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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Striving to do well what comes naturally: social support, developmental psychopathology, and social policy.

Social support can have significant stress-preventive and stress-buffering benefits for troubled individuals in everyday circumstances. Consequently, it is not surprising that many therapeutic and preventive programs enlist social support to address problems of child and family psychopathology, especially in the context of "two-generation interventions" that seek to improve child well-being by strengthening parental functioning and parent-child relationships. Home visitation programs are the best known of these two-generation strategies and have become the focus of state-level and national efforts to support families and prevent harm to children. The conclusions of basic research studies on social support converge significantly with the findings of evaluation studies of the impact of home visitation programs to yield important new insights into the conditions in which formal social support is likely to be beneficial. or ineffective, in improving child and family well-being. Both basic and applied research literatures emphasize the importance of linking formal social support to informal social networks in extended families, neighborhoods, and communities, and attending to the complex reactions of the recipients of support and the needs of support providers. These studies are reviewed and evaluated to highlight the connections between social support, developmental psychopathology. and social policy.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Tax policy as social policy: cafeteria plans, 1978-1985.

Since the passage of Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code in 1978, cafeteria plans have offered employees a choice of tax-free fringe benefits. Although these plans have been popular with employers and employees, Treasury Department officials and many tax lawyers soon came to regard Section 125 as a mistake. The Treasury has tried to reclaim through regulation the revenue and the fundamental principles of tax law it had asked Congress to give away in 1978. This paper is a history of Section 125 that emphasizes its relationship to health policy. On the basis of interviews and printed primary sources, the paper argues that Treasury officials made a less than rigorous assessment of the impact of cafeteria plans because they were preoccupied with a larger agenda of making tax-free benefits more equitable. Moreover, they saw no reason to collaborate with the health policy community to plan this agenda; they saw themselves as implementing a social policy already in the Internal Revenue Code.

Civil Rights↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social medicine and social policy.

Social medicine as a term has achieved acceptance in medical education and medical practice, although there is still some question as to its acceptance in reality. The term had its origin in the vigorous nineteenth-century efforts at both medical and social reform, combining the two in a recognition of the intimate connection between social factors and the causation of disease. Henry Ernest Sigerist, a Swiss physician and noted scholar of medical history, formulated the broadest concept in the 1930s, attracting students and a latent American reform movement toward the idea of restructuring medical education as one part of social reform, and indicating ways of restructuring medical practice as another element in improving medical care at the same time. In addition to promulgating the doctrine, he established the policy of examining and describing systems of medical education and medical care in other parts of the world, not only to assist in improving medical care in countries with well-organized systems, but to assist countries with poor resources and lesser organizational capability in meeting the goals of social medicine. Doubt as to the durability of the concept has been expressed, insofar as the recommended improvements have lagged behind the expression, and because so many changes have taken place in the nature of medical practice, medical discoveries, and advances in technology. A closer examination of Sigerist's writings on the subject and evaluation of the circumstances around present-day problems would seem to indicate that the flaw is not in the doctrine, but in the lack of social application.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2004

Social welfare policy: social rehabilitation of psychiatric patients in urban China.

BACKGROUND: The background of this paper is an empirical research on social rehabilitation of psychiatric patients in a large urban city in China during the post-Mao period, the Beijing Psychiatric Rehabilitation Research. Another aspect of this background is an exchange with Chen Sheying, a colleague interested in social services for the elderly in China. The underlying assumption of this paper is the multiple similarities between those two areas. OBJECTIVES: The first objective of this paper is to present a contextual analysis of the development of psychiatric rehabilitation in urban China and a second objective is to stress the similarities between psychiatric rehabilitation and social services to the elderly. MATERIAL: The material presented, while referring mainly to the general context of psychiatry and rehabilitation around that period, includes some data from the Beijing research. There are five analytical dimensions: (1) epistemological choices and research paradigms; (2) rehabilitation as an idea; (3) rehabilitation as a social, political and cultural matter; (4) factors of change in the recent history of China; and, finally, (5) mental illness as a personal experience. DISCUSSION: This presentation leads to a discussion about the multiple similarities between the social welfare of two vulnerable categories of people (i.e. psychiatric patients and the elderly). It also offers, in the specific field of mental illness, a general interpretation of the rapid social changes in urban China. CONCLUSION: The conclusion is that psychiatric and ageing services are both a product of interaction among various cultural and social-political-economic factors. Any social welfare intervention or policy should be based on a thorough understanding of the five dimensions referred to earlier, including the traditional Chinese familism and structural dimensions of the post-Mao 'economic state' orientation.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

The effects of physical attractiveness on gaining access to alcohol: when social policy meets social decision making.

Despite numerous legal interventions, minors continue to purchase and consume alcohol. Prior research had suggested that the decision to request identification to prove legal age was susceptible to various judgement and decision heuristics. This research examined whether the physical attractiveness of the potential consumer and the presence or absence of others were significant predictors of alcohol accessibility. Bartenders (n = 130) rated a target individual who was either high or low in attractiveness. Results indicated that attractiveness was a significant predictor of "proofing likelihood". High levels of attractiveness were associated with a decrease in the likelihood of being asked to provide proof of legal age for the purchase of alcohol. Individuals presented alone were seen as significantly older than when grouped with others. Implications of these findings for the restriction of alcohol availability among minors are considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Drug treatment systems and policy frameworks: a comparative social policy perspective.

The article offers a discussion of drug treatment systems from a social policy perspective. Comparative studies of social policy have utilised typologies to aid analysis. These are briefly characterised in this article. Current analysis of social policy points to changes in the shape of policy regimes. How are these changes impacting on drug treatment systems? Key principles around which policy forms are organised are the desire to effect social control, the desire to meet human need, and the need to minimise harm from risks present in the environment. In practice, these principles operate in tension and different outcomes are observable in different societies. The article argues that, in spite of these historical and cultural differences, some convergence is observable in systems as they adapt to global influences. There remains however an urgent need for more detailed empirical research on policy responses in different countries, utilising the case-study approach adopted by the ISDRUTS collaborators.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2006

From a social issue to policy: Social work's advocacy for the rights of donor conceived people to genetic origins information in the United Kingdom.

This paper outlines a 22 year campaign to introduce openness into the arena of donor conception in the UK. It identifies key aspects of the development of an advocacy based approach to such work and argues that social work values and principles can prove key to identifying structural inequalities which are not necessarily based in socio-economic disadvantage. Donor conceived people may find themselves in families which enjoy material privilege but whose exposure to a legislative framework and dominant professional cultures within the treatment centres encourages secrecy around genetic origins. Social workers' experience of adoption and family work leads them to recognise the danger of such secrets within families. Turning such social issues into policy changes requires vision, strategic long term advocacy and partnership with those directly affected.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Women and social security: social policy adjusts to social change.

Women age sixty-five and over now constitute about three fifths of the elderly population. They live longer than men and over time that longevity gap is increasing. Yet their income in later years is woefully inadequate. Poverty status is greater for elderly women than for elderly men; over half of aged women in poverty are widows. This paper describes the social security program, the cornerstone of our retirement income, and the lack of congruence of its provisions with contemporary social roles of women. It analyzes alternative proposals of two-tier, double decker and homemaker benefits, and earnings sharing, and their possible impact on women's economic status. It recommends improvements for this transition period while more basic structural reform is under discussion. Reform based on societal consensus could increase equity of treatment and adequacy of benefits for women. It is an essential prelude to consideration of long range financing needs of social security.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Innovation in social policy: collaborative policy advocacy.

In a time of policy devolution, social workers have a unique opportunity to develop a significant voice in constructing state social welfare policy. This article examines a method of collaborative policy advocacy led by social work researchers, practitioners, advocates, and students. It is illustrated with a five-year project to reduce wealth inequality through community economic development. Researchers brought expertise in ideas and analysis to real-world applications. Social work practitioners brought essential "on the ground" expertise. Students brought much-needed assistance and a fresh perspective to the social policy process. Advocates, working in social welfare advocacy organizations, bridged these perspectives and provided experience in policy advocacy. Working with coalition partners, social workers successfully placed asset-based community economic development strategies on the state agenda and were instrumental in passage of innovative legislation. The article demonstrates that the policy-making process is open to influence by social workers, especially if they come prepared with innovative and promising ideas about long-standing social issues. Social workers can and should take the lead and become significant actors in state policy development.

Community Participation↗
PubMed1982

Explanation and social policy: 'the' problem of social inequalities in health.

Inequalities in rates of sickness and mortality between social groups has long been a matter of concern and of inquiry in Britain. Disciplinary differentiation has resulted in the problem now being treated within what have become three distinct intellectual traditions. These are social administration, epidemiology, and sociology, and the accounts they provide differ significantly from each other. This is partly because 'the' problem is somewhat differently defined in each; and partly because of their different orientations to theory and to practical amelioration. This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and raises the possibility of a more adequate explanation than any one discipline provides. The implications for study of social administration are considered.

Epidemiology↗
PubMed2006

From the bottom up: tracing the impact of four health-based social movements on health and social policies.

Although health-based social movements organized by grassroots activists have a rich history in impacting health and social policy, few systematic studies have addressed their policy change efforts or effectiveness. In this article, the authors trace how four health-based social movements-the women's health movement, ACT UP, breast cancer, and needle exchange-influenced health and social policy legislation. The activists' efforts wrested control of "authoritative knowledge" that had once been the sole domain of "experts" with advanced medical training. They used this knowledge to empower "average" people with medical information, promote self help and engage in civil disobedience, which led to changes in healthcare delivery, drug testing and approval, and increased research funds for HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and needle exchange. The activists' efforts led to other health-based social movements that are currently, or will become, issues for health and social policy analysts in the future.

Community Networks↗
PubMed1997

Social policy considerations in perinatal social work.

Infant mortality has been a major problem in the United States for many years. Despite recent improvements, it continues to be a major social and economic problem. This is particularly true in non-white populations, where the infant mortality rate is significantly higher. This article discusses some of the reasons for the continued high rate of infant mortality, with particular attention to barriers which, if removed, might improve the health of newborn infants. How social workers can use this information in advocacy efforts is then explored in an effort to involve social workers more directly in this pressing national problem.

Health Services Needs and Demand↗