Social Work - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 9 of 9
-
ItemSupporting young people following the February 2009 Victorian bushfires: The views of professionals( 2015)The purpose of this research was to better understand professionals’ views of service and community support provided to young people following the February 2009 Victorian bushfires (‘the bushfires’). Currently there is little research focused specifically on young people and natural disasters. The aim of this research was to contribute to improved levels of support for young people in the event of any future natural disaster. Ten professionals were interviewed for the research project, all of whom had direct professional experience in supporting young people affected by the bushfires. The respondents provided their views on the main topic of the study – the service and community response to support young people following the bushfires. They also contributed to investigation of the secondary topic of the study, by discussing the problems with the response to young people following the bushfires. The findings highlight the importance of supporting young people’s family relationships and peer relationships. The study also concluded that services need a high level of creativity and flexibility when providing support to young people; external services entering a community for the first time should support existing community structures such as local schools, youth groups and community organisations. Many of the findings drawn from the study hold implications for future practice and future research in natural disasters. As natural disasters are increasing in frequency globally, young people and their communities will continue to be significantly affected and the need for this type of research will also increase.
-
ItemTaking matters into their own hands: an exploration of being online and disaster-affected( 2015)While social workers have been involved in disaster recovery efforts in Australia and New Zealand, research investigating social work practice in this area is scarce. This has resulted in post-disaster social work practice in both countries being heavily influenced by insights gained from response and recovery experiences internationally. Crisis informatics research, which has predominantly focused on disasters outside Australia and New Zealand, has established the prevalence of disaster-related internet use and signalled the technology’s potential as a medium for post-disaster intervention. Despite priding itself as a discipline that is client-centred and encourages self-determination, existing social work literature has continued to ignore the role the internet plays in the lives of people who have been disaster-affected. This avoidance has led to a lack of understanding of the potential influence of internet use on individual post-disaster experiences and, more significantly, a limited inclusion of the technology in service delivery. The aim of this study was to further current understanding and knowledge on the disaster-affected online population residing in Australia and New Zealand. The study targeted internet users aged eighteen years old and above who identified as disaster- affected. Recruitment was limited to four types of disasters (bushfires, cyclones, earthquakes and floods) and required the experienced disaster to have occurred in either Australia or New Zealand. Using an online research methodology, the study collected qualitative and quantitative data via three instruments (the registration form, questionnaire and blog) posted on the project website from 216 participants. Utilising the uses and gratifications theory as a framework, the study examined participants’ perceptions of: the triggers for disaster-related use; their level of disaster exposure and overall impact; peer-to-peer interactions; patterns of help seeking and formal service utilisation; the influences of their internet use on their overall post-disaster experience; and, the internet’s usability in addressing unmet post-disaster needs. The study recruited participants through a mixture of placement and keyword targeted advertisements on Facebook and Google Adwords. This thesis reflects on the lived experiences of people who reported being disaster- affected and online in Australia and New Zealand. The findings indicate that there is considerable variation in the way the technology is experienced and used in long-term disaster recovery. The study highlighted that, in comparison to their peer-to-peer and content interactions, online service utilisation was only a small aspect of participants’ disaster-related use. More significantly, peer-to-peer interactions, instead of engagement with services, have provided participants with ‘insider information’, insights into coping and managing of psychosocial consequence related to the disaster, and furthered their overall understanding of disaster recovery. Overall, this thesis establishes the importance of the inclusion of technology in post-disaster interventions and its continued relevance in the long-term phase of the disaster. More specifically, it demonstrates that aspects of disaster-related internet use can influence the efficacy of post-disaster social work interventions.
-
ItemThe predominance of American influences on the establishment of social work education at the University of Melbourne 1920-1960( 2015)This dissertation examines the period 1920-1960 during which social work education in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria , was first established outside its local university, the University of Melbourne, then later adopted by the University when judged to have reached a suitable academic standard. It explores the extent to which its founders drew on British and American expertise using Everett Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovations through communication in networks as its theoretical underpinning. There is a widely held belief , among older social work alumni, that the course at the University of Melbourne originated from British medical social work. An examination of archival material both in the city of Melbourne and internationally has found that from the outset Victoria's social work proponents actively chose to follow American social work educational models, while drawing to a lesser degree on British expertise. The dissertation traces the emergence of social work education in America and Britain and discusses the reasons for their divergence in the early twentieth century. It outlines the parallel development of social work education in three Australian capital cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide in all of which social work education commenced outside the local universities. The influence of the traditional precursors of social work education, particularly the Charity Organisation Society, are investigated. The role of Jocelyn Hyslop, the founding Director of the Melbourne social work programme (which began outside the University in 1933) and her Melbourne employers and supporters who achieved success in 1940 in having the University take over social work education from the inaugural voluntary management committee is documented. The dissertation then traces the Department of Social Studies' fortunes throughout World War II and the period of post-war reconstruction tracking the way in which the standards of the course were guarded and an increasingly American approach was adopted. It shows how despite the subsequent University of Melbourne course losing some impetus in the 1950s the establishment of a range of national Australian networks and the emergence of new opinion leaders saw social work education continue to flourish. This American influenced Melbourne course made a crucial contribution to the establishment of social work education in Melbourne and nationally.
-
ItemExploring the feasibility and utility of microcredit programs in alleviating poverty of the rural aged in Bangladesh( 2015)ABSTRACT This study aimed to address effective policy initiatives to reduce poverty and social exclusion of the rural aged in Bangladesh by exploring the feasibility and utility of a microcredit program intervention. A multi methods approach was adopted utilizing literature review, policy and program analysis and two separate phases of fieldwork carried out in Bangladesh. The product was the design and expert review of a microcredit program model tailored to the needs of the rural elderly. Study findings suggested that an age-specific microcredit program was feasible and could be an effective intervention tool to reduce poverty, but would need to be part of an integrated support system. The PRIDE model elaborated in the thesis combines 1) microcredit, 2) savings, 3) insurance, with a linkage to 4) health and 5) other supports for sustainability. Recommendations in relation to future implementation and further development are made particularly in relation to non-government organizations, microfinance institutions, funders and ongoing advocacy for an effective ageing national policy. It is recognized that microcredit is not a panacea for poverty reduction and that effective implementation of the proposed program model would require both continuing aged policy reform and the sponsorship of national and international non-government organizations and funders.
-
ItemCommunity aged care management an exploratory study( 2015)This is a study of 30 community aged care managers from three employer sectors local government, health service, and non-government organisation, conducted in Victoria, Australia. It aims to firstly explore their demographic profile, education, employment, professional development, and networking opportunities, and secondly, to identify their key management responsibilities and experience of implementing community aged care. Data was collected via a mail-out questionnaire and face-to-face interview. Findings indicated that their responsibilities were human resource and financial management, and strategic planning. Budget responsibility was substantial with the majority responsible for budgets ranging from $5 to $20 million. There were three pathways to management: coming up through the ranks, moving on from nursing, allied health or social work, and moving on from service coordination or program management. Transition to management and learning to manage, were intertwined and were a significant rite of passage for each manager. Both informal and formal learning were seen to be complimentary, and necessary, and most managers had a management qualification. Learning needs reflected their three key responsibilities. Acquiring environmental knowledge, including information about government policies and funding, and the service system, was also important. Seven case studies demonstrate how these managers used their role to actively create community aged care service system structure and capability.
-
ItemAn exploratory study into the experience of healthcare professionals caring for adolescent and young adults (AYA) with cancer when cure is no longer the goal of care.( 2015)Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer are a unique subgroup within oncology due to specific medical and psychosocial needs. Palliative care in AYA oncology is largely an under researched area. Much of the research to date in palliative care has focussed on the paediatric and older adult populations. However, recent research illustrates that clinicians caring for young people with incurable disease identify this work to be challenging, although the reasons for this, and whether there are differences across professional disciplines, remains unknown. This study aimed to provide an understanding of the experience, degree of knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals caring for AYA patients with incurable cancer. The study was based at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a specialist cancer centre in Melbourne. A practice based, qualitative research methodology was employed comprising two phases. Phase I involved focus groups. Phase II involved semi structured in-depth interviews. Results are described by professional discipline. They highlight the challenges and enablers to practice, reported by professionals. The main challenges faced were: a lack of age-appropriate knowledge, experience and communication skills and insufficient organisational prioritisation of appropriate care for AYAs. The main enablers of good clinical care for AYAs were: a multidisciplinary approach to practice; age-appropriate education and skills and; support for staff. Recommendations arising from this research include a multipronged approach to improving service delivery comprising three areas. First, targeted professional development, education and training in age-appropriate care and communication. Second, greater organisational commitment to clinician skill development, increasing multidisciplinary forums for care planning, formalising staff support and improving hospital wide age-appropriate resources. Third, the development of policies, procedures and guidelines for these key areas.
-
ItemThe meaning of the lived-experience of couples with a traumatic spinal cord injury( 2015)The experience of a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) within the context of couple relationships is a clearly deserving area of research not only because of the substantial challenge the injury presents to the person with SCI and the partner, but also because of the detrimental impact the injury has on the relationship the couple share. Survivors of traumatic SCIs most likely require long-term care and this caring responsibility primarily falls on their partners who often fulfill the dual role of ‘lover’ and ‘caregiver’ and experience the great burden and stress of caregiving. Subsequently, rates of divorce and separation for people with SCI are reported to be high. Although relationship breakup has been frequently addressed in the literature, the experiences of couples who remain together following a traumatic SCI have not been fully explored. This qualitative study explores the meaning of the lived experience of couples in a relationship where one partner has sustained a traumatic SCI. The purpose of this study is to offer a deep and rich understanding about the challenges couples face in the events of SCI and how they negotiate these challenges, from a relationship perspective. A total of nine couples participated in this study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with the format of individual and joint interview were used, in order to allow the couples to give voice to their personal and shared experiences of SCI within the context of couple relationships. Using a descriptive analysis method, the exploration aimed to elicit the meanings of the lived experience, with sensitivity given to the especially close, intimate and interconnected nature of the couple relationship and the influence that this relationship has on couples in the injury experience. Three overarching themes emerged from the interview data, which included: 1) from shock, to tolerating emotional turmoil and the unknown, 2) intrusive interruption in the inner world of the couple, and the relationship the couple has with the outer world, and 3) alignment to change and gain out of loss. The findings of this study demonstrate that SCI presented a major disruption to ‘couplehood’, with its traumatic, intrusive and life-altering effects on their life together. The couples struggled to make sense of the injury events and experienced relational changes and losses in their lives, selves and relationships. Adjusting to this experience was overwhelming and stressful, and required both persons with SCI and their partners to reciprocally and meaningfully negotiate the consequences of SCI together. The findings suggest that the nature of the couple relationship and the influence this relationship has on couples in the injury experience needs to be acknowledged and understood. A key recommendation for practice includes the need to consider the couple as a unit of care, with recognition of the relational and shared challenges. In addition, this study recommends that healthcare professionals should develop ways to effectively discuss, understand and support the relationship, in order to assist and promote couples’ adjustment and adaption in the aftermath of SCI.
-
ItemSafety and resiliency at home: voices of children from a primary care population( 2015)Almost one quarter of Australian children experience family violence perpetrated by their father or step father which has significant health outcomes across the lifespan. However, some children who experience family violence are thought to be resilient. Children lack opportunities to have their voices heard, therefore children’s own understandings of their safety and resilience are often missing. As a site of early intervention, primary care is well placed to respond to these children. The aim of the research was to hear children’s voices about their safety and resilience in the context of family violence, and to determine an appropriate primary care response. Qualitative methodologies underpinned the research which involved semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 23 children and 18 mothers from primary care settings, all of whom had experienced family violence. I developed a child-centred approach utilising ethical and safe methods. A theoretical framework of ethics of care and dialogical ethics informed the research. Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis revealed that children and mothers understood children’s safety in the context of: awareness of family violence; whether the violence was named and by whom; who provided care and protection; and children’s sense of trust in relationships. Resilience was understood differently by children and mothers. Children understood their resilience according to social recognition of their achievements and talents. The children’s meaning was independent of adversity and aligned with the concept of relational self-worth. Mothers however, only understood children’s resilience with reference to the adversity their child had experienced. This was underpinned by the mother’s sense of responsibility for the adversity and the child’s apparent resilience despite this adversity. Understandings of safety and resiliency were further analysed to reveal the key finding that children required agency to negotiate their safety in the context of family violence and post-separation. A ‘model of children’s agency’ was developed to reflect the four factors that facilitated children’s agency: physical and emotional distance from the perpetrator; awareness of disruption or danger in the parental relationship; modelling of safety in relationships by non-violent adults; and the child’s sense of co-constructing family resiliency. To inform an appropriate primary care response, I also sought children’s and mothers’ understandings of primary care. Their insights focused on: questioning the role of primary care to respond to children experiencing family violence; the importance of knowing and modelling within the child-mother-health practitioner relationship; and the expectation that the health practitioner would facilitate communication about family violence. Using these insights, I proposed an approach based on collaboration, relationship and shared language, an ‘informed trialogue’ within the child-mother-health practitioner triad to foster children’s agency in the primary care consultation. The ‘informed trialogue’ guides the health practitioner to encourage and impart the ‘model of children’s agency’ by advocating physical and emotional distance from the perpetrator; building child awareness of family violence; supporting the modelling of safety in trusted relationships and demystifying family resiliency. The ‘model of children’s agency’ and the ‘informed trialogue’ bring children’s voices to the fore to inform primary care and those that work with children experiencing family violence.
-
ItemConsumer centred care in nephrology social work: understanding the psychosocial experiences of adult patients living with chronic kidney disease and their carer( 2015)Introduction Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) imposes a substantial burden on individuals and communities. It can have a profound impact on the wellbeing and quality of life of the individual diagnosed with the disease and also on their family. CKD is associated with complex psychosocial problems in both patients and their primary carer. Individual quality of life can be compromised through the experience of anxiety and depression, a reduced sense of hope, limited coping strategies and reduced social supports. The complex nature of CKD can result in a reduction in quality of life and can affect dyadic adjustment and lead to the development of learned helplessness in both the patient and their carer. Aim The aim of this longitudinal study was to explore the contextual and complex nature of the psychosocial experiences and implications of illness on both adult patients experiencing CKD and their carers. This was done to provide insight and understanding into the individual patient’s experience of CKD including the impact on their quality of life and the psychological experiences of the disease including hope, depression and anxiety, social support, coping. It also aimed to provide insight into the implications of the illness on dyadic adjustment and learned helplessness and into the psychosocial impact of CKD on carers. Method This is a case series study exploring a number of identified issues relevant to the renal population. It used previously validated tools over a 12 month period to explore the research questions presented in the thesis. "Controls" were not used as the published data already showed what the “norm” was or what the expected responses would be within a similar underlying population. The goal was to compare the current group of participants against the established norms and the patient scores against their carer’s scores. The number of participants were chosen by looking at other published studies exploring a similar question in a similar population. To support this methodology, minimal clinically important differences (MCID) were reported for the tools where a pre-established MCID had been reported in the literature. Findings This study has shown that: • Quality of life was compromised in the current patient participants. In particular the symptoms and problems of kidney disease, effects of kidney disease and physical component summary subscales of the KDQoL were the most compromised subscales in this population. These results are reflective of those previously reported in the literature. • In relation to carer perceptions of quality of life in patients, there was a lack of agreement between patient and carer perceptions of the patient’s quality of life. • In the overall participants, hope was not significant and did not correspond to high levels of quality of life. The participants reporting high levels of hope, however, also reported above average quality of life scores. • Anxiety and depression were not significant factors for the overall population, although higher levels of anxiety were reported by both patients and carers when compared to depression. This finding contradicts the previously reported literature. • The participants in this study used more emotion-focused coping strategies and fewer problem-focused coping strategies and this assisted them to develop coping strategies for dealing with illness intrusiveness. • Social support was high in the participants and in particular perceived support from family and significant others were the most frequently reported sources of social support. This high degree of support was reflected in normal to mild anxiety and depression scores for both patients and carers, thus supporting a limited number of studies in the literature. • Learned helplessness was not significant in the current study participants. Depression and anxiety were not significant in the minimal number of patients and carers who reported high levels of learned helplessness. • Dyadic adjustment was reported in fifty percent of the participating dyads in this study. Overall dyadic adjustment and in particular dyadic cohesion and affectional expression resulted in lower incidence of depression and anxiety and higher reported levels of hope. Conclusion In conclusion, this thesis offers a comprehensive, detailed and deeper understanding about the psychosocial experiences of patients across all stages of CKD and their nominated carer from an Australian perspective. CKD has a profound impact on patients’ and caregivers’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, relationships with family and friends, lifestyle, and roles and responsibilities. Despite facing the continuous and overwhelming challenges of CKD, the patients and caregivers in this study used an array of emotion-focused coping strategies, and formal and informal social supports to maintain a reasonable quality of life. Suggestions for future research and implications for social work practice are made.