of those who also care for a child with a disability. Additional caring responsibilities have previously been shown to impact on the work participation of parents. This study involved qualitative analyses of interview data conducted with sole mothers with school‐aged children with disability (N = 11). Thematic analysis revealed four themes that enabled and supported participation in the workforce: social support; managing appointments; characteristics of the workplace; and the role of the school. Results suggest the importance of practical help from family and friends in facilitating participation in paid employment. Additionally, the importance of flexible appointment scheduling on the part of service providers was highlighted, as well as the importance of workplace flexibility and supportive workplace cultures. Such factors were important in supporting sole mothers to balance work with care, with important implications for personal and family wellbeing.     

The decline of substitute pathways into retirement: Empirical evidence from the Dutch health care sector

Early retirement schemes and disability insurance in the Netherlands have undergone several reforms in recent decades. The reforms have increased incentives for older workers to continue working and have decreased the roles of “substitute pathways” into retirement. This article gives an overview of the reforms and, using administrative data for workers in the health care sector, tests a number of hypotheses about the labour market participation of older workers. The results offer two main findings: i) that the Dutch reforms have indeed been effective, as the labour force participation rate of older workers has increased; and ii) the concept of “substitute pathways” has become less relevant as the use of disability insurance has been closed off as an exit route to early retirement. Nevertheless, caution is required before generalizing the implications of these Dutch findings to other OECD countries.     

障碍研究论述与社会参与：无障碍、通用设计、能力与差异

障碍研究在过去40年的发展奠定了其对公共政策影响的基础。障碍者社会参与的责任逐渐由以往个人承担与调适，转向社会与国家承担。本文简述西方国家障碍研究的两个主要论述--社会模式与普同主义取向，对比这两个主要论述所衍生出的政策：由早期的无障碍设施到通用设计，至最近的能力取向。障碍者参与社会生活与活动是其基本权利的一部分，这项权利内涵具有积极性，需要政府与社会投入资源，改善外部社会结构与环境，使环境对障碍者更为友善，为其社会参与权利提供保障。     

Shaping attitudes to disability employment with a national disability insurance scheme

Approximately twenty per cent of the world's population has some form of disability, but workforce participation of people with disability has been intractably low. In an effort to improve the economic and social participation of people with disability, the Australian Government introduced legislation in 2013 designed to provide individualised support and encourage communities and employers to be more receptive to people with disability. The authors surveyed 1,230 workforce members and 715 employer decision‐makers at three points in time (2010, 2012, and 2014) to examine how attitudes to people with disability and employer hiring behaviour are changing in response to the legislation. The evidence demonstrated that both groups are experiencing greater contact with people with disability, reporting more positive interactions with people with disability, and endorsing more reasons for employers hiring people with disability. However, these positive attitudes have not been accompanied by improvements in hiring: there was a decline in decision‐makers' hiring of people with disability from 2012 to 2014.     

Accelerating the translation of research into practice in long term services and supports: a critical need for federal infrastructure at the nexus of aging and disability

The nexus of aging and disability, characterized by the phenomenon of aging with a disability, will become more visible as the population ages and the number of people with disabilities surviving to midlife increases. This article addresses 3 interrelated issues critical to the fields of aging and disability: increasing demand for community-based long-term services and supports, a paucity of evidence-based programs demonstrating effectiveness in facilitating independence for those aging with a disability, and lack of a federal infrastructure to support coordinated investments in research-to-practice for this population. Suggestions for federal interagency collaborations are given, along with roles for key stakeholders.     

Family Support and Health Status of the Elderly in Imo State of Nigeria

This article highlights ageing issues in a community in a developing African nation. This exploratory study uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Seventy–five elders were sampled from Imo State, Nigeria. Results indicate that family support is potentially available at a ratio of 3 to 1 with most of the elderly depending on their children, wives, in–laws,and God. The elderly express satisfaction with family care and they rarely live alone. The elders attach greater value to non–material (physical presence/emotional) support. The most prevalent acute and chronic illnesses of the elderly are respectively malaria, followed by severe headache, flu, sleeping problems; and rheumatism/arthritis, followed by failing vision, general weakness and hip problems. The implications of these findings for policy are considered.     

Community Responses to Chronic Technological Disaster

SUMMARY

A case study method was used to examine factors that contribute to community response to chronic technological disaster and to consider the dynamics that evolve within these communities. The Social Process Model (Edelstein, 1988) provided a theoretical framework for the study. Findings provided evidence of multiplicity of impacts regarding the pollution of water resources. Factors influencing community response include history, environmental awareness, economics, and community participation. Considering the longevity of disaster, communities may be forced to try different strategies to minimize its impacts. Community activism represents the most significant strategy in responding to the disaster.     

Civic Spaces: Mexican Hometown Associations and Immigrant Participation

The study of civic participation and social capital in the United States has, until recently, been silent on the role of immigrant-serving organizations. There is a new line of scholarship, which indicates that ethnic organizations are generally disadvantaged in relation to White mainstream organizations on factors such as resources and political visibility. Our fieldwork on Mexican hometown associations (HTAs) in Los Angeles shows that transnational associations are even more disadvantaged than ethnic organizations that primarily serve the native born. However, this marginality leaves some counterintuitive advantages, namely the creation of safe spaces where undocumented immigrants, recent immigrants, and those with limited English proficiency can get involved in civic and political activities. We explore the extent to which these dynamics vary by gender and immigrant generation, and over time as Mexican hometown associations increasingly turn their attention to political issues in the United States.