Social Work - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 49
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Family Violence and Abuse against Non-Parental Caregivers: An Australian Perspective
    MacRae, A ; Breman, R ; Vicary, D ; Shackelford, TK (SAGE Publications Ltd, 2021)
    There has been significant discourse around the use of language in the context of domestic and family violence and inconsistencies in language present in policy, legislation, practice, and research. This has resulted in the lack of agreement on a definitive and overarching description of domestic and family violence (Tinning, 2010; Boxall et al., 2015). The Australian Government has adopted the United Nations (1993: 3) definition which states that violence against women is gender-based and results in or is likely to result in physical or psychological harm.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Education in youth-friendly genetic counseling
    Holland, L ; Young, M-A ; Lewin, J ; Pearce, A ; Thompson, K (WILEY, 2021-08)
    Genetic counselors have long recognized the challenges of working with adolescents and young adults (AYA) and their families. In 2010, a framework of Youth-friendly Genetic Counseling was developed by an expert reference group with the aim to improve both care for AYAs and the experience of health professionals delivering that care. Subsequently, an education workshop was developed aimed to upskill genetic health professionals in youth-friendly genetic counseling. The workshop was piloted with genetic counselors in Australia and New Zealand. A purpose designed, pre- and post-workshop survey and post-workshop focus group was utilized for evaluation. Mean confidence scores increased pre- and post-workshop. Participants also demonstrated increases in knowledge regarding: adolescent development; developmental theory; social factors impacting on health; the needs of young people; practice challenges; youth-friendly engagement, communication, consent and confidentiality; practice approaches; principles of adolescent healthcare; ethical issues; and available services and resources. Focus group data revealed several themes relating to practice challenges, learning gains, barriers, and enablers to clinical translation and workshop feedback. Results demonstrate utility of the workshop in up-skilling genetic health professionals in the provision of youth-friendly genetic counseling. Consideration of adaptation and sustainability, by embedding this theoretical and skills-based workshop as a module within genetic counseling education, is required to ensure practice competence and the best health outcomes for young people and their families.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Stressors and Supports in Postdisaster Recovery: Experiences After the Black Saturday Bushfires
    Harms, L ; Gibbs, L ; Ireton, G ; MacDougall, C ; Brady, K ; Kosta, L ; Block, K ; Baker, E ; Gallagher, HC ; Kellett, C ; Forbes, D ; Bryant, R (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-07-03)
    Many studies show that long-term poor mental health outcomes for disaster-affected people are predicted by postdisaster stressors. Despite this finding, existing recovery frameworks vary in how these stressors are conceptualised. This paper examines community members’ subjective perceptions of what they found problematic and useful in their recoveries after the Australian 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and considers them in the light of these frameworks. We report the findings from responses to semi-structured survey questions as part of the Beyond Bushfires study, 3–4 years after these bushfires (n =811). Participants identified the biggest problems as managing rebuilding processes and managing their own mental health, memories of the Black Saturday fires, and their concerns for family members. The four most useful supports were family, friends, rebuilding resources, and their community. We found a complex interplay of the same factors operating as both stressors and supports, particularly in relation to family levels of coping. IMPLICATIONS Disaster recovery efforts require the simultaneous management of physical rebuilding and human processes. Families, friends, and neighbours are underestimated resources in postdisaster recovery. Given the complex interplay of the same factors operating as both stressors and supports, interventions are needed that maximise the positive dimensions of these factors. To manage this complexity, multiple frameworks are needed to guide disaster recovery.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Hierarchies of affectedness after disasters
    Brady, K ; Gibbs, L ; Harms, L (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2021-11)
    Disasters result in a range of impacts that significantly disrupt the health and wellbeing of those affected. After disasters, a hierarchy of affectedness may be explicitly or implicitly developed, where those affected are compared to each other, and to people affected by disasters in other locations. When an individual's sense of place is so significantly disrupted, these hierarchies are critical to improving the understanding of recovery trajectories, including mental health and well-being outcomes. These hierarchies have practical implications that influence the health outcomes of those affected, including eligibility for disaster aid, support services, and the way that people affected by disasters relate to others in their community. This paper expands the 'hierarchy of affectedness' concept coined by Andersen (2013) using findings from a qualitative study in Australia and New Zealand. Using a letter writing research method, twenty people who had been impacted by a range of disasters in different locations described what they considered helpful and unhelpful in the recovery. One emergent finding in this study was that hierarchies of affectedness are negotiated between impacted individuals, others affected in the same community, and outsiders. These hierarchies served as a helpful sense-making tool for some people impacted by disasters, while causing considerable secondary stress for others. Based on these findings, we offer an expansion to Andersen's existing model of hierarchies of affectedness in post-disaster settings.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    High-Risk Cases at the Intersection of Domestic/Family Violence and Child Protection: Learning from Practice
    Tsantefski, M ; Young, A ; Wilde, T ; O'Leary, P (SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS, 2021-11)
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Human capital and child protection: A research framework in the CRC context
    Wulczyn, F ; Parolini, A ; Huhr, S (PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2021-09)
    Since it was adopted November 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has shaped the objectives for child protection systems around the world. Generally, those objectives fall along three dimensions: permanency, safety, and well-being. However, despite well-being receiving increasing attention in light of evidence that points to the importance of early childhood experiences on life course outcomes, child protection systems have so far struggled to find clear definition of well-being as a developmental construct. In this article, we propose a definition of child well-being that draws on the economic literature pertaining to skill formation and human capital. We argue that human capital, as a multidimensional concept that incorporates cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, and health, should be added to the list of considerations policy makers contemplate when their attention turns to well-being provided there is research evidence for doing so. To that end, we discuss the several advantages the human capital framework offers within a child protection context. We then describe a theoretical framework and analytical approach to the study of skill formation. We are particularly interested in dynamic models wherein the skills one has influence the rate at which new skills are acquired, with specific emphasis on risk and protective factors across the life course of childhood. Overall, our discussion highlights how a dynamic model of human capital formation aligns with Convention on the Rights of the Child and notions that children in child protection systems have a right to develop the abilities they will need to be responsible adults.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Responding to Students Living with Domestic and Family Violence.
    Fogden, L ; Humphreys, C ; Allen, K-A ; Reupert, A ; Oades, L (Routledge, 2021)
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Australian parent and sibling perspectives on the impact of paediatric acquired brain injury on family relationships during the first 6 weeks at home.
    Hickey, L ; Anderson, V ; Jordan, B (Department of Social Work, The University of Melbourne, 2021)
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Tipping the Scales: Factors Influencing the Decision to Report Child Maltreatment in Primary Care
    Kuruppu, J ; McKibbin, G ; Humphreys, C ; Hegarty, K (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2020-07)
    Child maltreatment (CM) is an important public health issue linked to significant physical and mental health complications across the life span. Given the association between CM and health, general practitioners (GPs) and primary care nurses (PNs) are well-placed to identify and respond to this issue and are mandated to report suspected CM in many jurisdictions. Research has found that primary care doctors and nurses need support when responding to CM. This scoping review sought to answer the following question: What factors influence GPs and PNs decision to report CM when fulfilling their mandatory reporting duty? By exploring these factors, areas where support is needed were pinpointed. A systematic search was run across four databases: Medline (Ovid), PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL. Articles that reported on studies conducted in a location that had mandatory reporting legislation specific to CM and had a study population sampled from primary care were included in analysis. Thirty-three articles met the inclusion criteria. This review found that four principal factors influenced the decision to report CM: personal threshold of suspicion of abuse, relationship with the family, faith in the child protection system, and education and discussion. We conclude that improving the support and training to address these four areas may be beneficial for GPs and PNs in responding to CM.