Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Understanding the unique health and behavioral health needs of refugees is critical to developing culturally sensitive interventions and services for this vulnerable population. This paper highlights the process of recruiting participants for a study exploring these needs for resettled refugee women from their own perspectives and the perspectives of resettlement service providers. We recruited 14 resettled refugee women and seven service providers to participate in a semi-structured interview, which included open-ended questions and culturally-relevant vignettes designed to stimulate discussion about health and behavioral health issues. Participating women were receptive to the vignettes and were highly engaged in the study. With respect to methods, we found that it is feasible and practical to collect qualitative data using vignettes coupled with semi-structured interview questions. With respect to recruiting strategies, participants were more responsive to personal connections rather than to advertisements for recruitment. This paper reports the methodology; study results are reported separately.

Foster parents' perceptions of familial and parental factors that promote or inhibit successful fostering were examined using semi-structured interviews. Characteristics that facilitate successful fostering include faith or support from church, a deep concern for children, tolerance, a strong cooperative marriage in married foster families, and a daily life that is characterized as organized and routinized but flexible in terms of responding to children's needs and external demands. Characteristics that inhibit successful fostering include non-child-centered fostering motivations, competing demands for parents' time and energy, parents' difficulties in dealing with strong attachments to children who might have to leave the family, and personal and interpersonal inflexibility. The findings from this study highlight the need for foster parents to be skilled at creating family patterns that are characterized by clear, consistent routines and expectations as well as flexibility and tolerance. This dialectic pattern of family functioning should be a primary focus during training for foster parent applicants.

Objective: This article examines the psychometric properties of the Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Worker Version (CFAI-W), a questionnaire designed to assess the potential of foster family care applicants to provide foster care. Method: Retrospective data were collected from 208 foster care workers who completed two copies of the CFAI-W, one for the best foster family and one for the worst foster family they had ever known. Results: The CFAI-W demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability and evidence of predictive and discriminant validity. Conclusions: The CFAI-W can be used in combination with other methods to introduce standardization and accountability to the assessment of foster parent applicants.

Little is known about the job satisfaction of licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) participating in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) federal Loan Repayment Program (LRP). Employee satisfaction in organizations is important for organizational well-being and to decrease turnover. A satisfied NHSC LCSW workforce is also important given the array of services it provides, especially in rural and underserved areas. This study examined the work satisfaction of 386 LCSWs participating in the NHSC LRP in 21 states. Rural upbringing, being older than 40 years, and a higher salary were significantly associated with overall work and practice satisfaction. In addition, satisfaction with administration, staff and the practices' linkages to other health providers, the mission of the practice, and connection with patients were strongly associated with overall work and practice satisfaction. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the work and practice satisfaction of LCSWs participating in the NHSC LRP, and our findings have the potential to inform the NHSC's strategies in managing and retaining LCSWs.

Purpose: A formative evaluation examined the acceptability and feasibility of tiny homes for people living with serious mental illness (SMI). Methods: The evaluation included four focus groups with people with SMI and service providers ( n = 28) and eight overnight stays with people with SMI. Results: The analysis identified six recommendations for tailoring the design of the tiny homes and the community where the homes will be located to meet the needs of people living with SMI. The recommendations for the design of the tiny homes included maximize natural light and outdoor spaces, design flexible living spaces, and ensure accessibility. The recommendations for the design of the surrounding community included ensure privacy, build a community, and maximize residents' connectivity. Conclusions: This research serves as a starting point for interventions that aim to develop housing that is both affordable and tailored to the needs of people with SMI.