IU School of Social Work Collection
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Item Supports and Barriers: Social Work Educators Addressing Student Wellness Needs(Taylor & Francis, 2024) McCarthy, Katherine; Kondrat, David; Johnson, Nina; School of Social WorkWhile the years spent in college or graduate school have traditionally been viewed as demanding, current students face financial, emotional, and mental health stressors that interfere with their success at alarming rates. Undoubtedly social issues, cultural challenges, and economic realities complicate these experiences for students. At the same time, the negative effects of stress on learning capacity can prompt a blurring of the traditional line between educator and supporter, especially for social work educators. One hundred twenty-eight social work educators responded to a survey questionnaire about what helps or hinders their efforts to support student wellness. Inductive content analyses were conducted with seven themes identified around what supports educators and five themes identified around barriers that interfere with educators in their efforts to address student wellness needs. Major factors influencing educator effects include resource availability, educator-student partnerships, wellness-centered pedagogy, environmental culture, and oppressive forces. Implications for social work educators and administrators are explored.Item The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and social daily life of married individuals during the total curfew in Kuwait(Elsevier, 2023-12) Al-Ma'seb, Hend; Al-Sejari, Maha; Kondrat, David; School of Social WorkBackground Economic problems, social distancing, and drastic alterations to daily lifestyle behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals’ social relations worldwide. Objective This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participants’ social relationships, diets, incomes, health, religious beliefs, and mental health. Method An online questionnaire composed of demographic questions; questions regarding participants’ social, economic, and health lives; and two scales that measure depression, anxiety, stress and positive and negative suicide ideation inventory was distributed to 528 married couples. Results The findings of this study showed significant differences between the independent variables and the dependent variables, which were the DASS and the PANSI. Conclusion The findings from this study highlight the importance of beliefs about COVID-19 for the welfare of families. Furthermore, the findings contribute to the literature by examining how people's views of the effects of COVID-19 on social relations, healthy diets, incomes, health, and religion relate to mental health.Item Navigating Identity Changes Through the Digital Migration: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Social Work Educators(Taylor & Francis, 2024) Glassburn, Susan; Dennis, Sheila; McCarthy, Katherine; School of Social WorkOnline educational delivery is reconstituting educator roles, functions, and expectations, and with that, each educator’s sense of identity as a teacher. This collaborative autoethnography (CAE) explores the experience of three social work educators and the ways in which their identities have shifted as a result of teaching online. CAE provides a qualitative analysis framework which allows for an in-depth exploration of personal meaning-making and the commonalities and differences in the narratives of the authors, while making connections to the literature and the larger context of online education. Four themes emerged in our autoethnographic collaboration as being an integral part of our online educator identities and satisfactions in teaching: (1) the centrality of connection with students, (2) values and beliefs about quality teaching and learning, (3) sense of agency and creativity, and (4) modeling the professional use of self. Synthesizing our findings with the extant literature, we discuss how online teaching shapes educators’ identities, including their sense of self, satisfaction, and motivations. Humanizing educators by acknowledging identity changes in online delivery is an important investment in the sustainability of the academic workforce.Item What are the Sources of Stress in Parents of a Child with Autism? A Qualitative Study(Research Walkers, 2022) Befkadu, Biruk; Adamek, Margaret E.; Ero, Debebe; School of Social WorkBackgrounds: Autism is a neuro-developmental disability that creates stress on the parents of a child with autism. This study was aimed to examine the sources of stress in parents of a child living with autism in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Method: Through purposive/convenience sampling, 12 parents were selected and interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic data analysis. Result: The identified sources of stress were: (a) Stresses during the Diagnosis, (b) Stresses from a Busy Day-to-Day Routine, (c) Stresses from Managing the Behavior of a Child with Autism, and (d) Stresses about the Future. Implications: The existing system in Ethiopia has to proactively/actively work to address the stress and other concerns of the parents.Item Effects of Social Isolation on the Well-Being and Coping Mechanisms of Older Adults in Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Kotecho, Messay; Kassay, Abraham; Adamek, Margaret; School of Social WorkResearch concerning older adults is gaining attention in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, previous research has disregarded the issue of social isolation among elders in Ethiopia. The prevalence of social isolation among older adults is now a significant concern worldwide due to its impact on both individuals and society at large. This study examined how social isolation affects the well-being of older adults and their coping mechanisms, focusing specifically on the experiences of older adults in Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia. A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the experiences of 10 older adults (5 male and 5 female) aged 60 and above, purposefully selected for in-depth interviews and observations. The results indicate that participants are increasingly susceptible to social isolation due to factors such as negative perceptions of aging, loss of meaningful relationships, economic hardships, and age-related health issues. Consequently, elders experience a reduction in social connections, health issues, psychological distress, and challenges in meeting basic needs. Despite these obstacles, older adults have developed various coping strategies, including engaging in prayer and spiritual practices, depending on intergenerational support, participating in traditional savings associations (Idir), and sleeping excessively. Nonetheless, many participants express feelings of pessimism, weakness, lack of affection, and a sense of worthlessness about their future. Additionally, participants report facing disengagement and a loss of social ties alongside grappling with severe poverty and inadequate access to healthcare services. The study underscores the urgent need to bolster intergenerational solidarity and social capital within the community to tackle the multifaceted challenges confronting older adults in Ethiopia.Item Intergenerational Equity: An Urgent Call for Aging Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Teshome, Abraham; Adeniji, Dolapo; Ashirifi, Gifty; Adamek, Margaret; School of Social WorkContrary to popular belief, family-based care and support for older people in Sub-Saharan Africa is gradually eroding due to various factors, including urbanization, migration, and modernization. As the issues of older people and aging are not mainstreamed into national economic and development agenda and policies, most older people in the region live in abject poverty, which has undermined their healthy aging and quality of life. Although many Sub-Saharan African countries are signatories to the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), only a few have developed national aging policies to meet the needs of their older population. Against this backdrop, we conducted cross-sectional qualitative study to learn why public policy in Sub-Saharan Africa is sluggish in responding to the needs of the region’s growing older population. We conducted an online survey (n=78) and three FGDs (n=13) with African scholars and practitioners from 12 nations. Based on descriptive and thematic analyses, our study revealed five themes: a) lack of political will, b) disconnect between researchers and policymakers, c) lack of research and comprehensive data related to older people, d) inappropriate aging policy, and e) budget constraints. Our study’s findings call for more research and comprehensive data regarding the needs and challenges of the region’s older population, policy advocacy, and awareness-raising about older adults’ issues among policymakers, involvement of all stakeholders in aging policy development, and regular dialogues between policymakers, researchers, older adults, and other stakeholders.Item Examining Knowledge About Five Alzheimer’s Disease–Related Service Areas and its Correlates in Korean Americans(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Hong, Michin; Lee, Sang; School of Social WorkThis study examined knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) related services and its predictors among Korean Americans (KAs). A total of 268 KAs in the Greater Washington metropolitan area participated and completed a cross-sectional survey. Knowledge about AD related services was assessed by asking how well they knew about each of the following areas: Diagnostic services, Alzheimer’s specialists, community-based services, home-based services, and institutional care, with four categories of responses from don’t know at all to know well. Multiple regression analyses were conducted for each service area with predictors including education, English proficiency, exposure to AD, sources and frequency of health-related information, and AD knowledge about treatment and management. KAs were more knowledgeable about community- and home-based services and institutional care than diagnostic services and Alzheimer’s specialist. All regression models except for diagnostic services were significant: Having more exposure to AD is related to being more knowledgeable in Alzheimer’s specialist, community- and home-based services, and institutional care; having more sources and frequency of health information is related to being more knowledgeable about Alzheimer’s specialist; and being more knowledgeable about AD management and treatment is related to having more knowledge about community- and home-based services, respectively. Our findings revealed specific areas of services more and less known to KAs, which needs to be addressed in educational outreach. Multivariate analyses identified variations in the predictors of different service areas while confirming the robust role of exposure to AD across the service areas, suggesting ways to increase knowledge about certain types of AD services.Item Korean Version of Public Stigma of Alzheimer’s Disease Scale: Development and Evaluation Among Korean Americans(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Hong, Michin; Lee, Sang; School of Social WorkThis study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the public stigma of Alzheimer’s diseases scale (KPS-ADS). Stigma toward Alzheimer’s disease (AD) prevents the early diagnosis of AD, causing the delayed treatments. To our knowledge, there is no proper measure to assess AD public stigma among the Korean-speaking population. We used a community survey dataset with 268 Korean Americans. We translated the 19 items of the layperson’s stigma, a dimension of the Family Stigma in AD scale, using Brislin’s method. After randomly dividing the sample into two sub-groups, we conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with one group to explore the factor structure of the KPS-ADS, and then performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the other group to validate its identified factor structure. Additionally, we performed reliability tests. EFA identified three factors: negative emotions, empathetic response, and social behaviors. Using this three-factor model, we performed CFA with the highest loading items loaded on each factor, but it showed a poor model fit. After removing three items, the revised model showed an excellent model fit (χ2 = 185.788, df = 97, p = 0.000, CFI = 0.955, TLI = 0.944, RMSEA = 0.081[90% CI: 0.063–0.099, p ≤ 0.05 = 0.003]). All loadings were significant. The KPS-ADS demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability (α=.87), with each domain demonstrating excellent internal consistency. Our study presents a psychometrically sound, multifaceted KPS-ADS that contribute to better understanding the nature and magnitude of AD public stigma and reducing it in this population.Item A Scoping Review of Machine Learning Studies on Dementia Risk for Ethnoracial Minorities(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Hong, Michin; Ji, Soo-Yeon; Kim, Seon; Kim, Kyeongmo; School of Social WorkThis study aims to provide an integrated review about dementia risk for ethnoracial minorities from machine learning (ML) based-studies. While ML methods are widely used in dementia research, their benefit for ethnoracial minorities remains unclear. We located prior research using combinations of the key words related to ML (e.g., neural network, deep learning, artificial intelligence), dementia and ethnoracial minorities from major electronic databases. Out of 599 initially searched articles, 389 remained after removing duplicates, and finally, 14 met the inclusion criteria. The interdisciplinary research team employed reiterative data analysis to identify key themes. All included studies, published since 2020, aimed to identify essential risk factors and generate predictive models for cognitive impairments. Most studies and treated race as a predictor after aggregating it into two or three categories, finding a lower risk of dementia among non-Hispanic Whites compared to Hispanics or Non-Hispanic Blacks. One study aimed to develop a predictive model of cognitive impairment applicable across non-Hispanic White, no-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic groups. Various ML techniques were used, such as neural network, random forest, support vector machine, and gradient boosting with some adopting Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique to oversample minority groups. Our review indicated that ML-based studies have made limited progress in understanding dementia risk among ethnoracial minorities. National data sets used in most reviewed studies, have lacked minority samples, and this seems to persist with the ML approaches, possibly contributing to deteriorating the existing racial gap. Proactive efforts should focus on ethnoracial variations in dementia risk in ML-based studies.Item Is a Universal Term for Older Adults Culturally Appropriate? Considering Preferred Terms in Africa(Oxford University Press, 2024-12-31) Adamek, Margaret; Ashirifi, Gifty; Adeniji, Dolapo; Teshome, Abraham; School of Social WorkTerminology matters. For consistency’s sake, one may argue that aging scholars should use one universal term for older adults regardless of what part of the world they are studying. Others may argue that the terms used by scholars in the Global South to refer to older adults should not be dictated by scholars in the Global North. If the term “elder” is a term of respect for older adults in Sub-Saharan Africa, should African scholars writing about aging be required to use the preferred term of the Global North? Can a universal term for older adults be culturally appropriate globally? With such questions in mind, we conducted a mixed methods study of preferred terms for older adults. Respondents included 78 African scholars and practitioners who completed an online survey. For this study we analyzed responses of 13 scholars from 6 African nations who participated in online focus groups. Using descriptive narrative analysis, our results indicate a wide variety of preferred terms for older adults including elder (Ethiopia), elderly, senior citizen, seniors, pensioners, and golden agers (Malawi). Many terms for older adults exist in local dialects—some connoting respect for elders, others that are derogatory. Respondents indicated older Africans prefer terms that convey respect, honor, and endearment. In scholarly dissemination efforts, we recommend a balanced approach with a universal term such as older adults for international audiences and yet leeway for native scholars to use the term for older people (e.g., “elder”) that is a best fit for their culture.