Drawing on ethnographic data, this article analyzes differentiation within a German parenting education program, illustrating how those involved become subjects of parenting education and how these practices shape diversity as practices of recognition. The study adopts Rose and Ricken's (2018) conceptualization of recognition as (re-)addressing, moving beyond a normative understanding of recognition as affirmation and delving into differentiation at the levels of selection, norm formation, positioning, and valuation. The study underscores the ambivalent nature of diversity practices and reveals a nuanced hierarchy within the program, where role modelling and a 'makeover' narrative drive the relational dynamics and shape the position of the 'professional other' (Heite, 2008) as a 'diversity worker' (Ahmed, 2012). Ultimately, the study concludes that diversity practices are inherently situated within societal dynamics of power and constitute powerful practices of recognition themselves, rather than serving as a means of escaping from power.
In this article, we will discuss diversity-sensitive research approaches and demonstrate how researchers can engage in self-critical reflections on their projects in relation to diversity and inclusion. The debate about diversity and inclusion in social work is increasingly characterized by a critical examination of organizations and professions. In this context, questions about the configuration of diversity and the ethical justifications of categorizations applied play a fundamental role. Against the backdrop of different models of justice, we examine diversity in terms of inclusion and exclusion within research on organizations. In this article, we provide a conceptual framework of critical diversity research in social service organizations which reflects the interplay of diversity, inclusion, and social justice. For this framework, we specifically draw on principles of participatory and inclusion research and apply them to the context of diversity in social service organizations.
The present article analyzes the potential of the photovoice method in diverse societies. Photovoice is a community-based participatory action research method with a photojournalistic, socio-critical approach that prioritizes the lived experiences of people belonging to marginalized communities. In photovoice projects, people take photos of their lives to identify community struggles and strengths, which are then collectively discussed and used to facilitate positive social change at the policy level. The article explores to what extent photovoice can benefit diversity within social work by I) supporting the understanding and empowerment of clients through a lifeworld orientation, II) enhancing social workers’ self-reflection on their own identity, role, and mission, and III) strengthening client-provider relationships. Limitations, possible non-intended effects, and potential ethical challenges of the implementation of photovoice in diverse societies are discussed. We conclude the article with practical recommendations on how social workers can incorporate photovoice into their professional practice.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are fundamental components of human existence. Therefore, addressing sexual and gender diversity can be seen as a core social work task. However, it is one that continues to pose significant challenges to practitioners due to their own entanglement in social norms and taboos and their own gender identity and sexual orientation (Baer & Höblich 2021). The article presents findings from an empirical study, in which 16 biographical interviews with queer professionals in various fields of child and youth welfare were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to examine how queer practitioners address sexual and gender diversity in their practice, if and how they position themselves as queer within client-provider-relationships, teams and their organization. Findings reveal that queer professionals play a crucial role in sexual and gender minority communities and how this affects their professional work. They face both opportunities and limitations when forming working connections with clients, acting as role models, and delivering appropriate services to LGBTIQ* clients based on their personal and professional know-how. Queer Professionals also criticise being positioned as 'diverse' by clients and colleagues.
Since the turbulence of the 2009 Economic Crisis, skepticism about individualism and free-market economics has become widespread in the U.S. This study empirically examined how Americans' attitudes toward the welfare state have changed over the past decade. The study used data from the World Values Survey to make a longitudinal comparison of welfare attitudes before (2006) and after (2017) the Economic Crisis. The results show that the United States, unlike other developed countries, has experienced a significant increase in welfare attitudes after the crisis. The study also found that welfare attitudes were polarized by political affiliation and religiosity.
Despite social work's unique commitment to diversity, several findings suggest group-based disparities in social work services. To explain such disparities, theories in social psychology emphasize the role of stereotypes. The present article focuses on how stereotypes among social work professionals might affect the client-provider dyad, paying particular attention to the diversity dimensions of"race" and ethnicity. We first introduce a traditional conceptualization of group-based stereotypes and then derive how stereotypes may also be applied to physical spaces. We next elaborate on how social work professionals' mental images of racialized spaces might contribute to disparities, using the example of child welfare decision-making. We argue that space-focused stereotypes might contribute to disparities by affecting social work professionals' perceptions, judgement, and treatment of (1) space itself and (2) clients. Finally, we discuss how a space-focused perspective on stereotypes may inform prevention and intervention approaches that might go unnoticed in a traditional conceptualization of stereotypes as solely group-based phenomena.
In Social Work, the differentiated handling of emotions is of great importance, especially in the complex web of relationships between clients and service providers. This paper presents an integrative approach to the exploration and regulation of emotions in the context of client-provider relationships. It highlights the crucial, but still understudied role that emotions play and draws on insights from different perspectives, to illustrate their role in understanding social experiences and guiding practical interventions. We will focus on the emotions of guilt and shame and their interplay with facets of diversity, especially racism and poverty. Shame is known as a feeling that results from the perception of not living up to social norms and expectations. Guilt is related to shame but is more based in the perception of having done wrong. Thus, one aim of this paper is to identify diversity-related patterns on the inter-personal and organizational level that increase the risk of shaming and guilt among clients, but also service providers. We will highlight the theoretical, empirical but also practical issues regarding these emotions and emphasize the importance of diversity and cultural sensitivity in client-provider relationships.
This paper explores the connection between diversity and client-provider relationships in social work with a focus on discourses and practices of cultural othering. To pursue this topic, the paper discusses empirical data from a training series held in Germany on pedagogical professionalism in a society which is constitutively produced and structured by migration phenomena. From the theoretical perspective of cultural othering the paper highlights three ideal types of reference to "cultural diversity" in social work practice and its effects: "domination","recognition" and "agency", which express the fundamental power and contradictory nature of social work in general. The paper concludes with an"othering-reflective" approach that takes full account of the complexity and contradictoriness of social work in the contexts and conditions of social inequality.
Diversity and reflections on diversity impact client-provider-relationships of social work on different levels, ranging from institutionalized programs to interpersonal practices to individual expectations, cognitive make-ups and emotional experiences. However, the implications of diversity and its reflections in social work practice are still far from being sufficiently empirically researched. Depending on the precise situation, diversity may be directly involved in the forms of categorizations, valorizations, or social identities that influence professional social work from diagnostical judgement to service delivery. But it may also be pivotal as a physical or organizational context factor that influences decision-making, leads to more (a-)symmetrical and (un-)just distributions of resources, (in-)visibility of individuals, and power. Seeing client-provider-relationships through the lens of diversity shows the complexity, richness and fundamentally social quality of social work.
Studies and media accounts of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed not only its gravity but also its unequal impacts along racial, class, and gender lines, and other situated identities. Among those most impacted by the pandemic are racialized immigrant communities. In this paper, we consider immigrants' experiences--specifically how immigrant integration intersects with pandemic impacts. This study uses survey and interview data collected as part of a 2021 intersectoral collaboration of immigrant-serving crisis response organizations in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Our findings illustrate that underlying the disruption in the means and markers of integration is a parallel disruption of social connections. That is, the pandemic impacted employment, education, and health outcomes insofar as social bonds, bridges, and links were also impacted. Moreover, social links"”connections to public services"”were especially crucial for immigrants during the pandemic.
This article opens up a difference-theoretical perspective on disability, based on a problematisation of the concept of diversity. Using the example of current reform efforts in Germany to establish an inclusive child and youth welfare, the discourses on disability there are briefly presented and discussed. To this end, the legal understanding of disability is first outlined and categorised and its references to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) are presented. The theoretical discussion takes place against the background of central models of disability, with particular reference to Disability Studies. It is shown that references to difference theory are both fruitful and necessary for a critical understanding of disability, as these connections - at least in Germany - have so far hardly been made in the debate on inclusive child and youth welfare. On the basis of these findings, theoretical and conceptual challenges are finally formulated with regard to disability as a category of difference in child and youth welfare.
A central issue in the reform of welfare systems concerns the citizenship relationship. Citizenship is critical in three ways: • It has been the focus of political struggles to redraw the boundaries of citizenship: who counts as a citizen? • It has been the focus of reforms seeking to redraw the balance of 'rights and responsibilities' between the state and the citizen, making citizenship more conditional; and • It remains the focus of desires and demands for support and solidarity. Drawing on recent collaborative research with advice agencies (Citizens Advice in the UK), I explore how citizenship is imagined and practiced in different settings - from the policing of nationality to state welfare - contrasting the growing conditionality and exclusiveness of state-centric definitions with alternative imaginaries that celebrate expansive and horizontal forms of identification.
The approach in this paper will be to define social work and national development first and then try to establish the relationship between the two. The various categories of social work and their presumed influence on the various aspects of development will then be discussed. Thereafter, the discussion will be directed to the overall effects of the process of social work, in its totality, on national development.
Understanding the historical context of social work is critical for providing insights into aspects that influenced the profession. The knowledge obtained will give valuable lessons in navigating the complex systems within which social workers practice. Despite the growing interest among researchers in recording the history of social work, there is still a gap in many societies and agencies. In this paper, we present a brief introduction concerning social service in the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), one of the leading institutions in Qatar. To explore historical social work issues, we spoke with a group of pioneering social workers in the field of social work", who have witnessed and even contributed to the beginnings of the development of social work. The participants talked about establishing social work in HMC and some of the narratives relevant to health, mental health, and cultural contexts.
Health equity is a right stipulated by United Nations charters and is a basic topic of interest in humanitarian assistance professions, including social work. The principles of health equity are based on achieving parity in the delivery and provision of human services and satisfying the health needs of disadvantaged individuals, groups, and communities. This study aims to understand the obstacles Palestinian refugees face in availing the health services provided by international relief agencies (e.g., UNRWA). Palestinian society is classified as a disadvantaged community by virtue of its political nature and humanitarian situation. This study conducts a social survey to assess the obstacles preventing the achievement of health equity among Palestinian refugee families living in Palestinian territories. The sample consisted of 600 Palestinian refugee families in Nablus, covering different geographical distributions. Furthermore, 121 social workers in a relief and social work program affiliated with UNRWA in the West Bank were surveyed. The findings suggest that Palestinian refugees face multiple disadvantages that curtail them from availing of healthcare facilities. The findings pertaining to the role of social work show that social workers have an important role in improving healthcare access.
The Indian government aims to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 due to its high morbidity and mortality. India has much to do to lower TB rates. This research examined Koppal district of Karnataka, South India’s village adoption model for tuberculosis detection, treatment, and prevention. The authors used an exploratory research design. After a screening process, the participants comprised 8 TB patients and 13 healthcare workers were recruited from the Koppal district through purposive sampling technique. A total of 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted among these selected beneficiaries and health professionals. Conventional content analysis was used to analyse the data obtained from the interviews. From the analysis, seven themes emerged from the health care workers and eight themes emerged from the beneficiaries. The major themes from the beneficiaries included critical roles in project management, private practitioners' reactions, healthcare workers' implementation experiences, initiatives beyond project staff, execution challenges, strategies to overcome them, and reasons for non-use. From the health care professionals, main themes were their experiences, process insights, patient emotions, programme services, beneficiaries' dislikes, suggestions, satisfaction, and thoughts on expanding the initiative to other regions. The Koppal District village adoption model was helpful in understanding private-sector dynamics and patient preferences. The project helped health professionals and communities promote TB knowledge, treatment adherence, and the TB agenda. Finally, this technique made Koppal district in Karnataka, India, TB-free.
Equity in health means that all people in general and disadvantaged groups in particular receive the same healthcare services, according to their needs, regardless of each person's financial ability and social status. In Vietnam, equity in healthcare for the disadvantaged is expressed in the Party's guiding viewpoints, guidelines, and legal policies. This study has employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand the impact of health financing in advancing health equity for disadvantaged people. Quantitative and qualitative research methods have helped us evaluate the current health financing and equity in healthcare for disadvantaged people in Vietnam. The study assessed the health financing activities, including the distribution of free health insurance cards to disadvantaged groups, medical examination and treatment available, and the services of social workers at hospitals and localities. Based on the results of this analysis, we identify existing gaps and their causes. Based on the findings we build and propose solutions for government agencies, training activities, medical facilities, and social work organizations. The significance of the proposed solutions is to improve fairness and efficiency in financial use and healthcare for disadvantaged groups in Vietnam.
The constitution of the World Health Organisation (1946) endorses the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right. The commitment to the right to health has always been a global priority. The Alma Ata declaration affirmed the global commitment to"the right to health" and the need for all people to attain an acceptable level of health (World Health Organization, 1978) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 3.8 emphasises the need to extend accessible and affordable healthcare in the form of Universal Health Coverage (United Nations, 2015). However, despite continued efforts, globally, the violation of the right to health is rampant in the forms of 'violation of commission', 'violation of the obligation to protect', 'failure to fulfil minimum core obligations' and 'violations related to gender discrimination' (Chapman, 1998). The right to health envisioned as health equity is an ambitious goal rooted in the idea of social justice that seeks to attain the highest standard of health possible for all, particularly vulnerable sections of society, as persistent health inequalities can entrap marginalised populations in a vicious cycle of poverty and ill health (Wagstaff, 2002). The social factors that influence and shape health outcomes, commonly known as social determinants of health (SDOH) constitute an important aspect in this regard. SDOH are those conditions"in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life," including income, education, occupation, housing conditions and food security, among others, (World Health Organization, n.d.). Addressing SDOH is essential in ensuring the right to health for all, and social work, as a public health profession, advances health equity by addressing the problem of SDOH (Kerson & Lee, 2016).
The loss of a life partner often exerts psychological distress on older adults, which often compounds with other factors, adversely affecting their lives. Living arrangements and social connections can impact the ageing experience of older adults after the loss of a spouse. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 randomly selected older adults from the Kasaragod district of Kerala, India, who had lost their spouses to understand the sense of community and psychosocial profile of the respondents. Data was collected using a questionnaire comprising questions on demographic details and standardised scales for measuring the sense of community, life satisfaction, loneliness and depression. The findings showed that the sense of community had a significant positive correlation with life satisfaction (r = 0.531) and significant negative correlations with loneliness (r = -0.304) and depression (r = -0.603). Loneliness and depression had a significant positive correlation (r=0.447) with each other. Satisfaction with life had significant negative correlations with loneliness (r = -0.529) and depression (r = -0.689). Also, there were significant differences in the psychosocial profile of the respondents based on gender. Female respondents had significantly higher loneliness and depression and significantly lower life satisfaction and sense of community than their male counterparts. The findings suggest that widowed older adults experience significant psychosocial distress, and this distress is disproportionately affecting women. Hence, gender-informed interventions that target improving the social connectedness of older adults can contribute to better mental health outcomes.
Considering the persistence of significant health inequities in India, exploring the interface between health equity and social work education is a critical research priority. This article attempts to present a systematic analysis of the present status of health equity and social work training in India, elaborating on healthcare discrepancies among various populations in India, examining reasons for elevated morbidity and mortality rates among marginalized communities, and approaches to social work education at present. Consequently, curriculum revision should be all-inclusive and focus on highlighting fairness in health provision as well as cultural competency with an emphasis on social justice. It also calls for a paradigm shift towards contextualized knowledge, critical pedagogy and community engagement to prioritize health equity by suggesting that future training should focus on a holistic approach to dealing with preventable illnesses emanating from these determinants. In conclusion, this article points out the significance of giving more attention towards health equity within Indian schools of social work while providing some directions for possible research lines.
