Lessons on social and health disparities from older lesbians with alcoholism and the role of interventions to promote culturally competent services

ABSTRACT

Older adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) face greater health risks and possibly more costly care because of their reluctance to seek out health and long-term care services because of limited cultural sensitivity of service providers. This is particularly evident in older lesbians who face substantial risk of health problems associated with alcoholism and are less likely to be open with health care providers because of stigma combined with feelings of alienation, stress, and depression. An estimated 4.4 million older adults are predicted to have problems with alcohol by 2020, and the rates of alcohol-related hospitalizations are similar to those for heart attacks, creating exorbitant medical costs. More culturally competent health and long-term care may reduce health care costs by effectively addressing the dynamics of alcoholism, aging, and lesbian culture. Training initiatives such as those developed by the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging have begun to address the need of a more culturally competent aging services network. This article provides exemplars from empirical data on older lesbians with alcoholism to highlight some of the health, economic, and social disparities experienced in the aging LGBT community. Current interventions in the form of cultural competence training for service providers are presented as a potential step toward addressing health disparities among LGBT older adults.     

English language learning in the Japanese higher education sector: towards internationalisation

The graduate attribute ‘global competence’ is increasingly viewed as a significant learning outcome of a tertiary education. In Japanese higher education, global competence appears to be a lesser priority despite Japan becoming increasingly pluralistic. This article explores how adjunct foreign English language teachers (AFELT) encourage global competency in their classes. Data were drawn from 43 participants across 66 Japanese universities through focus groups and interviews. The research revealed that the positionality of AFELT on the margins institutionally had both affordances and constraints. First, being on the margins meant that AFELT had significantly lower status both institutionally and in students’ eyes, and AFELT were consequently constrained by these views. Second however, and paradoxically, distance from university hegemonic practices also provided affordances for AFELT in disrupting them. AFELT highlight that their pedagogical practices, while constrained, are both subversive and necessary in achieving students’ intercultural and global competencies.     

Building Cultural Competence for Work with Diverse Families

Abstract

This paper proposes a postmodern approach to social work practice that links the perspectives of cultural competence, diversity, social constructionism, and a generalist strengths-based orientation for work with families. The profession's early work with diverse families is put into the context of privilege and contrasted with more contemporary models built on affirmation of diversity and the strengths of families. The component theoretical perspectives are reviewed and followed by a flexible pedagogical model that includes four steps and representative teaching strategies for implementation.     

高等职业教育教学改革探析

近年来,我国高等职业教育迅猛发展,文章从高等职业教育的办学理念、课程体系、析,并提出了教学改革的建议及措施。在发展过程中,其存在的问题也受到社会的广泛关注。师资队伍、教材建设等几方面对存在的问题进行了剖     

Healthcare professionals' priorities for child abuse educational programming: A Delphi study

Child abuse reporting and intervening are a complex process. A comprehensive training program with targeted goals and priorities enables professionals to effectively address the needs of abused children and their families. The study purpose was to identify the content and priorities of health professional education in child abuse by integrating expert opinions and achieving consensus. A 3-round Delphi study was conducted with 25 multidisciplinary experts in health care, social welfare, psychology and counseling, and law and jurisdiction. Structured questionnaires collected expert opinion of appropriateness and importance of knowledge, subjective norms, attitudes, skills, team collaboration and teaching strategies. The expert response rates ranged from 96 to 100% for the 3 rounds, and consensus was achieved. Knowledge was regarded as the most important element. Two items on forensic evidence in the skill category received the highest importance score. Results provide a basis to develop educational programs achieving clinical competence in child abuse care.     

“Mnandi-licious!” trends in African language usage in South African television advertising

Advertisements in African languages are generally confined to radio, and in that medium are factual, dialogic and direct. When used in television advertising, however, South Africa’s indigenous languages, particularly those spoken by the largest number of people in South Africa (Nguni languages), play a less informative role, being employed rather to index a concretised African essence, African identity or urban style, or a particular reified post-apartheid togetherness and cultural mobility. In this essay, we analyse four recent television advertisements, all using a Nguni language, and reflect on how and why the vernacular is used and to what extent African languages are no longer seen by television advertisers as carriers of information but as exploitable symbols of trustworthiness, multiculturalism, belonging and innovation. Key tropes that emerge as motivating the inclusion of African languages in television advertisements are identified and serve to organise and focus the argument.     

培养依法行医素养增强未来职业能力

现代医学教育理念、新型医患关系和医疗风险都要求医学人才具有依法行医的素养。但当前医学教育对学生依法行医素养的培养存在着课程设置不完善、课外获取法律知识途径有限、医学生处理法律问题欠缺等诸多不足,不利于医学人才职业能力的提高。应通过法律基础课与卫生法学课相结合、课外与课内结合、法学教师言传与临床教师身教相结合等有效途径,更好地培养医学人才依法行医的素养,提高其职业能力。     

生态翻译视域下的景介翻译

中英旅游景介文本在语言形式、语篇和内容等方面存在着诸多差异,因此景介文本的翻译充分考虑文本与受众经验的“游离”与“契合”的关系。生态翻译学强调翻译生态环境中所有构成素间的关联和整体性,译者需在语言维、文化维及交际维的适应性选择转换,才能保证作者、译者和读者互惠互利、健康有序的生态循环。     

The Revised 28-Item Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (R28REMS): Examining the Factorial Structure for Black,Latino/Hispanic,and Asian Young Adults

ABSTRACT

Racial and ethnic discrimination has adverse effects on the health and mental health outcomes of people of color. Evidence indicates that modern discriminatory behavior is often a product of brief, commonplace, and often subtle acts that convey derogatory messages to people of color, known as racial and ethnic microaggressions. Accurately measuring microaggression is essential to understanding and preventing behaviors that are consistent with this complex construct. The current study examines evidence for the reliability and validity of the Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS). Data from a sample of 286 randomly selected Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Asian young adults (ages 18–35 years old) were used to examine the REMS. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the REMS across racial and ethnic groups. Findings support the reliability of the instrument but also suggest that a shorter 5-factor model offers a promising alternative to the original 6-factor instrument. Results also reveal differences between how members of different racial and ethnic groups conceptualize microaggression. Recommendations for using a revised version of the instrument (the Revised 28-Item REMS) and for future research aimed at optimally measuring microaggression are identified.     

Unexpected patterns of continuance in psychotherapy 1

Social work students and professionals need to develop the ability to gauge potential links between race and resource deprivation and limited access to social services. Using data from a university-wide student survey, we tested two hypotheses: (a) that social work students exhibit greater racial tolerance than students not studying social work and (b) that entering and graduating MSW students alike exhibit greater racial tolerance than BSW students. Our results clearly suggest social work students were more tolerant than other students. However, with a few exceptions, progress through social work study was not significantly associated with increase in tolerance.