Social Workers’ Impact on Policy Through Regulations: A Case Study of the U.S. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110103
Author(s):  
Susanny J Beltran ◽  
Vivian J Miller ◽  
Tyrone Hamler
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
The U.S

Summary Involvement in the political process in the United States is critical for social work professionals, as social policies dictate funding and programming in social work practice. Yet, there is little to no focus given to the regulation writing process in the social work literature in the United States. This article contributes to the scant body of knowledge that addresses the regulatory process from a social work perspective. A brief overview of the regulation writing process is provided, followed by a case study using the regulations for the U.S. Older Americans Act Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to illustrate the process. Findings A total of 85 comments, submitted to the Federal Register docket, were analyzed using content analysis. Findings reveal that comment submissions varied greatly in terms of length, source, and input. Notably, findings indicate low participation from the social work profession. Application The open comment period of the regulation writing process offers a free, but effortful, window of opportunity for social workers to engage in post-legislative advocacy. There is a need to support the involvement of the social work profession in the regulation writing process, through practice and training enhancements.

scholarly journals Time to return to work following workplace violence among direct healthcare and social workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-167
Author(s):  
Kelvin Choi ◽  
Esther T Maas ◽  
Mieke Koehoorn ◽  
Christopher B McLeod
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Workplace Violence ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Psychological Injuries

ObjectivesThis study examined time to return-to-work (RTW) among direct healthcare and social workers with violence-related incidents compared with these workers with non-violence-related incidents in British Columbia, Canada.MethodsAccepted workers’ compensation lost-time claims were extracted between 2010 and 2014. Workers with violence-related incidents and with non-violence-related incidents were matched using coarsened exact matching (n=5762). The outcome was days until RTW within 1 year after the first day of time loss, estimated with Cox regression using piecewise models, stratified by injury type, occupation, care setting and shift type.ResultsWorkers with violence-related incidents, compared with workers with non-violence-related incidents, were more likely to RTW within 30 days postinjury, less likely within 61–180 days, and were no different after 181 days. Workers with psychological injuries resulting from a violence-related incident had a lower likelihood to RTW during the year postinjury (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.86). Workers with violence-related incidents in counselling and social work occupations were less likely to RTW within 90 days postinjury (HR 31–60 days: 0.67, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.95 and HR 61–90 days: 0.46, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.69). Workers with violence-related incidents in long-term care and residential social services were less likely to RTW within 91–180 days postinjury.ConclusionsWorkers with psychological injuries, and those in counselling and social work occupations and in long-term care and residential social services, took longer to RTW following a violence-related incident than workers with non-violence-related incidents. Future research should focus on identifying risk factors to reduce the burden of violence and facilitate RTW.

scholarly journals Resistance from within: social work within the community support sector of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Durand
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Recognition Theory ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of surveillant care managerialism upon the practice of three social workers employed within the community support sector in Ontario health care. It applies the “Foucauldian Toolkit” of Jason L. Powell to examine the nature of the discourse shaping their practice and how they are both complicit and resistant to these discourses. It introduces recognition theory as counter discourse and argues that through the unique knowledge gained through relationships of respectful recognition that social workers act justly. Moreover it is argued that the relationships between social workers and their clients is the source of our unique knowledges as practitioners. Finally, this study examines the implications of social workers integrating a Foucauldian understanding of the reflexive relationship of power/knowledge and how through intersubjective relationships, we practice, create identities and serve the needs of justice even in a system and profession which does not acknowledge it as a requirement.

scholarly journals Home Care Services for Seniors: A Typology of Instruments and Administrative Burdens in Industrialized Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 243-243
Author(s):  
Patrik Marier ◽  
Daniel Dickson ◽  
Kyuho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis

Abstract This contribution has two key objectives. First, inspired by earlier studies in comparative welfare state and in (social) gerontology, we develop a conceptualization of autonomy that is rooted in its social dimensions. This concept is then deployed to assess its policy considerations within the field of home care, both with regards to access and generosity in 21 industrialized countries. Second, this contribution performs a comparative assessment of the key factors resulting in a prioritization of the social dimensions of home care and social services in long term care. This study involves an-depth analysis of policy instruments deployed by public authorities to enhance the (social) autonomy of older adults, complemented with interviews with policy makers in diverse home care policy settings (Canada, France, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States). As such, this study features an evaluation of the presence of social elements in the definition and supply of care needs across 21 countries. It leads to the construct of a social dimensions of autonomy index based upon these instruments and the budgetary prioritization of home care within long term care policies. Among core findings, one discovers broader access and more generous funding when home care responsibilities are firmly embedded at the local level.

From precarious employment to precarious retirement: neoliberal health and long-term care in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 191-214
Author(s):  
Larry Polivka ◽  
Baozhen Luo
Keyword(s):  
Long Term Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Bail Out ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Public Revenues

Neoliberal political economies have emerged across the west over the last 40 years. This development has been driven by several forces including public policy regimes that prioritize privatization of public assets and services, deregulation of the economy, reduced taxes on high incomes and wealth and use of public revenues to bail out corporate entities that are “too big to fail”. This chapter draws on Streeck’s theory of the Consolidation State dominated by corporate priorities. It describes how neoliberal policy priorities, especially privatization, are being implemented in the health and long term care systems in the U.S, and how these are in turn creating the same levels of economic insecurity and precarity in the context of work and retirement over the last 20 plus years.

scholarly journals Resistance from within: social work within the community support sector of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Durand
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Recognition Theory ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of surveillant care managerialism upon the practice of three social workers employed within the community support sector in Ontario health care. It applies the “Foucauldian Toolkit” of Jason L. Powell to examine the nature of the discourse shaping their practice and how they are both complicit and resistant to these discourses. It introduces recognition theory as counter discourse and argues that through the unique knowledge gained through relationships of respectful recognition that social workers act justly. Moreover it is argued that the relationships between social workers and their clients is the source of our unique knowledges as practitioners. Finally, this study examines the implications of social workers integrating a Foucauldian understanding of the reflexive relationship of power/knowledge and how through intersubjective relationships, we practice, create identities and serve the needs of justice even in a system and profession which does not acknowledge it as a requirement.

scholarly journals Loneliness of seniors in long-term care institutions and COVID-19 restrictions

2022 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Liga Rasnaca ◽  
Mareks Niklass ◽  
Endija Rezgale-Straidoma ◽  
Dace Lina
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social

The ageing of society is a significant social and economic challenge in the 21st century Europe. The article analyses loneliness and social isolation among seniors in long-term care (LTC) institutions, as well as how COVID-19 restrictions influence their social isolation. Loneliness and social isolation are different phenomena, but they are interconnected. The feeling of loneliness is a person’s psychological state, but it is especially exacerbated among seniors. Loneliness is closely linked to the deficit of social relations. The study employs a mixed methods approach: a survey using the UCLA Loneliness Scale and semi-structured interviews with social workers in LTC institutions during the first wave of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. A significant number of seniors in LTC experience loneliness or social isolation. The qualitative interviews reveal factors that account for loneliness among seniors. The study also indicates how social workers can reduce seniors’ sense of loneliness and social isolation caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Daily routines and pandemic constraints in LTC institutions to some extent limit the social worker’s ability to address the loneliness of seniors.

From wandering to wayfaring: Reconsidering movement in people with dementia in long-term care

Dementia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 732-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan E Graham
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Dementia Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Term Care ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
The Social ◽  
Risk Discourse

The movement of people with dementia in long-term care continues to be an issue of concern among clinicians, caregivers and families. This article will examine the social construction “wandering” and its association with pathology, risk discourse and surveillance technologies. Further, the article will explore the recent shift from the term “wanderer” to the phrase “people who like to walk” in person-centred dementia care. Engaging with Ingold’s concept of movement as wayfaring, an alternative becoming-centred understanding of movement and its significance for people with dementia will be presented and illustrated through a case study. The paper concludes that depathologizing movement opens the possibility to see movement in people with dementia as an intention to be alive and to grow, rather than as a product of disease and deterioration. Suggestions for future research and implications for care interventions are discussed.

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