Social Work - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThriving After Disaster: A new way to think about support programs for kids(Natural Hazards Center, 2019)Commissioned report based on our our team's program of work in disaster recovery research. This report draws together work from several projects.
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ItemBeyond Bushfires: Community, Resilience and Recovery - a longitudinal mixed method study of the medium to long term impacts of bushfires on mental health and social connectedness(BMC, 2013-11-04)BACKGROUND: Natural disasters represent an increasing threat both in terms of incidence and severity as a result of climate change. Although much is known about individual responses to disasters, much less is known about the social and contextual response and how this interacts with individual trajectories in terms of mental health, wellbeing and social connectedness. The 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia caused much loss of life, property destruction, and community disturbance. In order to progress future preparedness, response and recovery, it is crucial to measure and understand the impact of disasters at both individual and community levels. METHODS/DESIGN: This study aims to profile the range of mental health, wellbeing and social impacts of the Victorian 2009 bushfires over time using multiple methodologies and involving multiple community partners. A diversity of communities including bushfire affected and unaffected will be involved in the study and will include current and former residents (at the time of the Feb 2009 fires). Participants will be surveyed in 2012, 2014 and, funding permitting, in 2016 to map the predictors and outcomes of mental health, wellbeing and social functioning. Ongoing community visits, as well as interviews and focus group discussions in 2013 and 2014, will provide both contextual information and evidence of changing individual and community experiences in the medium to long term post disaster. The study will include adults, adolescents and children over the age of 5. DISCUSSION: Conducting the study over five years and focussing on the role of social networks will provide new insights into the interplay between individual and community factors and their influence on recovery from natural disaster over time. The study findings will thereby expand understanding of long term disaster recovery needs for individuals and communities.
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ItemPrenatal yoga for young women a mixed methods study of acceptability and benefits(BMC, 2019-11-28)BACKGROUND: High rates of psychological-distress, trauma and social complexity are reported among young pregnant women. At the Royal Women's Hospital, Australia, young pregnant women acknowledge wanting tools to improve maternal wellbeing yet remain challenging to engage in antenatal education and support. While yoga is a widely accepted and participated activity in pregnancy, with demonstrated benefits for adult pregnant women, adolescent women are often excluded from both these yoga interventions and related pregnancy studies. METHODS: This mixed methods study examined the acceptability and benefits of yoga for young women. We recruited 30 participants aged under 24 years, who were offered twice a week, one-hour voluntary prenatal yoga sessions throughout their pregnancy. A medical file audit gathered baseline demographics, pre and post yoga session surveys were administered and brief individual interview were conducted with study participants. RESULTS: While 26 study participants were positive about the availability of a yoga program, only 15 could attend yoga sessions (mean = 8 sessions, range 1-27). No differences were found in the demographic or psychosocial factors between those who did and did not attend the yoga sessions. The medical file audit found that 60% of all the study participants had a documented history of psychological distress. Barriers to participation were pragmatic, not attitudinal, based on the timing of the group sessions, transport availability and their own health. All study participants identified perceived benefits, and the yoga participants identified these as improved relaxation and reduction of psychological distress; labour preparation; bonding with their baby in utero; and social connectedness with the yoga group peers. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated yoga was acceptable to young pregnant women. For those who did participate in the sessions, yoga was found to decrease self-reported distress and increase perceived skills to assist with their labour and the birth of their baby. The provision of accessible yoga programs for pregnant young women is recommended.
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ItemEthical Use and Impact of Participatory Approaches to Research in Post-Disaster Environments: An Australian Bushfire Case Study(HINDAWI LTD, 2018)This paper presents a case study of Beyond Bushfires, a large, multisite, mixed method study of the psychosocial impacts of major bushfires in Victoria, Australia. A participatory approach was employed throughout the study which was led by a team of academic investigators in partnership with service providers and government representatives and used on-site visits and multiple methods of communication with communities across the state to inform decision-making throughout the study. The ethics and impacts of conducting and adapting the approach within a post-disaster context will be discussed in reference to theories and models of participatory health research. The challenges of balancing local interests with state-wide implications will also be explored in the description of the methods of engagement and the study processes and outcomes. Beyond Bushfires demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating participatory methods in large, post-disaster research studies and achieving rigorous findings and multilevel impacts, while recognising the potential for some of the empowering aspects of the participatory experience to be reduced by the scaled-up approach.
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ItemExploring learning goals and assessment approaches for Indigenous health education: a qualitative study in Australia and New Zealand(Springer (part of Springer Nature), 2018-02-01)In higher education, assessment is key to student learning. Assessments which promote critical thinking necessary for sustained learning beyond university are highly valued. However, the design of assessment tasks to achieve these types of thinking skills and dispositions to act in professional practice has received little attention. This research examines how academics design assessment to achieve these learning goals in Indigenous health education. Indigenous health education is an important area of learning for health practitioners to help address worldwide patterns of health inequities that exist for Indigenous people. We used a constructivist qualitative methodology to (i) explore learning goals and assessment strategies used in Indigenous health tertiary education and (ii) examine how they relate to higher education assessment ideals. Forty-one academics (from nine health disciplines) involved in teaching Indigenous health content participated in a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis revealed learning goals to transform students’ perspectives and capacities to think critically and creatively about their role in Indigenous health. In contrast, assessment tasks encouraged more narrowly bounded thinking to analyse information about historical and socio-cultural factors contributing to Indigenous health. To transform students to be critical health practitioners capable of working and collaborating with Indigenous people to advance their health and well-being, the findings suggest that assessment may need to be nested across many aspects of the curriculum using a programmatic approach, and with a focus on learning to think and act for future practice. These findings accord with more recent calls for transformation of learning and assessment in health education.
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ItemCross-cultural spiritualities: implications for teaching, learning and practice(Charles Darwin University Press, 2009)
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ItemPreparing social work students to work with Indigenous Australian communities(Venture Press, 2008)
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ItemThe aftermath of road trauma: Survivors' perceptions of trauma and growth(NATL ASSOC SOCIAL WORKERS, 2007-05)For many survivors of serious road trauma, the physical and psychological consequences are complex and lifelong. The longer-term psychosocial recovery experience for survivors, however, is rarely documented in the social work literature. This article reports on findings from a study of road trauma recovery experiences. The findings are presented in relation to posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress experiences, as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the Impact of Event Scale. Data were collected from 79 anonymous self-administered postal surveys from participants who had received treatment in an Australian rehabilitation center following serious orthopedic injury. One-third of these survivors continued to experience serious psychological distress in the aftermath of road trauma and a range of other psychosocial consequences four years after their accident. Although 87 percent of the sample continued to experience posttraumatic stress difficulties, 99 percent reported experiences of posttraumatic growth. Implications of these findings for social work practice are discussed.
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ItemUnderstanding human development: A multidimensional approach(AUSTRALIAN INST FAMILY STUDIES, 2005)
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ItemAfter the accident: Survivors' perceptions of recovery following road trauma(Wiley, 2004-01-01)Road accidents affect thousands of lives each year in Australia. This article discusses findings from three years of research into survivors of major road trauma. The research aimed to examine how survivors of road trauma understood their own experiences of recovery, after sustaining serious orthopaedic injuries and undergoing rehabilitation at a Victorian rehabilitation centre. Seventy‐nine respondents completed a self‐administered survey and 24 of these respondents then participated in in‐depth telephone interviews. Using an ecological framework, the research focused on psychosocial and subjective factors in recovery. The qualitative aspects of recovery are presented – the analysis of perceptions of trauma, recovery, recovery resources and coping in the future. Four main themes of recovery are identified – finding a new fit, the privacy of suffering, anticipatory coping and survivor pride. These themes highlight the complexity of the recovery process.