The struggle for legitimacy: A study of contingencies and constraints in emergency medicine

This paper explores the organizational structure and the social work world of an emerging medical specialty area, the emergency medicine practitioner. In‐depth interviews were undertaken with a number of physicians practicing emergency medicine in an attempt to come to some understanding of the problems encountered by a new specialty area as it attempts to gain credibility with more traditional and well established specialty areas in medicine.

Key elements that appear to be critical in the struggle for legitimation by emergency room physicians revolve around such issues as income, power, autonomy, the referral system, specialized knowledge and commitment levels of active participants. The nontraditional organizational structure of emergency medicine was also found to be a factor in strained social relationships between emergency room physicians and their peers. This paper also documents the more commonly used interactional strategies employed by emergency room practitioners in their day‐to‐day interactions with physicians practicing in other specialty areas.     

NISO Webinar: The Future of Integrated Library Systems: Part 1: RDA & Cataloging

This column's offerings cover late spring through summer to fall of 2011: NISO Webinar: The Future of Integrated Library Systems: Part 1: RDA & Cataloging (May 11); American Library Association Annual Conference (June 23–28); Association of College and Research Libraries New England Serials and Electronic Resources Interest Group Summer Program: Current Trends in E-Journals (August 18); Kentucky Library Association/Kentucky School Media Association Joint Conference (September 28–October 1); American Society for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting (October 9–12); Great Lakes E-Summit Conference (October 10–11); and Potomac Technical Processing Librarians Annual Meeting (October 21).     

Does sorry work? The impact of apology laws on medical malpractice

Physicians’ apologies for adverse medical events are acknowledged as a factor in patients’ decisions to litigate. Apology laws which render physicians’ apologies inadmissible in court are written to encourage patient-physician communication and to overcome the physicians’ disinclination to apologize because apologies could invite lawsuits. We present a novel model of apologies and malpractice in order to examine whether state-level apology laws have an impact on malpractice lawsuits and settlements. Using a difference-in-differences estimation, we find that apology laws could expedite the resolution process. We also find that apology laws result in the greatest reduction in average payment size and settlement time in cases involving severe patient outcomes.     

Serials from the Other Side: An Editorial Perspective on Current Trends in Scholarly Communication

The panel session for the 22nd North Carolina Serials Conference brought together perspectives from current and former journal editors about their careers and changes in the publishing industry. Moderated by Patricia Hudson, David Goldfield discussed his experience with the Journal of Urban History; Elaine Hubal talked about her experience with the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology; and Priscilla Wald discussed her experience as editor of American Literature. A question and answer session followed the presentation.     

Costs of Treating Depression With Individual Versus Family Therapy

Depression is one of the most common concerns that bring clients to treatment. Although marriage and family therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment, little research exists regarding the cost‐effectiveness of related services. In this study, we examined claims data for 164,667 individuals diagnosed with depression to determine (a) differences in the cost of treating depression according to type of therapy and license type, (b) differences in recidivism rates by age, gender, type of therapy, and type of mental health professional, and (c) differences in cost‐effectiveness by therapy modality and type of professional. The results showed that services provided by marriage and family therapists resulted in the lowest recidivism rate, and family therapy services were the least expensive.     

Innovating adult social work practice—learning from the Named Social Worker for adults with learning disabilities pilots

In 2016, following the publication of the vision for adult social work in England, the Chief Social Worker for Adults at the Department of Health in England announced the intention to pilot a new social work role—that being a Named Social Worker supporting people with learning disabilities. Phase 1 of the pilot has tested a reframing of the social work role as a relational practitioner with an expertise in human rights, freed from transacting the management of care. Phase 2 is now underway testing key knowledge and skills requirements for post-qualifying practice in the field of social work supporting adults with learning disabilities. Heuristic approaches are capturing outcomes from generative learning processes throughout the pilot. The insight emerging from this national pilot is that at its heart, named social work is about qualifying and on-going post-qualifying social work education which promotes and maintains practitioner reflexivity and connection to their social work values. We are finding that self-advocates may be a critical influencing factor, positively affecting the sources of resistance through making explicit the connection between social work values and lived experience of practice from the people social workers are there to serve.     

NATIVITY DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL HEALTH: THE ROLES OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT,FAMILY, AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION

U.S. immigrants are a physically healthy population, but we do not understand the explanatory factors responsible for their physical health status, particularly those related to social network support. Using data from the 2001 wave of the National Health Interview Survey, we examine multiple measures of immigrant adaptation, investigating their influence on measures of physical health. In particular, we examine how well indicators of social support and integration explain the immigrant health advantage. Results show clear evidence of an immigrant paradox in physical health, but that measures of support and integration explain almost none of the immigration effect on physical health.     

The Self-Exclusion Experience for Problem Gamblers in South Australia

Abstract

Increased prevalence of problem gambling has accompanied the spread of gaming venues in many parts of the world. One intervention to minimise the impact of harmful patterns of gambling behaviours is self-exclusion, where patrons can elect to ban themselves from a gaming venue or its gaming facilities for a specified time period. While self-exclusion programs are widely available, little research has been conducted into their operations and efficacy, particularly from the self-excluders’ perspective. This paper presents findings from 35 survey responses and 23 interviews with gamblers who had self-excluded through a centralised service in South Australia. They identified key program shortcomings as low publicity, limits on how many venues they could self-bar from, and inadequate venue monitoring for breaches of self-barring orders. Nevertheless, the centralised service, staffed by trained psychologists and located away from gaming venues, which allows multiple venue barring in one application, appeared advantageous over programs that require people to self-exclude directly from individual gaming venues. Most respondents (85%) had ceased or lessened their gambling in the 12 months following self-barring. Nevertheless, some continued to struggle to manage their gambling, reflected in breaches of their orders and gambling in venues from which they were not excluded.