Publications

Andersen, T. (2019). Aging. In M. Bird (Ed.), Guide to Social Work Careers, Your Journey to Advocacy (pp. 85-97). Los Angeles: SAGE Publishing.                                                    

• The SAGE Guide to Social Work Careers presents first-hand stories from practitioners to help inform, inspire, and guide students to become advocates for social justice issues. With a unique focus on advocacy and social justice, author Melissa Bird covers fundamentals of the social work profession―from coalition building to advocacy engagement and stakeholder outreach―across a range of practice areas, such as mental health, substance use, and criminal justice. Students in BSW and MSW programs will gain practical knowledge that will prepare them to successfully navigate their way to a rewarding career.

Bennett, T. (2019). Investigating the influence of gender, age, and camp type on the outcome achievements of youth under ten years of age at summer camp. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 11(3), 191-206. Go to journal article

• This study investigated the influence of gender, age, and camp type on outcome achievements for children (aged 6 to 10) at summer camp. The outcome achievements measured were affinity for exploration, affinity for nature, camp connectedness, friendship skills, independence, perceived competence, problem-solving confidence, responsibility, and teamwork skills. Three hundred thirteen campers were sampled from American Camp Association–accredited day and resident camps. Controlling for camper age, the study found an interaction effect between the type of camp attended and the gender of campers. Discriminant analysis indicated that differences were primarily due to achievements on the outcomes of affinity for nature and perceived competence.

Bettmann, J. E., Prince, K. C., Hardy, C. J., & Dwumah, P. (2019). Measuring mental health differences between Ghanaian and U.S. adults. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development. First published online: 4 April 2019. Go to journal article

• Differences between Ghanaian (n = 465) and U.S. (n = 425) college students on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist‐25 (HSCL‐25; Mollica, Wyshak, de Marneffe, Khuon, & Lavelle, 1987) were examined. Compared with their U.S. counterparts, Ghanaians reported less general distress related to anxiety and depression, more anxiety‐specific distress, and no differences in depression‐specific distress. A multidimensional approach may be most appropriate in HSCL‐25 screening for symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Bettmann, J. E. (2019). Evidence-based psychotherapy with adolescents: A primer for new clinicians. New York: Oxford University Press.

• Most courses in counseling, social work, therapy, and clinical psychology programs lump clinical work with "children and adolescents" together into a single unit while the social, emotional, physical, and neurobiological development of youth is often only a portion of a development course that covers the entire human lifespan. The consequence is twofold: department chairs, accrediting agencies, administrators, and faculty are tasked with covering too much content in too few course hours; and graduate students and beginning practitioners are woefully unprepared for working with difficult populations, including teenagers and young adults. Evidence-Based Psychotherapy with Adolescents helps new clinicians learn how to conduct psychotherapy with adolescents from a place of understanding and empathy. A complete guide that empowers readers with the insight and tools necessary to support adolescents as they progress towards adulthood, this book effectively builds the core skill sets of students and new clinicians in social work, psychology, psychiatry, and marriage and family therapy.

Gardett, I., Broadbent, M., Scott, G., Clawson, J. J., & Olola, C. (2019). Availability and Use of an Automated External Defibrillator at Emergency Medical Dispatch. Prehospital Emergency Care, 23(5), 683-690. Go to journal article

• The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of automatic external defibrillator (AED) retrieval and placement by bystander callers when prompted by an Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD). AEDs are reported as available by only a small percentage of callers to 911, and in the majority of cases in which a bystander rescuer is sent to retrieve an AED, one is never located or used. Sending someone to retrieve the AED may be more appropriate in multiple-rescuer situations than when a single bystander rescuer is alone on scene.

Scott, G., Broadbent, M., Gardett, I., Srilakshmi, S., Clawson, J., & Olola, C. (2019). Barriers Significantly Influence Time to Bystander Compressions in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response, 7(1), 17-23. Go to journal article

• Rapid identification of sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and delivery of bystander chest compressions in patients with ventricular fibrillation are key elements in the chain of survival. However, time to bystander compressions can be greatly affected by a wide variety of barriers, some beyond an emergency medical dispatcher’s (EMDs) control. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the impact that barriers have on the time taken to achieve bystander compressions for suspected OHCAs. New instructions and modified scripting of protocols should be investigated to guide trained and certified EMDs in managing a wide variety of barrier types. Future studies should specifically investigate whether modified or new instructions reduce time to bystander compressions and/or increase survival from OHCA.

Gardett, I., Scott, G., Broadbent, M., & Olola, C. (2019). Situational Awareness in Emergency Medical Dispatch: An Observation Study and Proposed Model. Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response, 7(2), 16-22. Go to journal article

• Situational awareness (SA) is the ability to take in relevant information about an event in order to understand it and take effective action. Maintaining effective SA as an emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) may be more difficult than in other, similarly complex roles because of the remote nature of an emergency call for help. This study attempts to provide insight on one remote SA situation by reporting on a simulation study in which cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructions were provided over the phone to laypeople, whose behavior was observed by researchers as they performed the instructed actions (or didn’t). The results of the metronome case study suggest a model of SA for EMDs as they gather, interpret, and transmit information for the caller, the team, and the entire profession. Future studies will evaluate the best ways to integrate SA into protocol development and how best to measure and assess it through quality assurance.

Lindfors, R., Shultz, B., Scott, G., Gardett, I., Broadbent, M., Srilakshmi, S., Lawrence, R., Garrison, D., Smith, S., Stout, T., Gay, M., Taigman, M., Clawson, J., & Olola, C. (2019). Emergency Medical Dispatch Identification of Opioid Overdose and Frequency of Naloxone Administration on Scene. Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response, 7(2), 10-15. Go to journal article

• Opioid overdoses have reached crisis proportions. One response has been to increase the availability of naloxone HCl (commonly referred to by the generic name naloxone), which reverses the effects of opioid overdose. The Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®) includes instructions by which the Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) can prompt the caller to find and use naloxone on overdose victims. However, these instructions are only provided on dispatch Chief Complaint (CC) Protocols on which overdoses are expected to be handled. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of CC Protocols and determinant codes on which overdose (or likely overdose) cases were handled. The secondary objective was to characterize the frequency of naloxone administration on scene by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and relate this to patient acuity. Suspected overdoses are frequently not reported as overdoses. Understanding how opioid overdoses are initially reported to 911 can inform dispatch protocol development, so as to improve identification of opioid overdose and increase the provision of naloxone instructions.

Kuttner, P., Byrne, K., Schmit, K., & Munro, S. (2019). The art of convening: How community engagement professionals build place-based community-university partnerships for systemic change.  Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 23(1), 131-160. Go to journal article

• Over the past 50 years, colleges and universities have taken on increasingly important roles as anchor institutions in U.S. cities, partnering with local communities to promote development and well-being. Such community–campus partnerships rely on the work of community engagement professionals (CEPs), staff tasked with administering, coordinating, supporting, and leading engagement efforts at institutions of higher education. The preliminary competency model for community engagement professionals lays out the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and commitments needed to perform this work. However, place-based approaches to engagement have been underrepresented in the emerging literature. The authors contribute to this conversation with a case study of partnership management work at University Neighborhood Partners at the University of Utah. Through this case, we highlight key competencies for engaging in place-based community development, suggest additional competency areas for the model, and explore how an understanding of CEP competencies is enriched and complicated by staff positionality.

Keeshin, B., Shepard, L. D., & Byrne, K. A. (in press). Trauma-informed care and treatment. In A. Sirotnak & T. Laskey (Eds.), Child abuse: Medical diagnosis and management (4th ed., pp. 1059-1092). Itasca, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.

• This chapter presents what pediatric providers need to know and do to provide Trauma-Informed Care. The first few sections define Trauma-Informed Care, review its application in primary care, and describe the role of the pediatric provider. The remainder of the chapter is more directive in what pediatric providers need to know and do about trauma, particularly for abused or maltreated children.

Cambron, C., Kosterman, R., Rhew, I. C., Catalano, R. F., Guttmannova, K., & Hawkins, J. D. (accepted). Neighborhood structural factors and proximal risk factors for adolescent substance use. Prevention Science. Accepted on: 23 November 2019.

• This study examined associations of neighborhood structural factors (census-based measures of socioeconomic disadvantage and residential stability); self-reported measures of general and substance use-specific risk factors across neighborhood, school, peer, and family domains; and sociodemographic factors with substance use among 9th grade students. Data drawn from the Seattle Social Development Project were used to estimate associations between risk factors and past month cigarette smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, and polysubstance use among students (N=766). Results of logistic regression models adjusting for neighborhood clustering and including all domains of risk factors simultaneously indicated that neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and polysubstance use, but not marijuana use. In fully controlled models, substance use-specific risk factors across neighborhood, school, peer, and family domains were also associated with increased likelihood of substance use and results differed by the outcome considered. Results highlight substance-specific risk factors as an intervention target for reducing youth substance use and suggest that further research is needed examining mechanisms linking neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and youth substance use.

Cambron, C., Lam, C. Y., Cinciripini, P., Li, L., & Wetter, D. W. (2019). Socioeconomic status, social context, and smoking lapse during a quit attempt: An ecological momentary assessment study. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. First published online: 14 October 2019. Go to journal article

• Low socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to failure to quit smoking. Health inequity models suggest that low SES smokers experience barriers to quitting in part due to greater exposure to pro-smoking social contexts. The current study examined longitudinal associations among socioeconomic status, pro-smoking social context factors (i.e., exposure to other smokers, places where smoking was allowed), cigarette availability, and smoking lapse during a quit attempt. Consistent with models positing that SES influences health behaviors via contextual factors, the current study demonstrated that low SES smokers attempting to quit were exposed to greater pro-smoking social contexts that affected subsequent risk for lapse.

Cambron, C., Haslam, A. K., Baucom, B. R. W., Lam, C. Y., Vinci, C., Cinciripini, P., Li, L., & Wetter, D. W. (2019). Momentary precipitants connecting stress and smoking lapse during a quit attempt. Health Psychology. First published online: 26 September 2019. Go to journal article

• Most attempts at smoking cessation are unsuccessful, and stress is frequently characterized both as a momentary precipitant of smoking lapse and a predictor of subsequent changes in other key precipitants of lapse. This study examined longitudinal associations among stress, multiple precipitants of lapse, and lapse among smokers attempting to quit. Results of this study highlight the broad importance of stress for smoking lapse during a quit attempt. Smoking cessation programs should pay close attention to the role of stress in exacerbating key precipitants of lapse to improve cessation success rates.

Cambron, C., Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (2019). The social development model. In D. P. Farrington, L. Kazemian, & A. R. Piquero (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental and lifecourse criminology (pp. 224-247). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• This chapter presents an overview of the social development model (SDM)—a general theory of human behavior that integrates research on risk and protective factors into a coherent model. Section I specifies the model constructs and their hypothesized relationships to prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Section II provides a synthesis of what researchers have learned from empirical tests of social development hypotheses for predicting pro- and antisocial behaviors. Section III highlights interventions derived from the SDM and summarizes their impact on pro- and antisocial behaviors. The chapter concludes with a final section presenting future directions for SDM-based research.

Cambron, C., Gringeri, C., & Vogel-Ferguson, M. B. (2019). Mental Health Correlates of Adverse Childhood Experiences among Low-income Women. In T. B. Bent-Goodley, J. H. Williams, M. L. Teasley, & S. H. Gorin (Eds.), Grand Challenges for Society: Evidence-Based Social Work Practice (pp. 401-409). Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

• This study used secondary data gathered from a statewide random sample of 1,073 adult women enrolled in Utah’s single-parent cash assistance program and logistic regression to examine associations between self-reported physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during childhood and later life physical and mental health indicators. Results demonstrated significant associations between low-income women’s self-reports of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in childhood, and current and lifetime anxiety disorder, domestic violence, current posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, physical health or mental health issues, and any mental health diagnosis. These results build on previous research to paint a more complete picture of the associations between childhood abuse and physical and mental health for low-income women in Utah. Consistent with research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, findings suggest the applicability of conceptualizing childhood abuse as a public health issue. Social workers can play an integral role in promoting and implementing broader screening practices, connecting affected individuals with long-term interventions, and applying research findings to the design and provision of services within a public health model.

Cambron, C., Kosterman, R., & Hawkins, J. D. (2019). Neighborhood poverty increases risk for cigarette smoking from age 30 to 39. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53(9), 858-864. Go to journal article

• Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with higher rates of smoking. Few longitudinal studies have examined indicators of SES at both the neighborhood- and individual-level over time in conjunction with proximal risk factors of cigarette smoking. Results indicated living in higher poverty neighborhoods presents a unique risk for smoking among adults age 30 to 39 above and beyond multiple aspects of SES and other potential mechanisms relating SES to smoking.

Johnson, R., Fleming, C. B., Cambron, C., Brighthaupt, S., Dean, L. T., & Guttmannova, K. (2019). Race/ethnicity differences in trends of marijuana, cigarette, and alcohol use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Washington State, 2004–2016. Prevention Science, 20(2), 194-204. Go to journal article

• This study examined trends in past 30-day use of marijuana, cigarette, and alcohol among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Washington State, which passed a recreational marijuana law in 2012 and initiated retail marijuana sales in 2014. Data are from the 2004–2016 Washington Healthy Youth Surveys. In Washington, across all racial/ethnic groups, marijuana use peaked in 2012. Relative to Whites, Asians had a lower prevalence of marijuana use, whereas all other race/ethnicity groups had a higher prevalence of use. Prevalence of marijuana use is particularly high among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black youth and has increased most rapidly among 12th grade Hispanic/Latinx youth. There were large and statistically significant decreases in alcohol and cigarette use across the study period for the full sample, as well as for each race/ethnicity group. These findings highlight the need for continued monitoring of trends in use among these groups and potentially warrant consideration of selective interventions that specifically focus on students of color and that include developmentally-appropriate strategies relevant to each grade.

Fleming, C. M., Eisenberg, N., Catalano, R. F., Kosterman, R., Cambron, C., Hawkins, J. D., Hobbs, T., Berman, I., Fleming, T., & Watrous, J. (2019). Optimizing assessment of risk and protection for diverse adolescent outcomes: Do risk and protective factors for delinquency and substance use also predict risky sexual behavior? Prevention Science, 20(5), 788-799. Go to journal article

• Assessments of youth risk and protective factors (RPFs) for substance use, delinquency, and violence have been used by communities to identify priorities and target them with prevention interventions. These same RPFs may also predict other youth problems. This study examined the strength and consistency of relationships of 41 ecological RPFs that predict antisocial behavior and substance use with sexual behavior outcomes in a sample of 2,150 urban youth in 10th and 12th grade. After adjusting for controls, findings identify significant associations among the majority of community, school, family, peer, and individual risk factors, and family, peer, and individual protective factors with sexual behavior outcomes, specifying unique associations among multiple factors with risky sex, relative to both safe sex and not being sexually active. Prevention programming that targets common predictors for multiple problems may address a broad array of outcomes, including sexual health risk behaviors.

Canham, S. L., Humphries, J., Kupferschmidt, A. L., & Lonsdale, E. (2019). Engaging in community dialogues on low-risk alcohol use guidelines for older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology. First published online: 13 November 2019. Go to journal article

• Despite widespread use and acceptance of alcohol, discussions of age-related changes that impact alcohol consumption behaviors are rare. The objective of this community-engaged qualitative research study was to gain insight into how to promote knowledge dissemination regarding newly developed low-risk drinking guidelines for older adults. A convenience sample of 66 older adults and service providers participated in three Knowledge Café dialogue workshops and discussed their opinions about alcohol use in later life and ideas for sharing alcohol-related research evidence with the community. Community dialogues fostered knowledge dissemination while participants engaged in rich conversations about a rarely discussed topic. Sharing evidence-based clinical advice with community stakeholders through dialogue events offers an innovative opportunity for health promotion efforts.

Humphries, J., & Canham, S. L. (2019). Conceptualizing the shelter and housing needs and solutions of homeless older adults. Housing Studies. First published online: 12 November 2019. Go to journal article

• Estimates of the number of homeless older adults are highly variable, but the proportion is expected to increase in Western countries as the general population ages. Much of the current literature on homelessness among older adults focuses on the causes of homelessness in later life, along with the health outcomes and service needs of this population. However, there is a dearth of research investigating potential shelter/housing solutions specific to homeless older adults that would meet their unique needs. This scoping review investigated the needs for housing homeless older adults and potential solutions. Based on thematic analysis of findings from 19 sources of primary research, the authors developed a conceptual model that suggests distinct, senior-specific needs and shelter/housing solutions of both newly and chronically homeless older adults.

Canham, S. L., Custodio, K., Mauboules, C., Good, C., & Bosma, H. (2019). Health and psychosocial needs of older adults who are experiencing homelessness following hospital discharge. The Gerontologist. First published online: 22 June 2019. Go to journal article

• Though hospitals are a common location where older adults experiencing homelessness receive health care, an understanding of the types of supports needed upon hospital discharge is limited. The authors examined the unique characteristics of older homeless adults and the health and psychosocial supports required upon hospital discharge. As the population of older adults increases across North America, there is a parallel trend in the increased number of older adults who are experiencing homelessness. Not only is there often a need for ongoing medical care and respite, but there is a need for both shelter and housing options that can appropriately support individual needs.

Wada, M., Canham, S. L., Battersby, L., Sixsmith, J., Woolrych, R., Fang, M. L., & Sixsmith, A. (2019). Perceptions of home in long-term care settings: Before and after institutional relocation. Ageing & Society. First published online: 09 January 2019.  Go to journal article

• Although moving from institutional to home-like long-term care (LTC) settings can promote and sustain the health and wellbeing of older adults, there has been little research examining how home is perceived by older adults when moving between care settings. A qualitative study was conducted over a two-year period during the relocation of residents and staff from an institutional LTC home to a purpose-built LTC home in Western Canada. Thematic analyses generated four superordinate themes that are suggestive of how to create and enhance a sense of home in LTC settings: (a) physical environment features; (b) privacy and personalization; (c) autonomy, choice, and flexibility; and (d) connectedness and togetherness. The findings reveal that the physical environment features are foundational for the emergence of social and personal meanings associated with a sense of home, and highlight the impact of care practices on the sense of home when the workplace becomes a home. In addition, tension that arises between providing care and creating a home-like environment in LTC settings is discussed.

Canham, S. L., Davidson, S., Custodio, K., Mauboules, C., Good, C., Wister, A. V., & Bosma, H. (2019). Health supports needed for homeless persons transitioning from hospitals. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27(3), 531-545.  Go to journal article

• Being homeless has a negative effect on health, and the health needs of individuals experiencing homelessness are complex and challenging to address. As a result of limited access to and use of primary healthcare, the main point of entry into the healthcare system for individuals experiencing homelessness is often hospitals and emergency departments. Persons experiencing homelessness are commonly discharged from hospital settings to locations that do not support recovery or access to follow-up care. This can be costly to both the healthcare system and to individuals' health and quality of life. The authors conducted a scoping review of the literature published between 2007 and 2017 to identify the types of health supports needed for persons experiencing homelessness who are discharged from the hospital that resulted in the identification of six major themes. Themes included: (a) a respectful and understanding approach to care, (b) housing assessments, (c) communication/coordination/navigation, (d) supports for after-care, (e) complex medical care and medication management, and (f) basic needs and transportation. These themes were found to resonate with participants of the community consultation workshop. Recommendations for trauma-informed care and patient- or client-centered care approaches are discussed.

Canham, S. L., Fang, M. L., Battersby, L., & Wada, M. (2019). Understanding the functionality of housing-related support services through mapping methods and dialogue. Evaluation and Program Planning, 72, 33-39. Go to journal article

• This article describes the experience and process of using community mapping as a tool for collecting data on the functioning of housing-related support services in Metro Vancouver. The authors outline the mapping methods and discuss strengths and challenges encountered during workshops aimed at understandings how the system of housing-related supports function. Strengths were that workshops provided a forum for social participation and engagement. In addition, mapping is a research tool that enables local knowledge of service functioning and service gaps to be accessed and exchanged. Challenges include ensuring diverse representation, reducing power imbalances, and having adequate space to accommodate interested participants.

Canham, S. L., & Mahmood, A. (2019). The use of personas in gerontological education. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 40(4), 468-479. Go to journal article

• Using mechanisms of active learning, the authors developed a persona project for their undergraduate Introduction to Gerontology course. The project conceives of personas as fictional characters that are created through the amalgamation of physical, social, and psychological traits and have unique lived experiences. This article details the development of this innovative pedagogical tool and describes how personas are used as part of an experiential learning assignment over the course of a semester. Student-generated personas act to contextualize the broad course material, ranging from physical and mental health to environments and financial well-being in later life. The authors conclude by recommending that other gerontological and social science educators incorporate personas into their coursework to provide students an interactive tool to apply information learned through class lectures and readings.

Canham, S. L., Wister, A., & O'Dea, E. (2019). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to housing first in Metro Vancouver. Evaluation and Program Planning, 75, 69-77. Go to journal article

• The goal of this study was to understand the experience of Metro Vancouver’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy-funded Housing First (HF) program and how it is functioning from the perspective of a representative sample of providers and clients who deliver and receive HF services. The delivery of HF in regions that have limited affordable housing presents unique challenges. Recommendations are provided to improve HF practice and policy in these contexts.

Fang, M. L., Canham, S. L., Battersby, L., Sixsmith, J., Wada, M., & Sixsmith, A. (2019). Exploring Privilege in the Digital Divide: Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice. The Gerontologist, 59(1), e1-e15. Go to journal article

• The digital revolution has resulted in innovative solutions and technologies that can support the well-being, independence, and health of seniors. Yet, the notion of the "digital divide" presents significant inequities in terms of who accesses and benefits from the digital landscape. To better understand the social and structural inequities of the digital divide, a realist synthesis was conducted to inform theoretical understandings of information and communication technologies (ICTs); to understand the practicalities of access and use inequities; to uncover practices that facilitate digital literacy and participation; and to recommend policies to mitigate the digital divide. Informed by results of a realist synthesis that was guided by intersectional perspectives, a conceptual framework was developed outlining implications for theory, policy, and practice to address the wicked problem that is the digital divide.

Walker, B. B., Canham, S. L., Wister, A., & Fang, M. L. (2019). A GIS analysis of East Asian care gaps in residential and assisted living facilities in Vancouver, Canada. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 33(2), 103-119.  Go to journal article

• Residential care and assisted living services provide support to seniors who may not have the ability to live independently. However, East Asian residents often do not have sufficient access to culturally specific activities, which may result in psychosocial stress and isolation. This study presents a geographic analysis method to evaluate spatial distribution of culturally tailored senior care facilities in Metro Vancouver. The researchers identify geographical disparities, indicating that many East Asian seniors have poor local access to a culturally tailored facility. The authors recommend the use of geographical analysis techniques to improve the analysis and planning for senior care in an increasingly diverse population.

King, D. B., Cappeliez, P., Canham,S. L., & O'Rourke, N. (2019). Functions of reminiscence in later life: Predicting change in the physical and mental health of older adults over time. Aging & Mental Health, 23(2), 246-254. Go to journal article

• Research has repeatedly shown that reminiscence affects the mental health and well-being of older adults contemporaneously and over time. Cross-sectional research also points to a link between reminiscence and physical health. The direction of this relationship is unclear, however. Does physical health affect how and why older adults think of themselves in the past? Or conversely, do various functions of reminiscence affect both mental and physical health now, and in future? Findings confirm longitudinal associations among reminiscence functions and subsequent indicators of health. For older adults, this extends to both physical and mental health. Future research should examine the physiological mechanisms by which autobiographical memory affects health over time.

Marshall, G., Bryson, W., Rostant, O., & Canham, S. L. (2019). Gender differences in the association between unhealthy behaviors and financial hardship among middle-aged and older adults. Preventive Medicine Reports, 16, 100962. Go to journal article  

• The objective of this study was to identify associations between modifiable risk factors (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity) and financial hardship (difficulty paying bills, food insecurity, and medication need) among middle-aged and older Americans in a nationally representative sample. The findings contribute to the literature on health behaviors and financial hardship by highlighting the cyclical nature between different indicators of socioeconomic status, modifiable risk factors, and poor health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults. Furthermore, findings highlight how modifiable risk factors may culminate in financial hardship in later life.

Sixsmith, J., Fang, M. L., Woolrych, R., Canham, S. L., Battersby, L., Ren, T. H., & Sixsmith, A. (2019). Ageing-in-place for low-income seniors: Living at the intersection of multiple identities, positionalities, and oppressions. In O. Hankivsky & J. Jordan-Zachery (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of intersectionality in public policy [The politics of intersectionality] (pp. 641-664). London: Palgrave MacMillan.  More information

• Aging-in-place refers to the ability to live in one’s own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably regardless of age, income, or ability level. Often, aging-in-place is assumed to be a positive experience; however, home is not always a positive place and can be perceived as prison-like or a burdensome environment. For older, ethno-cultural groups in Canada, acquiring adequate, comfortable housing is a challenge. This chapter problematizes dominant, positive aging-in-place policy discourses and provides experiential data to inform place-based policy directives for enabling older people to age well at home and in the right place. Policy implications of this work include further developing current understandings of sense-of-place that emphasize community participation, well-being, and nuanced experiences of older people.

Becerra, D., Castillo, J., & Silva Arciniega, M. R. (2019). Perceptions of social work students in Mexico and the United States regarding the role of the government in addressing social issues: Implications for social work education. International Social Work, 62(4), 1230-1244. Go to journal article

• The purpose of this article was to examine social work students’ perceptions of the role of the government in addressing social issues among social work students from the United States and Mexico. Multivariate ordinary least squares regressions indicated that compared with social work students in the United States, students in Mexico reported significantly higher beliefs that government should do more to lessen social gaps, and ensure housing, employment, health insurance, basic necessities, an adequate standard of living, and equal opportunities.

Derezotes, D. (2019). The eternity dialogues: Understanding global transformation. San Diego, CA: Cognella.

• Designed to both entertain and inform readers, The Eternity Dialogues: Understanding Global Transformation offers students key concepts in individual and global transformation through an engaging, futuristic novel and an accompanying learning-based website. The book envisions a future where humanity is endangered by the convergence of global survival threats that are already growing today, including ecological collapse, widespread despondency, and preparations for war. This work is an ideal learning program for courses in many fields, including peace and conflict studies, global issues, social work, political science, psychology, and religious studies.

Gren, L. H., Benson, L.S., & Frost, C. J. (accepted). Global U: Exploring curricular development and outcomes in three University of Utah experiential learning abroad programs. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Accepted on: 20 October 2019.

• This article compares three types of learning abroad programs hosted through the University of Utah in Ghana. Each program offered students a different educational experience; however, all used experiential learning techniques.

Frost, C. J., Carlson, M., Heins, Z., Benson, L. S., & Gren, L. H. (accepted). Global Research Ethics: Case Studies from International Research Context, (250). New York: Routledge. Accepted on: 1 October 2019

• This edited volume will use case studies and responses at the global level to create an understanding of the ethical issues researchers face when conducting research with various populations in the 21st Century.

Goa, Y., Xie, S., & Frost, C. J. (accepted). An ecological investigation of resilience among rural-urban migrant adolescents of low socio-economic status families in China. Children and Youth Services Review. Accepted on: 15 September 2019.

• This study is a secondary data analysis from nation-wide collection from families and youth in schools in China. Analyses of the data indicate that youth who have access to a teacher and/or parent who is supportive of their activities and work are more resilient than youth who do not have these types of adults in their lives.

Frost, C. J., Morgan, N. J., Allkhenfr, H., Dearden, S., Ess, R., Fawzan Albalawi, W., Berri, A., Benson, L. S., & Gren, L. H. (2019). Determining physical and mental health conditions present in older adult refugees. Gerontology, 65(3), 209-215. Go to journal article

• Refugees, in general, often face health-related challenges upon resettlement. Since the health of aging refugee men and women is of growing concern, host communities face significant challenges in accommodating the health needs of a diverse refugee population. This study, a review of physical and mental health data from the Utah Department of Health, was undertaken in an effort to ascertain the prevalence of health conditions among refugee men and women 60 years and older arriving in Utah. Findings include information on diseases correlated with increasing age, such as hypertension, decreases in vision, arthritis, and low back pain, which are common among this population of refugees aged 60 years and older. Overall, most of the health conditions assessed affect women and men with a similar prevalence. Some notable exceptions are a history of torture and violence, and a propensity for tobacco use. When dealing with refugee men older than 60 years, providers should consider the psychological ramifications of having endured such atrocities, as well as introduction to evidence-based tobacco cessation programs. When working with refugee women of the same age, an increase in the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and urinary tract infections should be considered.

Frost, C. J., Tecle, A. S., Kanyange, S., Jorgensen, K., & Devir, N. P. (2019). Exploring integration issues for African youth of refugee backgrounds in Utah. Journal of Comparative Studies, 12(41), 66-93.

• This article highlights the high school experiences of refugee youth from the Burundi and Somali communities who have resettled in Utah. Students from these backgrounds face a number of educational and social issues that need to be address to create a better educational experience for students of refugee backgrounds.

Kagabo, R., Singh, T. P., Frost, C. J., & Gren, L. H. (2019). Assessment of dental caries and oral health challenges of school-age children in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlements in Arua, Uganda. International Journal of Oral and Dental Health, 5(2), 1-4. Go to journal article

• Oral health for youth in refugee camps is a public health concern. For this study, we conducted an oral health assessment of primary school-age children in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlements in Arua, Uganda.

Najmabadi, S., Gren, L. H., & Frost, C. J. (2019). Secondary data analysis of non-communicable diseases among adult female refugees arriving in Utah between 01/01/2012 and 12/31/2015. Utah Women's Health Review, 1(1), 105-109. Go to journal article

• This article analyzed data from the Refugee Health Program of the Utah Department of Health to determine the physical and mental health needs of refugee adult women who resettled in Utah between the years of 2012 and 2017.

Byun, J., Self, A., Green, B., Frost, C. J., & Gren, L. H. (2019). Assessing the approach to HIV case management. Social Work in Public Health,34(4), 307-317. Go to journal article

• Case management is a standard practice for assisting people living with HIV in the United States. While HIV case management has resulted in positive outcomes for clients and their families, clients still face challenges. As part of an evaluation of Utah’s Ryan White Part B Program, the Utah Department of Health and researchers from the University of Utah assessed the use of a tiered approach for case management in eight other states to determine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of this approach. This article summarizes how various features might be combined to create a model that states could use for tiered case management. The researchers developed a three-tiered model using a numeric summary for nine items to assess acuity, with levels defined as maintenance outreach support services, brief-contact management, and medical/non-medical management. Since none of the states reviewed had an existing formal evaluation tool, the authors propose areas to be covered in an annual formal evaluation.

Garland, E. L., Hanley, A. W., Riquino, M. R., Reese, S. E., Baker, A. K., Salas, K., Yack, B. P., Bedford, C. E., Bryan, M. A., Atchley, R. M., Nakamura, U., Froeliger, B., & Howard, M. O. (accepted). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid misuse risk via analgesic and positive psychological mechanisms: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(10), 927-940. Go to journal article

• Current pharmacological and psychological pain treatments focus largely on reducing negative emotional reactions to pain. This study suggests that a new psychological treatment, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, decreases risk for prescription opioid misuse among patients with chronic pain by increasing positive psychological factors like positive emotions and meaning in life.

Garland, E. L., Brintz, C. E., Hanley, A. W., Roseen, E. J., Atchley, R. M., Gaylord, S. A., Faurot, K., Yaffe, J., Fiander, M., & Keefe, F. J. (2019). Mind-body therapies for opioid-treated pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of mental techniques to improve clinical pain and opioid-related outcomes. JAMA Internal Medicine. First published online: 4 November 2019. Go to journal article

• Findings from this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that mind-body therapies are associated with moderate improvements in pain and small reductions in opioid dose, and may be associated with therapeutic benefits for opioid-related problems, such as opioid craving and misuse.

Garland, E. L., Atchley, R. M., Hanley, A. W., Zubieta, J. K., & Froeliger, B. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates hedonic dysregulation in opioid users: Neural and affective evidence of target engagement. Science Advances, 5(10). First published online: 16 October 2019. Go to journal article

• This series of randomized experiments provide the first neurophysiological evidence that an integrative behavioral treatment, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, can remediate hedonic dysregulation among chronic opioid users.

Garland, E. L., Trøstheim, M., Eikemo, M., Ernst, G., & Leknes, S. (2019). Anhedonia in chronic pain and prescription opioid misuse. Psychological Medicine, 1-12. First published online: 19 August 2019.  Go to journal article

• Both acute and chronic pain can disrupt reward processing. Moreover, prolonged prescription opioid use and depressed mood are common in chronic pain samples. Despite the prevalence of these risk factors for anhedonia, little is known about anhedonia in chronic pain populations. Study results suggest that both chronic pain and opioid misuse contribute to anhedonia, which may, in turn, drive further pain and misuse.

Adler-Neal, A. L., Waugh, C. E., Garland, E. L., Shaltout, H. A., Diz, D. I., & Zeidan, F. J. (2019). The role of heart rate variability in mindfulness-based pain relief. The Journal of Pain.  First published online: 1 August 2019. Go to Journal Article

• The relationship between the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and mindfulness-based pain attenuation remains unknown. The primary objective of the present study was to determine the role of high-frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV), a marker of PNS activity, during mindfulness-based pain relief as compared to a validated, sham-mindfulness meditation technique that served as a breathing-based control. The primary analysis revealed that during mindfulness meditation, higher HF HRV was more strongly associated with lower pain unpleasantness ratings when compared to sham-mindfulness meditation. This finding is in line with the prediction that mindfulness-based meditation engages distinct mechanisms from sham-mindfulness meditation to reduce pain. However, the same prediction was not confirmed for pain intensity ratings. Secondary analyses determined that mindfulness and sham-mindfulness meditation similarly reduced pain ratings, decreased respiration rate, and increased HF HRV. More mechanistic work is needed to reliably determine the role of parasympathetic activation in mindfulness-based pain relief as compared to other meditative techniques.

Garland, E. L., Hanley, A. W., Kline, A., & Cooperman, N. A. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement reduces opioid craving among individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain in medication assisted treatment: Ecological momentary assessments from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 203, 61-65. First published online: 8 July 2019. Go to journal article

• Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is an efficacious form of medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), yet many individuals on MMT relapse. Chronic pain and deficits in positive affective response to natural rewards may result in dysphoria that fuels opioid craving and promotes relapse. As such, behavioral therapies that ameliorate chronic pain and enhance positive affect may serve as useful adjuncts to MMT. This analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from a Stage 1 randomized clinical trial examined effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) on opioid craving, pain, and positive affective state. MORE may be a useful non-pharmacological adjunct among individuals with OUD and chronic pain in MMT.

Garland, E. L., Baker, A. K., Riquino, M. R. & Priddy, S. E. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: A review of its theoretical underpinnings, clinical application, and biobehavioral mechanisms. In I. Ivtzan (Ed.), Handbook of Mindfulness-Based Programmes: Mindfulness Interventions from Education to Health and Therapy. New York: Routledge.  Go to Book Chapter

• This chapter outlines the history, theory, evidence for Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement.

Garland, E. L., Bryan, M. A., Priddy, S. E., Riquino, M. R., Froeliger, B., & Howard, M. O. (2019). Effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement versus social support on negative affective interference during inhibitory control among opioid-treated chronic pain patients: A pilot mechanistic study. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53(10), 865–876. Go to journal article

• Among opioid-treated chronic pain patients, deficient response inhibition in the context of emotional distress may contribute to maladaptive pain coping and prescription opioid misuse. Interventions that aim to bolster cognitive control and reduce emotional reactivity (e.g., mindfulness) may remediate response inhibition deficits, with consequent clinical benefits. Study results provide preliminary evidence that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement enhances inhibitory control function in the context of negative emotional interference.

Garland, E. L., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2019). Positive psychological states in the arc from mindfulness to self-transcendence: Extensions of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory and applications to addiction and chronic pain treatment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 184-191. Go to Journal Article

• The Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory (MMT) elucidates the positive psychological mechanisms of mindfulness. The MMT involves decentering, attentional broadening, reappraisal, and savoring. Here the authors discuss how these mechanisms produce self-transcendence and meaning, and present applications of the MMT to the treatment of addiction and chronic pain.

Garland, E. L., Reese, S., Bedford, C., & Baker, A. K. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences predict autonomic indices of emotion dysregulation and negative emotional cue-elicited craving among female opioid-treated chronic pain patients. Development and Psychopathology, 31(3), 1101-1110.  Go to journal article

• Through autonomic and affective mechanisms, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may disrupt the capacity to regulate negative emotions, increasing craving and exacerbating risk for opioid use disorder (OUD) among individuals with chronic pain who are receiving long-term opioid analgesic pharmacotherapy. This study examined associations between ACEs, heart rate variability (HRV) during emotion regulation, and negative emotional cue-elicited craving among a sample of female opioid-treated chronic pain patients at risk for OUD. Analysis of study findings from a multiple-levels-of-analysis approach suggest that exposure to childhood abuse occasions later emotion dysregulation and appetitive responding toward opioids in negative affective contexts among adult women with chronic pain, and thus this vulnerable clinical population should be assessed for OUD risk when initiating a course of extended, high-dose opioids for pain management.

Baker, A. K., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Autonomic and affective mediators of the relationship between mindfulness and opioid craving among chronic pain patients. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 27(1), 55-63. Go to journal article

• Prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients is undergirded by self-regulatory deficits, affective distress, and opioid-cue reactivity. Dispositional mindfulness has been associated with enhanced self-regulation, lower distress, and adaptive autonomic responses following drug-cue exposure. The researchers hypothesized that dispositional mindfulness might serve as a protective factor among opioid-treated chronic pain patients. They examined heart-rate variability (HRV) during exposure to opioid cues and depressed mood as mediators of the association between dispositional mindfulness and opioid craving. Dispositional mindfulness may buffer against opioid craving among chronic pain patients prescribed opioids; this buffering effect may be a function of improved autonomic and affective responses.

McConnell, P. A., Garland, E. L., Zubieta, J‐K., Newman‐Norlund, R., Powers, S., & Froeliger, B. (2019). Impaired frontostriatal functional connectivity among chronic opioid using pain patients is associated with dysregulated affect. Addiction Biology, 1–11.  Go to journal article

• Preclinical studies have shown effects of chronic exposure to addictive drugs on glutamatergic‐mediated neuroplasticity in frontostriatal circuitry. These initial findings have been paralleled by human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research demonstrating weaker frontostriatal resting‐state functional connectivity (rsFC) among individuals with psychostimulant use disorders. However, there is a dearth of human imaging literature describing associations between long‐term prescription opioid use, frontostriatal rsFC, and brain morphology among chronic pain patients. The authors hypothesized that prescription opioid users with chronic pain, as compared with healthy control subjects, would evidence weaker frontostriatal rsFC coupled with less frontostriatal gray matter volume (GMV). Further, those opioid use‐related deficits in frontostriatal circuitry would be associated with negative affect and drug misuse. This study revealed that prescription opioid use in the context of chronic pain is associated with functional and structural abnormalities in frontostriatal circuitry. These results suggest that opioid use‐related abnormalities in frontostriatal circuitry may undergird disturbances in affect that may contribute to the ongoing maintenance of opioid use and misuse. These findings warrant further examination of interventions to treat opioid pathophysiology in frontostriatal circuitry over the course of treatment.

McClintock, A. S., McCarrick, S. M., Garland, E. L., Zeidan, F., & Zgierska, A. E. (2019). Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions for acute and chronic pain: A systematic review. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 25(3).  Go to journal article

• Nonpharmacologic approaches have been characterized as the preferred means to treat chronic noncancer pain by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is evidence that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective for pain management, yet the typical MBI may not be feasible across many clinical settings due to resource and time constraints. Brief MBIs (BMBIs) could prove to be more feasible and pragmatic for safe treatment of pain. The aim of this article is to systematically review evidence of BMBIs’ effects on acute and chronic pain outcomes in humans. More rigorous large scale studies conducted with pain populations are needed before unequivocally recommending BMBIs as a first-line treatment for acute or chronic pain.

Henry, N. L., Iacob, E., Mooney, K., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Mindfulness and concerns about adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). Journal of Clinical Oncology, 37(15).  Go to journal article

• Poor adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) for early stage breast cancer is associated with increased recurrence and mortality. Interventions to improve adherence have been minimally effective. Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, with an attitude of openness and acceptance. In this cross-sectional study, the authors examined clinicopathologic, and psychosocial factors, including dispositional mindfulness, associated with increased concerns about medication. Dispositional mindfulness may be associated with fewer concerns about medication. If mindfulness is shown to influence medication adherence, interventions such as mindfulness training to improve compliance with AET could be investigated.

Thomas, E. A., Mijangos, J. L., Hansen, P. A., White, S., Walker, D., Reimers, C., Beck, A. C., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement restructures reward processing and promotes interoceptive awareness in overweight cancer survivors: Mechanistic results from a stage 1 randomized controlled trial. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 18.  Go to journal article

• The primary aims of this Stage I pilot randomized controlled trial were to establish the feasibility of integrating exercise and nutrition counseling with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a novel intervention that unites training in mindfulness, reappraisal, and savoring skills to target mechanisms underpinning appetitive dysregulation, a pathogenic process that contributes to obesity among cancer survivors; to identify potential therapeutic mechanisms of the MORE intervention; and to obtain effect sizes to power a subsequent Stage II trial. MORE may target appetitive dysregulatory mechanisms implicated in obesity by promoting interoceptive awareness and restructuring reward responsiveness.

Deringer, S. A., Hanley, A. W., Hodges, J., & Griffin, L. K. (accepted). Improving ecological behavior in outdoor recreation through mindfulness: A mixed methods inquiry. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership. Accepted on: 23 September 2019.

• This study suggests that mindfulness may be a simple, cost-effective tool to help people connect with nature and improve their ecological behavior.

Hanley, A. W., Bettmann, J. E., Kendrick, C. E., Derringer, A., & Norton, C. L. (accepted). The relationship between nature connectedness, dispositional mindfulness, and ecological behavior. Ecopsychology. Accepted on: 26 July 2019

• This study revealed positive associations between dispositional mindfulness, nature connectedness, and ecological behavior, with nature connectedness found to mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and ecological behavior in two, separate samples.

Hanley, A. W., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Spatial frame of reference as a phenomenological feature of self transcendence: Measurement and manipulation through mindfulness meditation. Psychology of Consciousness, 6(4), 329-345. First published online: 1 September 2019. Go to journal article

• These findings suggest that spatial frame of reference, the area within the field of awareness considered self-constituent, may be a valuable psychological construct with important intrapersonal and, potentially, interpersonal implications.

Moeller, S., Hanley, A. W., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Behavioral preference for viewing drug v. pleasant images predicts current and future opioid misuse among chronic pain patients. Psychological Medicine. First published online: 15 April 2019. Go to journal article

• The USA is currently enduring an opioid crisis. Identifying cost-effective, easy-to-implement behavioral measures that predict treatment outcomes in opioid misusers is a crucial scientific, therapeutic, and epidemiological goal. These results indicate that greater relative allocation of behavior toward opioid stimuli and away from stimuli depicting natural reinforcement is associated with concurrent opioid misuse and portends vulnerability toward future misuse. The choice task may provide important medical information to guide opioid-prescribing practices.

Hanley, A. W., de Vibe, M., Solhaug, I., Gonzalez-Pons, K. M., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Mindfulness training reduces neuroticism over a 6-year longitudinal randomized control trial in Norwegian medical and psychology students. Journal of Research in Personality, 82, Go to journal article

• R educing neuroticism in young adults is likely to reduce future psychopathology and improve quality of life. One method of reducing neuroticism may be mindfulness training. This randomized control study examined the effect of mindfulness training on neuroticism and psychological distress over a six-year time period in a sample of Norwegian medical and clinical psychology students receiving either a modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training or no intervention. Mindfulness training decreased neuroticism and psychological distress over the six-year follow-up period, and decreases in neuroticism were associated with reduced psychological distress at the six-year follow-up. These findings suggest that mindfulness training can have a durable impact on neuroticism, and that mindfulness-based interventions may effectively reduce clinical symptomology linked with neuroticism.

Hanley, A. W., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Mapping the affective dimension of embodiment with the sensation manikin: Validation among chronic pain patients and modification by Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(7), 612-621. Go to journal article

• Mindfulness-based interventions target novel pain relief mechanisms not captured by legacy pain scales, including 1) cultivating awareness of pleasant and neutral sensations proximal to unpleasant sensations, and 2) interoceptively mapping sensation location and spatial distribution. This study supports the sensation manikin’s (SM) validity and indicates that assessing both pleasant and unpleasant sensations broadens the scope of pain measurement. Although the SM would benefit from further optimization, its continued use is likely to contribute to improved assessment and treatment options for chronic pain patients.

Hanley, A. W., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Mindfulness training disrupts Pavlovian conditioning. Physiology & Behavior, 204, 151-154.  Go to journal article

• Classical conditioning is a quintessential learning process; however, maladaptive forms of conditioning sustain many unhealthy behaviors. Mindfulness training is theorized to de-automatize conditioned behavior by decoupling stimulus and response. This study assessed the effect of mindfulness training on conditioned behavior during a classical conditioning task. Findings indicated mindfulness training decreased classically conditioned behavior relative to an active control condition, delaying the onset of first conditioned response and decreasing conditioned response frequency. Thus, mindfulness training may be one method of increasing volitional control over maladaptive conditioned behaviors that contribute to the development and maintenance of clinical disorders.

Hanley, A. W., Gonzalez-Pons, K. M., & Garland, E. L. (2019). Traumatically mindful: Investigating the link between exposure to potentially traumatizing events and greater dispositional mindfulness. International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 8(1), 11.  Go to journal article

• Evidence suggests that mindfulness influences posttraumatic reactions; however, it may also be that experiencing a potentially traumatic event impacts mindfulness. Trauma exposure is believed to disrupt an individual’s assumptive world and alter attentional, cognitive, and affective qualities that have also been linked to mindfulness. Thus, the posttraumatic reconstruction of an assumptive world may influence mindfulness. This study investigated this possibility, exploring whether self-reported dispositional mindfulness differs between individuals with and without exposure to a potentially traumatizing event. Results suggest that individuals reporting exposure to a general disaster also reported greater dispositional mindfulness compared both to individuals reporting interpersonal trauma and those reporting no exposure to traumatic events. Thus, individuals reporting exposure to a wide range of potentially traumatizing events experienced themselves as mindful. This orientation toward mindful cognitive and attentional qualities may have treatment implications, with mindfulness-based interventions being particularly well-suited for individuals exposed to general disaster traumas.

Jaggers, J. W., & Kondrat, D. (2019). Research at work: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Families in Society, 100(3), 312–316. Go to the journal article

• This article provides an overview of the systematic review and the meta-analysis. These tools provide a comprehensive picture of current research. What follows is an abridged explanation of each of these techniques. This approach is intended to provide a fundamental overview for social work practitioners, so that they may more readily access important research, while minimizing the time spent doing so.

Keyes, T. S. (2019). A qualitative inquiry: Factors that promote classroom belonging and engagement among high school students. School Community Journal, 29(1), 171. Go to journal article

• The purpose of this study was to explore, using the voices of diverse high school students, the classroom factors that are important for promoting classroom belonging and engagement. Findings from this study revealed two teacher actions that built students’ classroom belonging and behavioral engagement: (1) fostering relationships with and between students and (2) employing teaching practices that encouraged students to participate in the work for the class. These actions were accomplished when teachers worked to build teacher-student trust through honest feedback and listening to students, provided engaging and relevant lessons and activities, instilled classroom management practices that went beyond just dealing with disruptive behavior, created a seating arrangement to facilitate pair and group work, and supported students socially and academically.

Keyes, T. S., Vogel-Ferguson, M. B., & Patin, K. (2019). An approach for engaging with a mixed-race, rural community using social work values and community-based participatory research framework. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 16(5), 524-539. Go to journal article

• This paper describes the engagement approach used to enter a rural, mixed-race and multicultural community to address trauma. Implications for social workers when engaging with a mixed-race multicultural community is to continually ask the question, whose voice is missing and how can it be included to gain a complete picture of the community and its needs.

Loomis, A. M., & Berthold, S. M. (2019). Protecting the health and well-being of child migrants in the U.S. through holistic practice. In S. M. Berthold & K. R. Libal (Eds.), Refugees and Asylum Seekers (pp. 231-257). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Press.  Go to book chapter

• This chapter discusses the potential experiences that child migrants may face pre-, during, and post-resettlement in the United States, with an attention to trauma exposure. The chapter identifies the potential impact of these experiences on migrant children’s development, physical health, mental health, education, and family dynamics and discusses practice considerations for how professionals interacting with child migrants can support their well-being across each of the domains.

Loomis, A. M., Berthold, S. M., Buckley, T., Wagner, J., & Kuoch, T. (2019). Integrated health care and mHealth: A model of care for refugees with complex health conditions. Social Work in Public Health, 34(2), 189-200. Go to journal article

• High rates of comorbid physical and mental health conditions are documented among refugee populations. A dearth of evidence exists on the use of mobile and wireless (or mHealth) technologies to support integrated health care models, with interprofessional mental and physical healthcare teams, within the field of refugee health, despite the potential for mHealth technologies to reduce barriers to health care access for vulnerable populations. This conceptual article illustrates how mHealth can facilitate integrated health care models with refugees with comorbid conditions. Implications are made to support the application of mHealth technologies within integrated health care models serving at-risk refugee populations.

Berthold, S. M., & Loomis, A. M. (2019). Child migrants in the United States: Challenges to the promotion of their rights and interests. In S. M. Berthold & K. R. Libal (Eds.), Refugees and Asylum Seekers (pp. 202-230). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Press. Go to book chapter

• This chapter covers the experiences of child and adolescent migrants in the United States with a focus on children who have been separated from family members and in detention. Experiences of child migrants during the Obama and Trump administrations are discussed as are U.S. human rights mechanisms, treaties, and legal forms of relief for children who seek refuge in the United States. Recommendation for advocacy and policy efforts to promote and protect child migrant rights are made.

Berthold, S. M., Loomis, A. M., Kuoch, T., Scully, M., Hin-McCormick, M. M., Casavant, B., & Buckley, T. (2019). Social disconnection as a risk factor for health among Cambodian refugees and their offspring in the United States. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(2), 290-298.  Go to journal article

• Studies of recently resettled refugees have noted social disconnection, linked to various physical and mental health outcomes, as a concern. Limited studies have examined whether social disconnection and its effects persists within refugee populations resettled more than three decades prior. The relationship between social disconnection and self-reported health was explored in a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional needs assessment survey with a snowball sample of 100 Cambodian refugees residing in Connecticut. Social disconnectedness and comorbid health conditions were prevalent. Lack of religious and community engagement were associated with poor health outcomes, while individuals with a lack of ethnic engagement reported better overall health. This study underscores the importance of understanding the specific risks that social disconnection poses to refugees who have resettled many years before and their offspring that may assist in better serving currently settling refugees within the United States.

Mogro-Wilson, C., Loomis, A. M., Coman, E., & Fifield, J.  (2019). African American, Puerto Rican & other Hispanic fathers' differential responses to a parenting intervention. Social Work in Public Health, 34(7), 583-595. Go to journal article

• Despite the recognized importance of fathers to children's well-being, there is a lack of research exploring the impact of parenting interventions on young fathers. Further, little work has been done to identify whether fatherhood interventions differentially benefit specific subgroups of fathers, including Hispanic subgroups. This research examines a 15-week fatherhood intervention for African American, Puerto Rican, and non-Puerto Rican Hispanic young fathers. Results suggest different intervention responses across the three groups on risky parenting attitudes; African American fathers in the study indicated more risky parenting attitudes than Hispanic and Puerto Rican fathers. The practice and research implications of disaggregating data for minority fathers, particularly for Latino subgroups, are discussed.

Mogro-Wilson, C., Loomis, A. M., Hayes, C., Drake, A., & Fifield, J. (2019). Supporting recruitment and retention of low-income young minority fathers in a community-based intervention. Advances in Social Work, 18(4), 1068-1084. Go to journal article

• This paper highlights lessons learned from a five-year randomized controlled trial of a fatherhood intervention that designed and implemented state-of-the-art and culturally relevant recruitment and retention methods with 348 young fathers ages 15 to 25. Qualitative findings are drawn from interviews with fathers who had been enrolled in the fatherhood intervention. While traditional recruitment and retention methods were employed in this study, non-traditional methods were used as well, such as intensive community outreach, staff relationship development, recruiting specialists, and flexible contact methods. These methods were found to be helpful to young fathers in the study. Future research should incorporate, and further study, such non-traditional methods for recruiting young, minority, urban fathers into studies of parenting programs, including randomized controlled trials, to improve services for this underserved population.

Feely, M., Seay, K., & Loomis, A. M. (2019). Harsh physical discipline as a mediator between income, re-reports and out-of-home placement in a child welfare-involved population. Children and Youth Services Review, 103, 70-78. Go to journal article

• Poverty is consistently associated with a higher risk of experiencing child maltreatment, and children from poor families are the majority of children involved in child protective services (CPS). However, the mediators in the relationship from income to CPS involvement are not entirely understood. This study tests the role of harsh physical punishment as a mediator between family income and CPS involvement. Results suggest that even within a population primarily comprised of low-income families, lower income is a risk for subsequent reports and removals as well as a risk for higher rates of harsh physical punishment. However, in this sample, harsh physical punishment is not the mechanism that results in higher subsequent-reports or removal rates.

Gedney, C., Lundahl, B., & Fawson, P. R. (accepted). Sexual assault prevention: A randomized control trial of a standard military intervention and a motivational interview enhancement. Violence and Victims. Accepted: 22 August 2019.

• The authors compared the impact of a sexual assault prevention program (SAPP) in increasing participants’ rejection of sexual assault myths and their willingness to act as bystanders to interrupt possible sexual assaults. College students who had experience with the U.S. Military were recruited and randomized to a “training as usual” or the same training aided by a motivational interview (MI) based enhancement. Only those in the MI enhanced SAPP reported increased willingness to intervene to interrupt possible sexual assaults. The MI enhancement took less than 20 minutes to deliver and seems to have promise in amplifying the impact of SAPPs.

Lundahl, B., Droubay, B., Burke, B., Butters, R., Nelford, K., Hardy, C., Keovongsa, K., & Bowles, M.(2019). Motivational interviewing adherence tools: A scoping review investigating content validity. Patient Education and Counseling,102(12), 2145-2155. Go to journal article

• The authors reviewed systems for assessing fidelity to motivational interviewing (MI). They found considerable variability in how MI is being assessed, which has implications for understanding how MI is being understood and conceptualized. Further, the authors identified which instruments assessed the most aspects of MI. Importantly, only two of 25 instruments assessed client responses – making most instruments singularly focused on the practitioner without attending to the function of MI on the client.

Min, M. O., Yoon, D., Minnes, S., Ridenour, T., & Singer, L. T. (2019). Profiles of individual assets and mental health symptoms in at-risk early adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 75, 1-11. Go to journal article

• Few studies investigated the combined patterns of individual assets (e.g., social competence, positive identity) and mental health symptoms (MHS) in adolescents. This study examined the patterns of early adolescents' individual assets and MHS assessed at age 12 and whether identified patterns were associated with later adolescents’ outcomes (early substance use, sexual risk behavior, aggressive behavior) assessed at age 15. Although profiles with MHS were associated with adolescent risk behaviors, this relationship was more pronounced for girls than for boys, suggesting that girls in the low assets with elevated MHS should be a primary concern for preventive intervention.

Thyer, B., Smith, T. E., Osteen, P. J., & Carter, T. (2019). The 100 most influential contemporary social work faculty as assessed by the h-index. Journal of Social Service Research, 45(5), 696-700. Go to journal article

• The names of faculty employed by the 76 member social work programs of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work were retrieved via a web-search. This resulted in a list of 2,204 social work faculty. Their individual H-Indices were then obtained, using either the Publish or Perish software, or via manual calculations from Google Scholar. The top 100 most influential contemporary social work faculty were identified, resulting in a listing of individuals who have published relatively large numbers of scholarly works which themselves have been subsequently highly cited. Apart from recognizing these productive individuals, listing them and their home institutions will permit future researchers to examine the causes and correlates of high academic productivity.

Rose, T., Leitch, J., Collins, K. S., Frey, J. J., & Osteen, P. J. (2019). Effectiveness of Youth Mental Health First Aid USA for Social Work Students. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(3), 291–302. Go to journal article

• Adolescent mental health is a public health priority. Considered an early intervention approach, Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) trains adults to provide initial assistance to adolescents experiencing a mental health problem or crisis. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the U.S. version of YMHFA (YMHFA-USA) among graduate social work students. Results indicate YMHFA-USA may improve factors related to master’s-level social work students’ abilities to engage with youth experiencing mental health problems.

Panos, P. T., Panos, A., Gerritsen-McKane, R., & Tendie, T. (2019). Care for Life Family Preservation Program: Outcome evaluation of a holistic community development program in Mozambique. Research on Social Work Practice, 30(1), 84-96. First published online: 1 May 2019. Go to journal article

• In 2016, Mozambique ranked 13th worldwide in infant mortality and 20th worldwide in maternal mortality. This study’s objective was to determine whether a comprehensive program, incorporating the International Association for Community Development’s recommended holistic elements, was effective in a country such as Mozambique. The use of comparison groups demonstrated the Care for Life program’s comprehensive, holistic, and sustainable approach is effective.

Prince, K. C., Jaggers, J. W., Walker, A., Shade, J., & Worwood, E. B. (in press). Methodological challenges in retrospective evaluation of mental health court effectiveness. Journal of Applied Social Science.

• Mental Health Courts (MHCs) are problem-solving courts that have been implemented throughout the United States. One critical component of MHCs is determining their effectiveness and limitations. However, unique challenges are encountered when evaluating MHCs. One major challenge, and the focus of this paper, is identifying an adequate control group. Though a randomized controlled trial presents an ideal approach, it is not always possible given retrospective data, and both ethical and logistical issues arise. Propensity score matching (PSM) provides an alternative approach for comparing groups when randomization is not possible. PSM works by first identifying the characteristics that make a person likely to be in treatment. This paper describes attempts to use PSM in a MHC evaluation. Specific challenges with PSM are discussed and recommendations are made for use of PSM with MHCs.

Dubrasky, D., Sorensen, S., Donovan, A., & Corser, G. (2019). “Discovering inner strengths”: A co-facilitative poetry therapy curriculum for groups. Journal of Poetry Therapy: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, Research and Education, 32(1), 1-10. Go to journal article

• The authors of this paper review the efficacy of poetry therapy and introduce a curriculum to be used in the provision of a co-facilitative poetry therapy group process, which involves a professional poet and a therapist. Drawing upon best practices of poetry therapy, the paper demonstrates that this innovative approach not only contributes to the field but is transferable among a variety of client populations. The authors present a curriculum, writing exercises, samples of poems, and include a plan for efficacy assessment in the context of a domestic violence survival group.

Donovan, A., Dubrasky, D., Sorensen, S., & Corser, G. (2019). Poetic license to write resistance: Women resisting intimate partner violence through poetry. Critical and Radical Social Work, 7(2), 155-171.  Go to journal article

• The poetry therapy program discussed describes work alongside members of a rural women’s support group addressing intimate partner violence. This approach contributes to social work theory/practice by expanding understandings of how women resist violence and affirms a tenet of Response-Based Practice: alongside each history of violence there runs a parallel history of prudent, determined, and often creative resistance. This approach to creative group-based work supports “positive social responses” to women resisting intimate partner violence, expanding the ways in which social workers can respond to survivors of violence. Subtle and safer responses to violence are undervalued by dominant therapeutic practices. Response-Based Practice maintains that violence is resisted on a spectrum and that less noticeable forms of resistance are well-reasoned and maintain dignity. This article describes how combining poetry therapy with Response-Based Practice can disrupt notions of resistance as solely outwardly expressed and large-action-oriented.

Goldberg, S. B., Flemotomos, N., Martinez, V. R., Tanana, M. J., Kuo, P., Pace, B. T., Villatte, J. L., Georgiou, P., Van Epps, J., Imel, Z. E., Narayanan, S., & Atkins, D. C. (in press). Machine learning and natural language processing in psychotherapy research: Alliance as example use case. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Accepted 1 August 2019. 

• In this study, the researchers were able to predict self-reported therapeutic alliance, using only the audio from a client-therapist interaction.  

Ruple, J., Tanana, M. J., & Williams, M. (in press). Does NEPA help or harm ESA critical habitat designations? An assessment of over 600 critical habitat rules. Ecology Law Quarterly, 46(3). University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 324. First published online: 30 June 2019. Go to paper

• This paper test whether impact analysis pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act delays federal decision making, and whether the NEPA process results in significant changes to the substance of federal decisions. We reviewed 636 rules designating critical habitat for species that are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Because of a circuit court split, some of these rules were subject to NEPA analysis while others were not. In comparing these two groups we found that rules that underwent NEPA analysis were completed more than three months faster than rules that were exempted from NEPA review. We also found that rules that were subject to NEPA review underwent less change in the size of the habitat area between the proposed and final rule than those that were exempted from NEPA.

Tanana, M. J., Soma, C. S., Srikumar, V., Atkins, D. C., & Imel, Z. E. (2019). Development and evaluation of ClientBot: Patient-like conversational agent to train basic counseling skills. Journal of Medical Internet Research,21(7), e12529. Go to journal article

• Training therapists is both expensive and time-consuming. Degree-based training can require tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of expert instruction. Counseling skills practice often involves role-plays, standardized patients, or practice with real clients. Performance-based feedback is critical for skill development and expertise, but trainee therapists often receive minimal and subjective feedback, which is distal to their skill practice. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that practice and feedback can improve trainee use of basic counseling skills.

Imel, Z. E., Pace, B., Soma, C. S., Tanana, M. J., Hirsch, T., James, G., Georgiou, P., Narayanan, S., & Atkins, D. A. (2019). Design feasibility of an automated, machine-learning based feedback system for Motivational Interviewing. Psychotherapy, 56(2), 318-328. Go to journal article

• The authors evaluated an initial proof of concept automated feedback system that generates motivational interviewing quality metrics and provides easy access to other session data (e.g., transcripts). The system automatically provides a report of session-level metrics (e.g., therapist empathy) and therapist behavior codes at the talk-turn level (e.g., reflections). The authors assessed usability, therapist satisfaction, perceived accuracy, and intentions to adopt.

Teasley, M. L. (2019). Education policy and outcomes within the African American population. Social Work in Public Health, 34(1), 61-74. Go to journal article

• The educational status among African Americans is a story of continuing achievement and continuing disparities in outcomes. On one hand, there are continuing stories of high academic accomplishments among Black Americans who attend and graduate from high-ranking American institutions of higher education. On the other hand, the continuing gap in educational opportunities and outcomes within Black America is shaping present and future education disparities. This essay examines the impact of recent education policy on education reform and outcomes for African Americans. The dynamic characteristics of the Black American educational experience are discussed. Some attention is given to historical factors that helped shape present-day education reform measures and their impact on the African-American educational experience. Education policy as a public health issue is briefly addressed throughout this article. Suggestions are made for future policy initiatives and advocacy, teaching, and for human-service professionals working with Black children and youth in school settings.

Bent-Goodley, T. B., Williams, J. H., Teasley, M. L., & Gorin, S. H. (Eds.). (2019). Grand Challenges for Society: Evidence-Based Social Work Practice. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

• Social workers face complex societal issues that often seem insurmountable. Pulled in many directions, sustainable progress can seem impossible. To help focus on what matters most, the American Academy for Social Work and Social Welfare has recently set out 12 grand challenges for social work and society, in three broad categories of individual and family well-being, social fabric, and social justice.

Teasley, M. L., Schiele, J. H., Adams, C., & Okilwa, N. S. (2019). Trayvon Martin: Racial profiling, black male stigma, and social work practice. In T. B. Bent-Goodley, J. H. Williams, & M. L.Teasley, & S. H. Gorin (Eds.), Grand Challenges for Society: Evidence-Based Social Work Practice (pp. 483-491). Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

• To address a critical gap in the social work literature, this chapter examines the deleterious effects of racial profiling as it pertains to police targeting of male African Americans. The authors use the Trayvon Martin court case to exemplify how racial profiling and black male stigma help perpetuate social inequality and injustice for Black men. A racism-centered perspective is examined historically and contemporarily as a theoretical approach to understanding the role that race plays in social injustice through racial profiling. Implications for social work research design and practice aimed at increasing the social work knowledge base on racial profiling are discussed. The authors call for attention and advocacy by major social work organizations in the reduction of Black male stigma and racial profiling.

Topuzova, L. N., Tecle, A. S., Ha, A. T., & Hunter, R. (Accepted). Global Learning Communities: Bridging Borders and Building Capacity of Communities on the Margins. In P. Blessinger & E. Sengupta (Eds.), Civil Society and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.

• Education of refugees and internally displaced persons IDP(s), is not one of the needs that is immediately addressed by UNHCR, mainly due to the way policies and services were originally conceived, with the view that forced displacement and migration is temporary. However, in the last couple of decades, both policy makers and practitioners, as well as the academe, have come to realize that the protracted nature of the refugee experience requires different responses and intervention, including a focus on education on all levels, from the primary to higher/tertiary education. In this chapter, the authors describe a university-community partnership that offers a Social Work Case Management Certificate (CMC) program for paraprofessionals, volunteers, and community social change agents living in refugee camps and other marginalized settings where communities are in forced migration.

Green, D., Yaffe,J., & Kopak, A. (2019).  Relapse among recovering addiction professionals: Prevalence and predictors. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 19(4), 323-344. Go to journal article

• In 2013–2014, a cross-sectional, exploratory, survey design was used to obtain a conservative estimate of relapse among a sample of recovering addiction professionals in the United States and to identify potential predictors for relapse. The sample was drawn from the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium. The relapse rate for the sample was 14.7%. Two predictors for relapse were identified in the stepwise logistic regression. The more mutual-aid group meetings respondents attended per month, the less likely they were to have experienced relapse, and the longer participants had been in recovery when their careers began, the less likely they were to have experienced relapse. The authors provide suggestions regarding the recovery health of recovering addiction professionals as well as recommendations for future research.

Robbins, S. P., McDonell, J., Strom-Gottfried, K. J., Burton, D., & Yaffe, J. (2019). Behaviorism, social learning, and exchange theory. In S. P. Robbins, P. Chatterjee, E. R. Canda, & G. S. Liebowitz (Eds.), Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective for Social Work Practice (4th ed., pp. 368-400).  Boston, MA: Pearson.

• In the chapter, the authors give a critical perspective of behaviorism, social learning, and exchange theory, theoretical underpinnings, consistency with social work values and ethics, empirical support, and applications to social work practice.

Kim, M. A., Yi, J., Wilford, A., & Kim, S. (2019). Parenting changes of mothers of a child with cancer. Journal of Family Issues.  First published online: 3 October 2019.  Go to journal article

• Having a child with cancer affects the dyadic relationship between caregivers and the child. This study focused on changes in parenting and discipline among mothers after their child was diagnosed with cancer. Thematic analysis yielded five themes related to parenting changes: parental overprotection, increased parental permissiveness, use of threats to ensure compliance, concern for the child’s stress levels, and mothers’ confusion about optimal parenting. All mothers reported uncertainty and concern regarding how best to parent their sick child to ensure optimal health outcomes. The findings inform best practices for integrating medical and mental health care to support optimal maternal parenting and encourage optimal health outcomes for children with cancer.

Kim, M. A., Yi, J., Sang, J., & Jung, D. H. (2019). A photovoice study on the bereavement experience of mothers after the death of a child. Death Studies. First published online: 16 August 2019.  Go to journal article

• This study explored the bereavement experience of mothers after losing a child to cancer in Korea, using photovoice. The mothers took photos reflecting five subject areas they selected: (a) if I had one more day with my child, (b) memories with my child, (c) dreaming of my child’s healthy future, (d) what gave me strength, and (e) fulfilling my child’s wishes for the future. The findings show that mothers who lost a child to cancer need bereavement care to promote well-being. This study can help pediatric oncology providers develop bereavement interventions that address parental grief and improve quality of life.

Kim, M. A., Yi, J., Jung, D. H., & Kim, C. K. (2019). Bereavement service needs among mothers who lost a child to cancer. Health and Social Welfare Review, 39(2), 291-331. First published online: 14 July 2019.  Go to journal article

• Parents who lost their child to cancer can experience challenges in various areas of their life. Bereavement support services for these parents, however, are lacking. This study examined the bereavement service needs of bereaved mothers of children and adolescents with cancer. Based on thematic analysis of interviews with bereaved mothers of a child who died before 24 years of age from cancer, the authors found the following service needs during the end-of-life period and after the death of their child: (a) services improving end-of-life and (b) services reducing bereaved parents’ psychosocial difficulties after their child’s death. These study findings highlight the need for bereavement support services that hospitals and community-based agencies should address to help bereaved parents handle psychosocial challenges throughout their child’s end-of-life care and after the child’s death.

Yi, J., Kim, M. A., & Akter, J. (2019). How do they grow out of their cancer experience? Korean adolescent and young adult cancer survivors' stories. Ethnicity and Health. First published online: 12 April 2019.  Go to journal article

• Cancer experiences can bring positive as well as negative impacts. The current literature, however, focuses mainly on the negative impacts. This qualitative study examines Korean childhood cancer survivors’ post-traumatic growth, which concerns how they respond positively to the cancer experience and how they change as a result of their experience. The study findings can be used by psychosocial care professionals to support Korean cancer survivors to recognize post-traumatic growth and, thus, achieve improved well-being.

Yi, J., Kim, M. A., Choi, K., Droubay, B., & Kim, S.H. (2019). Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among medical social workers in Korea: The role of empathy. Social Work in Health Care, 58(10), 970-987. Go to journal article

• Medical social workers are affected by their clients’ suffering, which has an impact on social workers’ professional quality of life. This study examined the role of empathy in relation to professional quality of life among medical social workers in South Korea. Using the Professional Quality of Life Scale and Interpersonal Reactivity Index, we found that empathic concern and personal distress were significant components of empathy and were correlated with professional quality of life. Medical social workers should be educated on and trained in how empathy can help them address compassion fatigue and promote compassion satisfaction.

Kim, M. A., Yi, J., Choi, K. H., & Kim, S. H. (2019). Oncology health care providers service needs for reducing compassion fatigue. Journal of Critical Social Welfare, 63, 47-100. Go to journal article

• Oncology health care providers who provide professional services to cancer patients and their families often experience compassion fatigue due to repeated exposure to suffering and feelings of loss their clients face. This study explored the service needs of oncology health care providers to reduce their compassion fatigue. Results indicate service needs of oncology health care providers to reduce their compassion fatigue fall within the following six service domains: (a) psychological counseling with understanding of the current system of oncology health care services; (b) self-help groups for oncology health care providers; (c) education for improving stress coping skills; (d) training for building professional expertise and skills; and (e) enhancement of healthy work environment. This study emphasizes the need for service development among oncology health care providers, who are critical resources for oncology care. This study is expected to help develop programs that reflect needs of oncology health care providers for compassion fatigue and burnout, and thus enhance the quality of services that they provide.

 

Other Publications

Davis, M. J., Armstrong, M. I., Vargo, A. C., Johnson, M. H., Poulsen, R., West, K. A., O’Connor, A. B., Fluke, J. D., Anderson, S., Abella, A. D., Fowles, R., Hopkins, R., Vanderloo, M. J., Tanana, M. J., and Cheng, J. (2016). Utah Title IV-E demonstration project: Final evaluation report. Washington D.C.: Children’s Bureau.

Garland, E. L. (2019). Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Matthew O. Howard as a mentor and his influence on the science of mindfulness as a treatment for addiction. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 10(1), 7-12.  Go to statement

Loomis, A. M., Randall, K., & Lang, J. (2019). Helping young children exposed to trauma: A systems approach to implementing trauma-informed care. IMPACT Brief for Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI). Go to report

• This IMPACT provides a summary of the research on the effects of early trauma exposure, discusses what Connecticut is doing across systems to support young children who have experienced trauma, and outlines a framework to expand Connecticut's robust system of trauma-informed care for older children to include younger children.

Teasley, M. L. (2019). Three Cheers for Children & Schools! Children & Schools, 41(1), 3-6. (Peer-reviewed editorial). Go to publication

Yaffe, J. (2019). From the Editor—Integrating the Grand Challenges into social work education. Journal of Social Work Education,55(4), 623-625. Go to publication

Yaffe, J. (2019). From the Editor—Integrity vs. Despair. Journal of Social Work Education,55(3), 417-419. Go to publication

Yaffe, J. (2019). From the Editor—Predatory Journals in Social Work. Journal of Social Work Education,55(2), 211-214. Go to publication

Yaffe, J. (2019). From the Editor—Do We Have a Replication Crisis in Social Work Research? Journal of Social Work Education,55(1), 1-4. Go to publication