Authors:Jennifer M. Frank et al. Abstract: Social isolation is closely linked to overall health and well-being and is a serious concern for those in rural areas. Our research seeks insights into the needs experienced in poor rural areas by utilizing letter writing between students and community agency participants as a research methodology. In the letters, we observed that community participants relied upon friend and family style relationships and even viewed their agency relationships as such. This suggests that transforming "professional helping relationships" into alliances that are less impersonal might be in order. Such relationships and connections seemed conducive to the development of empowering self-efficacy. This finding prompts questions regarding the type and quality of relationships that are built and sustained by providers at rural community-based organizations. PubDate: Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:11:25 PST
Authors:Dana C. Branson Abstract: Experiential learning is the cornerstone of social work education and has been shown to be highly beneficial to students, especially with increased self-confidence in skills, interest in similar work post-graduation, cultural humility, application of theory to practice, problem solving skills, and critical thinking. Additionally, experiential learning opportunities support the nine competencies of social work education and provides students with an opportunity to try out their budding skills with the guidance and supervision of seasoned social workers. This paper discusses an innovative course project that allowed a group of social work students to engage in macro-level social work practice and grant writing with a rural Missouri county that struggles with high poverty rates, health disparities, and the digital divide. Additional topics discussed are the benefits to the community, students, and agency partners; increased interest in macro-level social work; dedication to rural practice; and the overall evaluation of the project. PubDate: Sun, 19 Feb 2023 13:11:46 PST
Authors:Michael L. Burford et al. Abstract: This study explores regional differences in student learning outcomes from pre and post-test surveys of undergraduate and first year graduate social work students (N = 373) enrolled in a social welfare policy class at six different CSWE accredited institutions. As expected, overall results showed a shift in student attitudes away from a personal deficiency explanation for poverty, a decline in stigmatization of poverty, and toward a more structural explanation for the causes of poverty, but significant differences were reported by geographical region. Future research should explore the instructor, pedagogical, and geographical factors that may help of hinder attitudinal preparation for practice social work students. PubDate: Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:12:17 PDT
Authors:Whitney Cassity-Caywood et al. Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for human service providers, especially as face-to-face services were limited by both formal and informal efforts to protect public health. Telehealth has emerged as a main strategy to ensure continuity of care. This study explored adaptations to services in child advocacy centers (CACs) and sexual violence resource centers (SVRCs) across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, particularly using telehealth. This study highlights respondents’ suggestions about improving these service delivery systems and the particular emphasis on challenges and strengths of telehealth for reaching those in rural areas. PubDate: Mon, 26 Sep 2022 13:36:55 PDT
Authors:Becky F. Antle et al. Abstract: This study utilized qualitative focus groups with rural health providers and patients to explore barriers to implementation of a technology-based mental health intervention for the treatment of depression in a primary care setting. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was implemented in both urban and rural primary care practices to test the feasibility and effectiveness of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) for depression. Early implementation identified lower rates of willingness to participate in the intervention by rural patients. Subsequently, focus groups were conducted with rural providers and patients to explore barriers to participation and strategies to overcome these barriers in future implementation efforts. Two focus groups of five to seven participants each were conducted to understand patient experiences. Groups lasted approximately one hour and were recorded and transcribed for coding purposes. Key themes identified about barriers to use of CCBT by rural patients emerged included: 1) technical barriers, 2) stigma, 3) distrust of outsiders, 4) effort/motivational barriers, and 5) staff resistance/frustration. Conversely, several positive themes related to supports for CCBT also emerged, including: 1) readiness to change/symptom severity, 2) program supports and incentives, 3) clinician support, 4) components of the intervention, and 5) individual patient characteristics. PubDate: Tue, 20 Sep 2022 13:37:06 PDT
Authors:Michelle M. Levy et al. Abstract: Workforce shortages in behavioral health are a longstanding reality in most rural areas. Given the increasing impact of mental health and substance abuse in rural communities, it is critical to seek solutions to address the inadequate number of behavioral health professions in these areas. This paper focuses on a university’s efforts to prepare and support master’s level social workers for practice in their rural and frontier communities to address behavioral health workforce shortages. PubDate: Mon, 19 Sep 2022 13:31:51 PDT
Authors:Abby E. Blankenship et al. Abstract: The suicide rate among agriculturalists is 3.5 times higher than the general population. A number of external factors related to the farming and veterinary work put individuals in agricultural populations at risk for poor mental health outcomes, including economic variables (e.g. tariffs, market prices), environmental factors affecting yield (e.g. drought, pests), and exposure to difficult or traumatic life events (e.g., mistreatment of animals, loss of crop). Rural values including self-reliance, work orientation, and individualism combined with logistical and systemic barriers to competent behavioral health care further increase risk. Project GROW (Generating Resilience in Our Workforce) is a multifaceted full semester program designed to train agriculture students in how to be mental health advocates in order to address the mental health and suicide crisis among farmers in the state of Texas. PubDate: Thu, 17 Mar 2022 07:57:22 PDT
Authors:Shani Collins Woods Abstract: The social work profession is rooted in community-based work that seeks to eradicate social injustice everywhere. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global phenomenon which impacts women from diverse socio-economic and racial/ethnic backgrounds. It involves power and control, economic abuse, and physical and sexual violence. When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, African American women are likelier to experience physical violence, rape, and homicide. Intimate partner violence among African American women is a social justice issue.When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, rural and/or low-income African American women are likelier to experience IPV. They are also likelier to experience psychosocial challenges and negative physical health outcomes due to the lack of availability, accessibility, and quality of IPV services. Individual, relationship, and community factors such as aggression, economic stress, and societal norms that uphold patriarchy contribute to IPV among rural, African American women. Social work practitioners, educators, practitioners, and researchers are uniquely qualified to use multi-level interventions to address the causes of IPV among rural, African American women. This work presents multi-level solutions to dismantle oppression and violence against rural, African American women. Such solutions would help improve economic, social, mental and physical health outcomes for rural and underserved communities largely impacted by IPV. PubDate: Tue, 08 Mar 2022 06:57:21 PST
Authors:Ebony L. Hall Lang et al. Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess health of a rural Texas community in efforts to better understand and develop a plan of action for developing community intervention for increasing availability of human resources. Researchers asked various questions to understand the availability and accessibility of resources within a rural community using a community needs assessment approach. Participants were recruited by the researchers directly within the community using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The sample size included 361 participants in a rural community. The overall quality of life for the rural participants was slightly lower than what researchers considered to be healthy. Participants also indicated that the current resources within the rural community did not meet the needs for mental health (54%; n = 195), physical health (46.8%; n = 169), or social services (55.4%; n = 200). Implications for such findings suggest the need for strength-based collaboration and services informed by the communities themselves. PubDate: Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:56:19 PST
Authors:Jody Long et al. Abstract: During graduate school internship training, some students wear more formal attire and others casual attire. This study’s purpose was to explore rural areas clients’ preference for graduate social work interns’ attire. Clients from internship sites located in a rural southern location were asked their attire preferences based on comfort and confidence levels, degree of warmth, returning appointments, and during a crisis. One hundred and twenty-six subjects participated in the study and responded that casual dress was preferred in terms of specific impressions. The results of the study were to build rapport; graduate social work interns should consider their clientele when deciding on attire. PubDate: Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:56:09 PST
Authors:Michael R. Daley Abstract: Environmental justice concerns affect rural communities and the people who are members of them. Social workers’ long-standing involvement in improving living conditions of the people and communities with whom they work make environmental justice an important responsibility. Yet there is a rural-urban divide on topics related to the environment, and rural and urban communities tend to establish different environmental priorities. Rural communities tend to prioritize local conditions and solutions over global and societal ones. Rural people distrust national policies especially those established by governmental as not being responsive to their interest. Some common environmental rural problems are identified. Environmental justice intervention for rural social workers should involve humility in understanding the local culture, judicious use of language, and involvement of local people in environmental assessments and interventions. PubDate: Tue, 01 Mar 2022 10:55:52 PST
Authors:Kristina M. Hash et al. Abstract: Scott’s Run has a rich history as a tight-knit, coal-built community in the heart of rural Appalachia. To learn more about the lives of the community members during the Depression Era, an interdisciplinary research team from five departments at a major university in the state conducted an oral history project focused on historical photos of the community. Individuals who grew up in the area reviewed photographs taken early in the 20th century and provided information and shared stories related to the time and place of the images for context. The interviews uncovered key themes that told a much more positive story of the area than previously recorded in histories: progressive race relations, the remarkable sense of “family” among community members, and the importance of a social service organization, shared experiences of mining, and surviving many floods to the development of that sense of family among members of the Scott’s Run community. Also, as a result of the interviews, more accurate descriptions or “tags” of the photos were provided. This project involved students from social work and other disciplines and also informed content throughout a macro HBSE course. PubDate: Tue, 14 Jul 2020 15:42:37 PDT
Authors:Jose Carbajal et al. Abstract: This study investigates women’s experiences as they ascended to leadership roles in nonprofit organizations in rural communities, primarily in East Texas. The aim of this study is to understand the lived experiences of women in top management as they ascend into leadership positions, as the characteristics and experiences of effective leaders in rural nonprofits may differ from those of urban nonprofit agencies. There is limited research regarding women’s leadership experiences in rural nonprofit organizations. Using a phenomenological inquiry approach, we interviewed 32 women currently serving in leadership roles in rural nonprofit organizations. The research question guiding this phenomenological study was: What are female leaders’ lived experiences as they ascend to leadership positions' The interviews were audio recorded and professionally transcribed. Grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. A total of 155 emergent themes were extracted by triangulation. After the major themes were extracted, 17 selective themes were identified based on leadership. The selective themes were condensed to three themes: 1) Leadership ascension, with six sub-themes of experience, micro-aggression, support, mentoring, training, and networking; 2) Leadership attributes; and 3) Leadership longevity. Despite the small number of participants, this in-depth study highlights the lived experiences of women leaders, providing a platform for further exploration into these experiences, especially in rural settings. Women in this study did not have an intentional leadership trajectory but rather were promoted within the organization. We found that gender impacts women’s leadership experiences. We also found that relational leadership styles in rural communities makes a difference for career longevity, and women consider honesty, compassion, integrity, self-awareness, and being a people person to be leadership attributes. PubDate: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:42:52 PDT
Authors:Whitney Cassity-Caywood Abstract: Mental health care and illness prevention present distinct challenges in rural areas with limited resources. This paper examines rural-specific mental health care concerns and uses a public health prevention model to discuss the most current and prolific strategies to address these issues. The unique role of the social work profession in implementing these strategies is highlighted. PubDate: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 09:08:08 PDT
Authors:Leah Hamilton et al. Abstract: The availability of quality macro education is a critical determinant to policy engagement among social workers, especially for those in geographically isolated areas. This mixed methods, pilot study compares self-assessed CSWE policy competencies of graduating MSW students who completed an Advanced Advocacy Practice course with a comparison group. Student course reflections were also analyzed for common themes. Results indicate that students who completed the course rated themselves higher across policy competencies than graduating MSW students who had not completed the course. They were also more likely to see policy advocacy as a “primary skill” for social workers. Qualitative analysis suggests that participants gained greater confidence in their macro practice skills. This pilot study provides an important contribution to the limited existent research on best practices for social work policy education, especially for those in rural areas. PubDate: Fri, 03 Apr 2020 13:57:36 PDT
Authors:Pamela C. Twiss Abstract: While social work education and literature includes a growing body of work focused on environmental justice and the role of social work in addressing environmental injustices, limited attention has been paid to the disproportionate impact of these issues in rural areas. Many rural places can be more accurately described as rural-industrial in character. They produce the world’s food through highly mechanized agro-businesses, its timber, and much of its fossil fuels through large mining and drilling operations, each presenting threats to the surrounding environment and local peoples. This work describes environmental issues and injustices common to select large-scale rural industries, discusses social work concerns related to these issues, and presents two case studies that can be used in social work education to promote critical thinking and social work problem solving at the individual, family, and community practice levels. PubDate: Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:52:19 PDT
Authors:Colin Turbett Abstract: The idea that social work in rural areas in Scotland might best be based on different approaches to those used in urban areas (where the vast majority of the population live) has received scant attention in recent years. There is a dearth of research on which to plan services that fit with such a notion. However, given the Scottish Government’s emphasis on community engagement, this is of interest. This Insight looks at the particularities of the rural context, the policy framework, and goes on to describe approaches that can be used to help social workers living and working in rural Scotland. These form a major part of Scotland’s landmass and are home to a number of Scotland’s local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs). PubDate: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 15:02:27 PST
Authors:Rolanda L. Ward Abstract: The fortitude of an isolated community is lived through the words of the writers. While Spatig and Amerikaner sought to examine the cultural norms and experiences of girls in a community not on the radar of most, they were surprised to find themselves a part of the story. Their struggle with this unexpected development, ultimately leads the reader to the conclusion that community work is not only transformative for the youth who are served, but also the professionals who serve them, and the researchers who seek to work in partnership to record their journey. This text challenges social science researchers to see the Lincoln County community, not as participants, but as partners, and, at times, collaborative ethnographers. PubDate: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 17:22:15 PST
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