Problem: Education and research on social work's role in preventing client suicide is limited. Method: Seventy advanced master of social work students were randomly assigned to either the training group (Question, Persuade, and Referral suicide gatekeeper training) or the control group. Outcomes measured over time included suicide knowledge, attitudes toward suicide prevention, self-efficacy, and skills. Results and Conclusion: Interaction effects between group assignment and time suggest improvement among the intervention group with regard to knowledge, efficacy to perform the gatekeeper role, and skills. Both groups improved over time for reluctance to engage with clients at risk for suicide, referral, and gatekeeper behaviors. The intervention group reported improved knowledge of resources and perceived preparedness. No changes in attitudes were observed.
Researchers surveyed licensed social workers from 5 Mid-Atlantic states to explore their perspectives on the current state of mental health and service delivery for military service workers, families, and contractors. Social workers identified needs in the following areas: mental health, physical health and wellness, social and environmental, interpersonal and family, and military-specific needs. The major ity of needs were most critical during the postdeployment stage. Education related to the observed needs was reported; social workers were most interested in learning about military culture and how to coordinate resources within the community to support the total military community. Suggestions for social work education and future research are discussed. R ecent deploym ent to Iraq and A fghanistan, specifically O peration Enduring Freedom and O peration Iraqi F reedom (O E F /O IF ), created an age o f "persistent conflict" (Casey, 2011, p. 1) for the international com munity. T he unique circum stances o f these conflicts directly affect soldiers and th e n fam ily m em bers. Researchers have shown that the m ental and physical health care needs o f returning U.S. service m em bers and their fam ilies are acute and steadily increasing (Flynn & H assan, 2010; H assan, Jackson, Lindsay, & Rank, 2010; Possem ato, Wade, A ndersen, & O uim ette, 2010). Som e o f the circum stances unique to the O E F /O IF conflicts include the m il itary's increased reliance on deploying R eservists and N ational G uard service m em bers (Hall, 2008), increased use o f m ultiple deploym ents, and shortened tim efram es betw een deploym ents (Honig, 2010). In addition, soldiers are returning hom e w ith m ore traum atic and serious injuries than in past m ilitary conflicts (Flynn & H assan, 2010).In addition to service m em bers' acute m ental health concerns resulting from com bat, the W hite H ouse (2011) recently reported that 9% o f service m em bers surveyed 3 to 6 m onths post com bat deploym ent reported sym ptom s o f posttraum atic stress disorder (PTSD), m ore than 27% reported sym ptom s o f depression, and m ore than 19% reported signs or sym ptom s o f traum atic brain injury (TBI). The influx o f soldiers and fam ilies requesting m ental health services has reached exponential proportions and extends w ell beyond the capacity o f the U.S. D epartm ent o f D efense (DoD ) and U.S. D epartm ent o f Veteran A ffairs' (VA) health care facilities and out patient resources (Taanielian et al., 2008). The current increase in dem and has resulted in a
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.