Critical pedagogy seeks to link education to social change and often forms a basis for social work curriculum in some university courses. However, less of this emphasis is given to understanding critical supervision practice for social work students while on placement in terms of the development of a critical praxis. We believe critical approaches to supervision are an overlooked and crucial aspect to maintaining critical social work practice in current neoliberal welfare contexts. This article presents key approaches that we have found useful in constructing and realizing a critical approach to social work field supervision and ultimately, the future practice of students in their respective fields. This article contributes to an ongoing discussion and strengthened engagement in critical approaches to field supervision and supports the development of social work students as critical thinkers and practitioners.
Research which explores the experiences of women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse is, in the main, focused on young and middle-aged women. Recognition of their perspectives is limited in academic literature.Ostensibly, this reflects broader social issues of ageism. This study uses a feminist research approach to explore the personal stories of 16 Australian women aged 57 years and older who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It aims to feature their views and social contexts in light of how they managed the impact of childhood sexual abuse during their lives.The concepts of resistance and reconstruction have been developed as a basis for a thematic analysis of how the women have made sense of their experiences. Often, normative discourse regarding older women is negative or the nature of their lives marginalised, and this research aims to demonstrate the complexity and diversity of their perspectives, and to also provide a space for their insights to be recognised. In sharing their stories, the women contribute to knowledge regarding the patterns of gender and age-based inequality and how they enact agency in constructing subjectivities in difficult life circumstances. Furthermore, this project attempts to contribute to professional knowledge by developing anti-ageist practices for social work and human service workers. managing childhood sexual abuse. It is recognition that their stories are important:… because, so often in our history, events, however major their ramifications, occur at the level of the molecular, the minor, the little and the mundane. (Rose 1999, p. 11).In speaking about themselves and the issue of childhood sexual abuse, the women demonstrate how, at the level of the everyday, powerful and nuanced resistances and reconstructions work to challenge normalising discourse regarding gender, age and recovery. Fundamentally, I hoped to represent the narratives of the women in a way which did justice to their efforts to participate in the research and, most importantly, to their bold, undaunted and daring approaches which were sometimes humorous and optimistic, but oftentimes painful and confronting.
This qualitative organisational ethnography explores and analyses the ways in which a local government provided volunteer telephone support program for vulnerable and older members of the community, quickly adapted to continue working during the pandemic. Thematic analysis of data collected through researcher participation in 26 weekly zoom debrief sessions with local government staff and volunteers captures the experience of providing telephone support during a pandemic. Three key themes emerged as integral to the shaping and reshaping of the service. First, the importance of care and relationships in service provision.Second, the need for flexibility to make service change. Third, like a beating heart, the regular calls became part of the rhythm of life, providing certainty for staff, volunteers and those they called. This program offers a model for best practice in low cost, low risk, placebased interventions that can increase social connection for vulnerable community members. Implications Organisational flexibility and a focus on care and relationships underpin best practice human service deliverythis is emphasised in times of crisis Volunteer engagement, commitment and performance is enhanced by positive and caring relationships with paid staff. Befriending schemes can provide a vital means of social support that contributes to maintaining the health and wellbeing of the ageing population
BACKGROUND The demand for orthopaedic specialist consultation for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in public hospitals is large and continues to grow. Lengthy wait times are increasingly affecting patients from low socioeconomic and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds who are more likely to rely on public health care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to co-design a digital health intervention for patients with OA who are waiting for an orthopaedic specialist consultation at a public health service, which is located in local government areas (LGAs) of identified social and economic disadvantage. METHODS The stakeholders involved in the co-design process included the research team, end-users (patients), clinicians, academic experts, senior hospital staff and a research, design and development agency. The iterative co-design process comprised of several key phases, which included the collation and refinement of evidence-based information by the research team with assistance from academic experts. Structured interviews with 16 clinicians (sex: 10 female and six male) and 11 end-users (mean ± SD, age: 64.3 ± 7.2, sex: seven female and four male) of 1-hour duration were completed to understand the needs of the intervention. Weekly workshops were held with key stakeholders throughout the development. A different cohort of 15 end-users examined the feasibility of the study during a 2-week testing period (age: 61.5 ± 9.7, sex: 12 female and three male). The system usability scale (SUS) was utilized as the primary measure of the feasibility of the intervention. RESULTS Seven content modules were developed which were refined over several iterative rounds. Key themes highlighted in the clinician and end-user interviews were the diverse characteristics of patients, the hierarchical structure with which patients view health practitioners, the importance of delivering information in multiple formats (written, audio and visual) and access to patient-centered information as early as possible in the healthcare journey. All content was translated to Vietnamese, the most widely spoken language following English in the LGAs included in this study. Patients with hip and knee OA from diverse CALD backgrounds tested its feasibility. A mean score of 82.7 ± 16 was recorded for the SUS placing it in the excellent category for usability. CONCLUSIONS Through the co-design process, we developed an evidence-based, holistic and patient-centered digital health intervention. The intervention has been specifically designed to be used by patients from diverse backgrounds, including those with low health, digital and written literacy levels. The effectiveness of the intervention for improving the physical and mental health of patients will be determined by a high-quality randomized controlled trial.
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