Providing Mental Health Services to Older People Living in Rural Communities

Summary

Rural dwelling elders who experience mental health problems often have difficulty finding help since rural communities often lack adequate mental health service providers. This paper reports on the initial phase of a 5-year, interdisciplinary clinical research study that is testing the effectiveness of providing a home delivered, therapeutic psychosocial intervention, aimed at improving the emotional well-being and the quality of life of medically frail elders who live in rural communities. In the early phases of this study, the clinical research team encountered a number of interesting and often unanticipated challenges as it attempted to recruit study participants and provide services to them. In this article, we examine these challenges and share what we have learned so far about providing mental health services to elderly persons living in rural environments.     

The Making of COBRS 2.0

Abstract

Recently introduced advances in microcomputer technology offer opportunities for improving child welfare agencies' access to powerful case assessment and program evaluation tools. This paper discusses the process of fitting a child behavior outcome measurement system to a menu driven microcomputer program. Traditional strategies for measuring outcome effectiveness, managerial priorities and operational constraints are examined in terms of their bearing on the introduction of new microcomputer technology. The developmental process is traced to show how these factors influenced the addition of a number of user options to the basic program to enhance its adaptability to specific agency needs. Initial user feedback indicated general satisfaction with the basic program and the applicability of its output, little or no experimentation, as yet, in adapting the system, and, a minor need to adjust the sequencing of operator activities to better fit the realities of agency work rhythms.     

'The more things change…': Barriers to community services utilisation in Queensland

Community services are central to the lives of many elderly Australians or Australians with disabilities if they are to remain in the community. Over the past two decades, significant advances have been made in policy and associated programs, significantly improving the standards of service delivery. This research reports on the perceptions of service providers in community services for people with disabilities in six communities in Queensland. It illustrates that significant barriers to service utilisation remain, despite reform. It suggests that continuous efforts to promote service access need to be built in at the program level.     

Usability Study of a Distance Continuing Education Website for Human Service Professionals

ABSTRACT

A usability test of a distance continuing education website for human service professionals is discussed. The website's purpose was to help meet the continuing education needs of human service professionals in a largely rural Midwestern state. The purpose of the usability evaluation was to assess the website's ease of use, efficiency, and user satisfaction in a representative sample of human service professionals. Users completed eleven basic search tasks with the site and report their impressions of the information presented. In addition, performance data including success, time on task, and efficiency were gathered. Implications of user satisfaction and performance data highlight the importance of stakeholder's involvement in the early stages of website design.     

北京外国人社区生活调查研究

改革开放以来,中国经济和社会取得了长足发展,来京的外国人逐年增多。调查显示,外国人对所在社区评价总体比较高,但他们的评价也因年龄、性别、来源地、滞留时间等不同而略有差异,他们参与社区活动的意愿与选择也并不相同。居住在北京城市社区的外国人对所在社区的审视为我们展现了一个由外向内的独特评价视角,这对于我们构建和谐社区、提升社区服务有着重要的现实意义。     

国内外自然文化遗产保护与开发比较分析

国家重点风景名胜区是国家乃至人类的自然文化遗产资源,必须通过严格的保护和合理的开发,使其世代传承、永续利用。发达国家对自然文化遗产的保护与发展经过长时间的探索,取得了很多的经验;中国的遗产保护事业起步较晚,与世界上先进国家相比有很大差距。国内外遗产资源保护和开发问题理论和实践的分析,对中国科学保护和合理开发遗产资源多有启示。     

Moving On From Supportive Housing (MOSH): Development and evaluation of a transitional skill-building curriculum for providers helping residents exit homeless services

This article describes the development and evaluation of MOSH (Moving On From Supportive Housing), a transitional skill-building curriculum for providers helping residents exit homeless services to mainstream housing without embedded supports. In this evaluation, we assess the feasibility, acceptability, fit, and potential efficacy of the MOSH curriculum to improve proximal provider-level outcomes, including self-efficacy to provide MOSH-related independent living skills and supports. Homeless-services providers (N = 49) from a range of programs and settings participated in the training. Findings from focus groups and pre- and posttest surveys indicate high levels of overall satisfaction with the training. The majority of trainees perceived the training to be useful to their work and potentially useful for service recipients, felt the training would fit well within their existing day-to-day work, and said they were very likely to use MOSH skills in such work. Statistically significant improvements in self-efficacy regarding all skills but one were also found. MOSH holds promise as an intervention that can enhance provider practice and promotion of independent living skills in homeless services. Although these initial findings on MOSH are encouraging, further research will be needed to evaluate provider knowledge gains and effective use of these skills in practice.     

基于系统动力学的普惠性学前教育服务监管研究

随着国家对于二孩、三孩生育政策的放开,提升普惠性学前教育服务的质量,加强普惠性学前教育服务的监管显得尤为重要。文章建构了普惠性幼儿园、政府和入园幼儿家庭三方参与的演化博弈模型,并结合系统动力学方法进行仿真分析,解析各参与主体的动态演化过程及相关变量因素对演化策略的影响。研究表明：在普惠性学前教育服务监管中,演化系统最终会实现(政府积极监管、普惠性幼儿园自律、入园幼儿家庭监督)均衡状态,多个外部变量的共同作用决定着三方参与主体的策略选择;在博弈过程中,政府发挥着显著的主导作用,普惠性幼儿园和入园幼儿家庭的策略选择明显受到政府影响,入园幼儿家庭监督对普惠性幼儿园的策略选择存在明显的间接影响。之后从提升政府的监管效能、建立科学合理的激励与惩罚机制、重视入园幼儿家庭的监督等层面给出了对策建议。     

国际教育服务贸易:我国的对外贸易地位与对策

近年来国际教育服务贸易的发展呈现出了贸易额增长迅速、留学服务成为国际教育服务的主要提供方式、发达国家在国际教育服务贸易领域占据巨大优势和主导地位、高等教育日益国际化等特点。这对我国教育产业面临严峻的挑战,我国教育产业应正视挑战参与国际竞争。     

上海社工职业化模式问题与展望

上海社会经济的发展需要职业化和专业化的社会工作。20世纪90年代中期以来,上海一直在稳步推进社会工作职业化。以授权为特征的职业化的主要内容包括:政府购买服务,民间组织经营,行业自律与管理,注册社工提供专业化服务。在职业化的过程中,上海社会工作在性质定位、需求定位、非政府参与和制度框架等方面还存在一些问题。面向新世纪,上海社会工作职业化需要全面拓展,走近百姓,广泛参与,规范运作。