Developing a Graduate Program in Community Psychology

Abstract

The present health care system is fragmented, uncoordinated, and too costly for the chronically ill, elderly patient. Project OPEN provides preventive health and social services in order to reduce costs and provide more effective care. This alternative delivery system is based on a consortium brokerage model which provides functional assessment, care plan development and service coordination. A randomized sample of 338 elderly individuals participated in a time series experiment. Client functional status, service utilization, and all health costs were collected for six months. The results indicated a maintenance in functioning levels, a decrease in acute hospitalizations, and a 20% reduction in health care costs for the demonstration participants as compared to the control group. Project OPEN provided more effective care while simultaneously reducing health expenditures to the chronically ill elderly.     

The environmental psychology of the hospital: Is the cure worse than the illness?

Abstract

This paper presents a framework and summarizes evidence bearing on the role that the physical environment plays in the prevention and reduction of psychological and social problems encountered by patients in acute care and psychiatric institutions. Factors that are considered important to preventive strategies include issues such as the spatial layout and design of hospital environments, privacy problems, personal control and independence, information interventions, hospital social relationships, and levels of environmental stimulation. Two case studies are utilized to illustrate these issues within the context of both acute care and psychiatric facilities in a large municipal hospital. Greatest emphasis is placed on the use of the physical environment in the promotion of primary and secondary prevention within tertiary care settings.     

Mental Health Treatment Experiences and Expectations in Foster Care: A Qualitative Investigation

This study explores perspectives on mental health treatment experiences and expectations for youth in foster care and their foster parents. In-depth interviews were conducted and identified for major themes: (1) the dual stigma of foster care and mental health care; (2) the lack of engagement in mental health therapy; (3) trust issues with the therapist and other individuals; and (4) the desire to integrate mental health services with primary care services. These results have implications for mental health service delivery and suggest opportunities to improve mental health treatment through an integrated care approach.     

Primary Prevention for Children:

This paper discusses the role of needs assessment procedures in the development of effective primary prevention strategies for children and youth. A number of techniques which may be employed in the assessment of need for such services are presented and their strengths and limitations for such application are discussed. Particular problems for needs assessment planning and implementation stemming from differences in the goals and objectives of preventive, as opposed to more traditional mental health services for children, are elaborated and possible strategies for their resolution suggested.     

The Status of Preventive Care for the Aged

Abstract

One response to the growing needs of the elderly is to expand the scope of preventive care from the younger and middle aged cohorts to include an emphasis on preventive care for older people. In the past it has been difficult to consider prevention and aging as concepts which could co-exist because we can neither cure nor prevent aging. The potential of preventive care to improve, maintain, or lessen decline in the quality of life of the elderly has not been included in the definition or mainstream of prevention activities. This study identifies and reviews research and programmatic activities which have been reported in the literature over the last ten years in the area of prevention and aging. Topical areas and methodological approaches are explored to define what has been considered appropriate preventive care for the elderly. An evaluation process, meta-analysis, is used to assess the therapeutic effect and overall effectiveness of techniques in prevention and aging. These findings can be used in formulating future initiatives related to aging and prevention.     

Assessing and meeting the health needs of Roman Catholic priests in the archdiocese of Chicago

In 1985, the Bishops' Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry recommended bishops form holistic health boards for their priests based on the results of a 1982 U.S. survey of Catholic priests. In 1995, a holistic health committee was formed under the office of the vicar for priests for the archdiocese of Chicago. One of the committee's first actions was to survey the priests of the archdiocese of Chicago to identify baseline health behaviors and needs. Survey results (n = 524; 52% response rate) revealed the need for the committee to promote health education, preventive care, and annual physicals. The committee conducted a series of health fairs, improved the insurance benefit for an annual physical, and conducted a series of health-related talks targeted to priests. A follow-up survey in 2006 (n = 389; 46% response rate) indicated improvements in health behaviors of the priests. Comparisons to statewide and national data indicate that overall, engagement in healthy behaviors is higher for priests than for men who are not priests.     

Rapid assessment of existing HIV prevention programming in a community mental health center

In preparation for implementation of a comprehensive HIV prevention program in a Community Mental Health Center for persons with mental illness who are also abusing substances, a rapid assessment procedure (RAP) of existing prevention services that may have developed in the setting over time was undertaken at baseline. In addition to an ecological assessment of the availability of HIV-related information that was available on-site, in-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with Center administrators, direct-care staff, and mental health consumers. Results indicated that responses regarding available services differed depending upon type of respondent, with administration reporting greater availability of preventive programs and educational materials than did direct-care staff or mental health consumers themselves. But overall, formalized training on HIV prevention by case managers is extremely rare. Case managers felt that other providers, such as doctors or nurses, were more appropriate to deliver an HIV prevention intervention.     

新中国成立初期上海助产士的式微及其原因(1949-1966)

助产士是20世纪中国妇幼卫生工作的主要力量。中华人民共和国成立后,助产事业得以延续。因中等卫生教育培养模式趋向全科,助产教育呈式微态势。新老助产士进入国家妇幼保健体系后,其层级定位是既要向上"助"产科医师,又要向下"启"接生员,然而,实际工作中助产士与产科医师间的明确职权界限、助产士与接生员间的业务竞争关系成为助产士进一步式微的原因。加之分娩医疗化趋势、助产士无独立职称体系等新困境出现,助产士一职最终被国家卫生部门划入护士序列。     

School Mental Health's Response to Terrorism and Disaster

Abstract

The events of September 11,2001, have underscored the mental health needs of youth and families, and amplified the advantages of proactively bringing a range of mental health services to them, where they are, in natural settings such as schools. Further, there is increasing momentum for the enhancement of coordinated and comprehensive school-based approaches that seek to effectively respond to significant crises such as terrorist attacks and disaster. This article explores key themes related to school mental health's response to terrorism and disaster. Following review of background literature on child and adult reactions to trauma, we discuss the development of crisis response teams, and present a range of strategies for schools to respond to crises and disaster. The experiences of one elementary school in responding to the events of September 11 are presented, followed by review of critical challenges facing schools and school mental health programs in improving their ability to respond to significant crises.     

I’m From the Government and I’m Here to Help: How Can Public Health Perspectives Improve Outreach in Child Maltreatment Prevention Programs?

State and local governments are designing programs to prevent child maltreatment at an increasing rate. A relatively small portion of families offered these programs go on to engage in and complete services. Workers in a child maltreatment prevention program implemented across 21 sites in 1 state documented outreach efforts in logs maintained by program evaluators. Additionally, evaluators interviewed 23 outreach workers and supervisors who were developing and refining outreach strategies in this prevention program. Data from logs and responses to interviews speak to challenges in navigating prevention outreach with families to achieve engagement and buy-in, particularly when “cold-calling” about screened-out reports of child maltreatment. This paper presents a summary of barriers and facilitators of family engagement in outreach for prevention services, guidance from the public health literature on improving outreach strategies for at-risk populations, and suggested practice, policy, and research implications.     

A Research Revolution in Women's Health

SUMMARY

Women's health research initiatives are emerging with evidence that there are unique diagnosis and intervention factors that provide a window into the specific health needs of women. The evidence of the need for this gender-specific research is being spurred by the establishment of The Office of Research on Women's Health by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A review of some of the more current and salient research findings that apply to women's health and the health needs of women in different lifestyles, at different stages of the life cycle is discussed. Also considered are women's roles in the health service delivery system and where they fit into the provision of services within the context of women's styles of accessing and using health care. Self-help and other support programs will be described as they apply specifically to women and a case will be made for providing comprehensive, multi-systemic women's health services in one facility at the community level through an overview of some of the more current and successful models.     

A case study in public child welfare: county-level practices that address racial disparity in foster care placement

Racial disproportionality has been a longstanding issue within child welfare. The continued overrepresentation of black children in the foster care system is troubling. The authors of this article conducted a case study of two counties in New York State that have steadily decreased the number of black children in foster care in an effort to identify what aspects of their child welfare practice impacted the decline. The case study employed document analysis, in-depth interviews, and focus groups with child removal decision makers. Utilizing a grounded theory approach to content organization and analysis, several themes emerged as noticeable factors. Some of the most salient themes included preventive services and resources, community collaborations, case practice development, family meetings, workforce diversity, the court system, and, the most unique, blind removal meetings. The themes found in this study present promising practices to assist in decreasing the racial disparity in child welfare removal decisions.     

Four Mechanisms for Safeguarding the Effectiveness of the Human Rights Action Plan: Based on African Experience

Since the 1993 World Conference on human Rights, nine African countries have implemented ten human rights action plans. An analysis of the texts and related implementation of these plans reveals that there are four mechanisms that play a key role in improving the effectiveness of the implementation of the national human Rights Action Plan, namely, the positioning and focusing mechanism for the country's core human rights issues, the integration mechanism between the action plans and the countries' development strategies, domestic economic growth and related resources utilization mechanism, and effective governance of domestic public conflicts and public order guarantee mechanism. defining and coordinating these mechanisms is of great practical significance for improving the effectiveness of human rights action plans in developing countries.     

Preventing Homelessness: An Examination of the Transition Resource Action Center

Each year in the United States, as adolescents age out or are emancipated from the foster care system, they are at risk of experiencing homelessness. It is essential that services and programs focus on encouraging and supporting youth in transition from foster care to a life of independence, and The Transition Resource Action Center (TRAC) strives to provide these services. The researchers sought to determine if TRAC's residential program provides their clients with a chance of a stable life (e.g., housing, employment, health care). Findings suggest that fewer clients of TRAC became homeless and more acquired transitional or temporary housing from screening 1 to screening 2, demonstrating promise that these services have fostered change in the lives of their clients.     

Evaluation of an Incentive System at a Summer Camp for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

SUMMARY

Children who are homeless often experience emotional and behavioral problems. They also may have difficulty interacting with peers. Programs designed to reward positive behaviors may be successful in improving behavioral functioning for children experiencing emotional distress due to homelessness and related risk factors. Families experiencing homelessness may have a difficult time accessing mental health services. School settings may be optimal environments for implementing programs to improve behavioral and social development for these children. In this paper, we describe the implementation and outcomes of an incentive system, developed to improve school behaviors and interactions for children experiencing homelessness. This system was implemented during a summer camp designed to enrich reading skills. Teachers and aides administered bracelets as secondary reinforcers for positive and prosocial behaviors. Children could purchase primary reinforcers, such as toys and art supplies, with the bracelets. Results were positive, supporting project activities. Future programs and evaluation projects should focus on delivering and evaluating prevention and therapy services for youth experiencing homelessness.     

非正规的“正规化”:劳动力市场分割与家政服务企业——基于2019年四个城市的家政工人调查

在非正规就业盛行的家政市场,家政服务企业的重要性日益凸显,亟待考察这些劳动力市场中介机构的就业效果。通过分析2019年四个城市的家政工人调查数据,发现家政服务企业的发展可能会影响家政业内不同工种的收入差距,改变非正规就业市场的原有结构。伴随管理者企业的介入,家务员收入大幅提升,母婴护理员和家庭保洁员的收入则出现下降。家政企业对工人收入的改善和工作正规化的促进作用是有限的。本文不仅呈现了家政就业市场内部的异质性,为家政工作的正规化讨论提供中国经验数据,还指出劳动力市场中介机构在以女性为主的非正规就业市场上的特殊性,具有一定政策意义。     

非正规的“正规化”:劳动力市场分割与家政服务企业——基于2019年四个城市的家政工人调查

在非正规就业盛行的家政市场,家政服务企业的重要性日益凸显,亟待考察这些劳动力市场中介机构的就业效果。通过分析2019年四个城市的家政工人调查数据,发现家政服务企业的发展可能会影响家政业内不同工种的收入差距,改变非正规就业市场的原有结构。伴随管理者企业的介入,家务员收入大幅提升,母婴护理员和家庭保洁员的收入则出现下降。家政企业对工人收入的改善和工作正规化的促进作用是有限的。本文不仅呈现了家政就业市场内部的异质性,为家政工作的正规化讨论提供中国经验数据,还指出劳动力市场中介机构在以女性为主的非正规就业市场上的特殊性,具有一定政策意义。     

Examining the Role of School Resource Officers on School Safety and Crisis Response Teams

School resource officers (SROs) are being increasingly employed in schools to respond to incidents of school violence and to help address safety concerns among students and staff. While previous research on school safety and crisis teams has examined the role of school mental health professionals’ and administrators, fewer studies have evaluated the role of the SRO. The current study examined differences between SROs, school administrators, and school mental health professionals (i.e., school psychologists, school counselors, social workers) regarding experiences with crisis events, as well as perceived effectiveness of crisis prevention and response strategies. The most common crisis events across professionals included student assaults, drug offenses, and mandated child abuse and neglect reporting. While SROs and school mental health professionals had similar ratings of school safety strategies, school administrators had less effective appraisals of crisis response plans and crisis postvention activities. Implications for practice and future directions for research are reviewed.     

卫生行政与妇女保健实践:20世纪50年代精神预防性无痛分娩法在上海

精神预防性无痛分娩法的推行是中华人民共和国成立初期国家卫生行政对妇女保健实践的一次直接介入,该法学自同属社会主义阵营的苏联,符合新中国"以预防为主"的卫生工作方针。得益于妇产医学精英在技术研究和各界在宣传教育中的努力,上海在推行中取得不错的成绩,成为全国的标杆。在经历了高潮和重振等阶段后,精神预防性无痛分娩法退出了历史舞台,但其在彰显社会主义优越性、改造医学界思想和改善医务人员工作态度方面起到较好的作用。对于接受精神预防性无痛分娩法的妇女而言,实际"痛与不痛"已不重要,其从无痛分娩法所要求的住院分娩、自然分娩中获益良多。