Social Work - Research Publications
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ItemSeeking Safety: Aboriginal Child Protection Diversion Trials Evaluation Final Report(University of Melbourne, 2022-12-16)Victorian Aboriginal children are currently 17 times more likely to be in out-of-home care compared to non-Aboriginal children. This is because Aboriginal children are more likely than non-Aboriginal children to be reported to Child Protection, and because Child Protection cases involving Aboriginal children are more likely to progress to Court and out of-home care after a decision has been made that a child needs protection. Aboriginal families and communities are disproportionally affected by traumatic experiences and their associated negative consequences, including unemployment, educational disadvantage, poverty, homelessness, and intergenerational trauma. This puts Aboriginal children at greater risk of adverse childhood experiences and for being reported to Child Protection. Visibility to mandatory reporters and implicit bias in the decisions of mandatory reporters may also contribute to differences in Child Protection reports. Aboriginal people also under utilise mainstream prevention and early intervention services, and avoid working with social service professionals, due to fear of child protection intervention or because mainstream services do not meet their cultural needs.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableCircus activities as a health intervention for children, youths, and adolescents: a scoping review protocol(LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 2022-01)OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aims to map the evidence on circus activities described and/or evaluated as a health intervention for children, youths, and adolescents. Increased understanding of how these interventions work, and gaps identified, will allow researchers and practitioners to advance the science behind these approaches. INTRODUCTION: Circus activities are proposed in the literature as a health intervention, due to their variety, non-competitive nature, and potential to develop fundamental physical and social skills. For the purposes of this review, circus activities as a health intervention are defined as aerial, acrobatic, equilibristic, and manipulation skills taught to participants to maintain, improve, or modify health, functioning, or health conditions. INCLUSION CRITERIA: English-language evidence will be considered where circus activities as a health intervention are described and/or evaluated for participants up to 24 years of age, or who are defined as children, youths, or adolescents. Literature will be excluded where the focus of the intervention is clowning, magic, or drama games, or where circus activities are not the therapeutic part of the activity. METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL Complete (EBSCO), Scopus (Elsevier), PsycINFO (Ovid), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and Google Scholar will be searched for peer-reviewed and gray literature. No restriction on dates, type, methodology, or setting will be imposed, but limits will include "human" and "English language." Screening and data extraction will be performed by two independent reviewers. Reference lists of included sources will be screened. Results will be presented in diagrammatic or tabular format, alongside a narrative description, under headings aligning with the research sub-questions.
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ItemPublic Health Directives in a Pandemic: Paradoxical Messages for Domestic Abuse Victims in Four Countries(MDPI, 2022-11-01)When the COVID-19 pandemic manifested urgent concerns were raised around the globe about the increased risk that public health restrictions could pose for victims of domestic abuse. Governments, NGOs and community services swiftly responded to convey the message that services for victims were operational and restrictions did not apply to those fleeing harm. This paper reports on the various approaches used to communicate this public health messaging during COVID-19, further highlighting strengths and learning which could inform future crises messaging. It utilises data gathered through a rapid review and mapping of policy and practice initiatives across 4 high-middle income countries: UK, Australia, South Africa and Ireland. Four themes were identified: (1) Top-down: National media messaging; (2) Top-down: Political leadership; (3) Traditional media vs. social media and (4) Bottom-up messaging: Localised, community-based messaging. It was found that a strong, clear top-down stance on domestic abuse was perceived as beneficial during COVID-19. However, a stronger focus on evaluation, reach and impact, particularly for minority groups may be required. Newer forms of media were shown to have potential in conveying messaging to minority groups. Community and grassroots organizations demonstrated their experiential knowledge in reaching target audiences. Harnessing this expertise for future crises messaging may be valuable.
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ItemVulnerabilities and life stressors of people presented to emergency departments with deliberate self-harm; consolidating the experiences to develop a continuum of care using a mixed-method framework.(Frontiers Media SA, 2022)OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a crucial public health concern. However, the interactions between bio psychosocial vulnerabilities and stressors leading to deliberate self-harm behavior remain unexplored, especially in the Indian context. This study examined the experiences leading to self-harm behavior among people who presented to emergency departments with suicidal attempts. METHODS: In this mixed-methods study, we enrolled 44 patients who presented with self-harm behavior at three tertiary health care facilities between October and December 2019. To collect quantitative data, we employed standardized tools: General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), General Help-Seeking Questionnaire, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and the Brief Resilience Scale. Further, we conducted semi-structured interviews to qualitatively explore participants' life experiences and other risk factors. Qualitative analyses were performed using thematic analysis and quantitative descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using STATA software. RESULTS: The mean age of subjects were 29.8 years. The mean suicidality score for the patients was 26 (±8.7). In univariate analysis, depression and anxiety were positively associated with suicidality. While help-seeking behavior and resilience were negatively associated with suicidality. Qualitative results were centered on three major themes; life stressors, family related stressors, and social support-related vulnerabilities. The subjects' lived experiences were introduced in the backdrop of the interplay of vulnerabilities and stressors. CONCLUSION: The biopsychosocial vulnerabilities remain dormant until it is activated by life stressors resulting in severe self-harm behaviors. Mental health team-driven assertive engagement, positive coping, and social support interventions would help prevent reattempts in people with self-harm behaviors.
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ItemRisks and Barriers in Substitute Care for the Children of Parents with Serious Mental Illness: A Mixed-Method Study in Kerala, India.(MDPI AG, 2022-11-30)BACKGROUND: Mental illness in parents impairs their parenting capability, which has a lifelong detrimental impact on their children's physical and psychological health. In the current Indian context, due to weak social security nets, family is the only plausible intervention to ensure adequate substitute child care. Therefore, this study explores various risk factors and barriers to providing substitute family care. METHODS: We used a mixed-method approach to gather information from 94 substitute family caregivers. Quantitative screening data were collected from four hospitals using a clinical data mining tool and an interview guide to gather caregiver perspectives on economic, familial, and social risks and barriers associated with caring. We used thematic analysis to consolidate the qualitative findings. RESULTS: Most of the substitute caregivers were females from low-income households. The study identified 11 sub-themes and 23 specific themes associated with risks and barriers to substitute care. These themes fell into four broad areas: economic, familial, school-related risks, and specific cultural and service access barriers. Focus on economic interventions is likely to result in strengthening the substitute family caregiver. CONCLUSION: The paradigmatic shift of treatment focus from the patient to the entire household would benefit the children just as it does the patient.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableProgramme responses for men who perpetrate intimate partner violence in the context of alcohol or other drugs: a scoping review(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD, 2023-02-09)Purpose Substance use plays a significant role in the perpetration of much intimate partner violence (IPV). However, responses to these two issues are rarely integrated. Single focus programme responses can lead to poor outcomes for men as well as their families experiencing these intersecting issues. This scoping paper aims to establish the current state of knowledge on contextual factors influencing the development and implementation of combined programmes. Design/methodology/approach Four electronic databases were systematically searched in May 2021 and December 2021. Twenty-one peer-reviewed studies reporting on ten programmes were included. Findings This scoping review revealed that combined programme responses are an underdeveloped area of research and evaluation. The limited evidence base indicated systemic barriers hindering services’ capacity to expand this field of work, affecting implementation and outcomes. Support is required from the wider service systems to intervene in men’s perpetration of IPV in the context of substance use. Practical implications Findings in this scoping review demonstrate the importance of fostering a coordinated and collective response to IPV in the context of substance use. Combined programmes have the potential to reduce siloed practices, enabling more holistic responses for men with intersecting issues. However, researchers and policymakers must also address contextual issues hindering or enabling combined programmes’ implementation and development. Originality/value Mapping the evidence based on combined programmes provides direction for further development and research to expand this field of inquiry.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableAnger Following the Victorian Black Saturday Bushfires: Implications for Postdisaster Service Provision(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2023-01-01)
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ItemRising Together: Lifting the lid on the experiences of family/carer lived experience workers(Rising Together Action Group (University of Melbourne and the Centre for Mental Health Learning), 2023-02-27)The Rising Together study was a co-produced study funded by the Centre for Mental Health Learning (CMHL) and led by the University of Melbourne. The study sought to investigate the experiences of family/carer lived experience (LE) workers within the Victorian mental health system, with the aim of better understanding what is needed to ensure the safe and sustainable development of this workforce. People with a lived experience of being a family member or carer of a person using mental health services have been employed in lived experience roles within the Victorian mental health sector since 1999. Family/carer LE workers have played several roles within the service system including enabling family/carer perspectives to be represented in service planning, delivery, and evaluation; assisting in improving the responsiveness to family/carer needs; and using their lived experience to connect to and support families and carers (Department of Health, 2013). While research in other lived experience roles indicates a high level of those workers feeling unsafe in the workplace (Edan et al., 2021), at this time, there has been very little research or evaluation of family/carer lived experience roles. With growing investment in family/carer lived experience roles there is a need to better understand the experiences of family/carer LE workers. The Rising Together study was co-produced with a team of family/carer LE workers and university academics, including a consumer academic. They formed the Rising Together Action Group (RTAG), which was responsible for deciding on the research questions, designing the study and research tools, implementing the research, analysing the findings, developing recommendations, and writing this report. The RTAG designed and implemented the following: Survey: Family/carer LE workers were invited to complete an online survey. Participants were asked about their perceptions of support, inclusion, workload, and training related to their work as well as their perceptions of how families and carers were included in mental health service delivery. A total of 62 participants completed this survey. Photovoice: Family/carer LE workers were also invited to participate in a photovoice process which involved participants selecting up to three images that represented their experiences as family/carer LE workers. Participants could choose to create these images themselves or select copyright free images from stock image sites. They were then invited to share and discuss these images in a three-hour Share and Reflect workshop (“S&R workshop”). Two workshops were run with a total of 10 participants. The workshops were audio recorded and transcribed, and the transcriptions were analysed using a co-produced approach to thematic analysis. Recommendations Focus Group: Participants were presented with a summary of the findings of the first two stages of this study. They were asked to brainstorm solutions to issues identified in the findings. This was used to inform the recommendations for this study. A total of 16 participants engaged with this stage of the study.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableAll-of-family responses to children, mothers and fathers accessing services for domestic and family violence in Victoria, Australia: Policy and Practice Discussion Paper(Safer Families Centre. University of Melbourne, 2022)
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ItemIntegrating interprofessional electronic medical record teaching in preregistration healthcare degrees: A case study(ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD, 2023-01)BACKGROUND: Electronic medical record (EMR) adoption across healthcare necessitates a purposeful curriculum design to prepare graduates for the delivery of safe and effective patient care in digitally-enabled environments. OBJECTIVE: To describe the design and development of an Interprofessional Electronic Medical Record (iEMR) subject that introduces healthcare students to its utility in clinical settings. METHODS: A six-stage design-based educational research framework (Focus, Formulation, Contextualisation, Definition, Implementation, Evaluation) was used to instigate the iEMR design and development in nursing and five allied health graduate entry to practice (preregistration) degrees at an Australian university. RESULTS: In the Focus process, the concept and interdisciplinary partnerships were developed. The Formulation process secured grant support for subject design and development, including a rapid literature review to accommodate various course and curriculum structures. Discipline-specific subject themes were created through the Contextualisation process. During the Definition process, learning objectives and content resources were built. The Implementation process describes the pilot implementation in the nursing program, where assessment tasks were refined, and interdisciplinary clinical case studies originated. DISCUSSION: The design and development of an iEMR subject is underpinned by internal support for educational innovation and in alignment with digital health strategies in employer organisations. Identified barriers include faculty-level changes in strategic support for teaching innovation, managerial expectations of workload, the scope of work required by academics and learning designers, and the gap between the technology platform required to support online learning and the infrastructure needed to support simulated EMR use. A key discovery was the difficulty of finding EMR software, whether designed for teaching purposes or for clinical use, that could be adapted to meet the needs of this project. CONCLUSION: The lessons learned are relevant to educators and learning designers attempting a similar process. Issues remain surrounding the sustainability of the iEMR subject and maintaining academic responsibility for ongoing curriculum management.