scholarly journals ASSESSING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CARE QUALITY AND HOUSEHOLD CHORE RULES IN RESIDENTIAL CARE INSTITUTIONS IN JAPAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-95
Author(s):  
Rie Mizuki ◽  
Mamiko Kyuzen ◽  
Satoru Nishizawa ◽  
Shigeyuki Mori
Keyword(s):  
Residential Care ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Group Homes ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Household Chores ◽  
Household Chore ◽  
Individualized Care ◽  
Residential Care Institutions ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Care Workers

The performance of household chores by children in Japanese residential care institutions has been widely accepted as a practice that fosters children’s independence and self-sufficiency. However, children coming from neglectful or dysfunctional families often require sensitive, individualized care, which they did not receive from their family of origin. While a shift away from large-scale institutions has begun, with smaller units or group homes now accounting for 40% of all care institutions, it is not clear that family-like, individualized care has been achieved in these smaller group homes. This study involved 61 participants aged 10 to 15 years and their care workers from six residential care institutions in the greater Tokyo area. It explored what aspects of care quality were related to the presence of certain characteristics of traditional management-oriented care: fixed rules for household chores and lack of choice in daily living. Care workers were asked whether children washed their own dishes, did their own laundry, chose their own clothes when shopping, and had mandatory events to attend in the residential care institutions. Care quality was assessed using the Early Adolescent HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of Environment) developed for Japanese residential care institutions (EA-HOME-JP). The findings suggest that care workers should re-examine their intentions in setting and applying household chore rules while exploring which aspects of child care, including regulatory activities and modeling, should be emphasized in order to actualize family-like and individualized care in institutions.

scholarly journals COVID-19 is having a destructive impact on health-care workers’ mental well-being

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Vanhaecht ◽  
Deborah Seys ◽  
Luk Bruyneel ◽  
Bianca Cox ◽  
Gorik Kaesemans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may aggravate workplace conditions that impact health-care workers’ mental health. However, it can also place other stresses on workers outside of their work. This study determines the effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of negative and positive mental health and the workforce’s experience with various sources of support. Effect modification by demographic variables was also studied. Methods A cross-sectional survey study, conducted between 2 April and 4 May 2020 (two waves), led to a convenience sample of 4509 health-care workers in Flanders (Belgium), including paramedics (40.6%), nurses (33.4%), doctors (13.4%) and management staff (12.2%). About three in four were employed in university and acute hospitals (29.6%), primary care practices (25.7%), residential care centers (21.3%) or care sites for disabled and mental health care. In each of the two waves, participants were asked how frequently (on a scale of 0–10) they experienced positive and negative mental health symptoms during normal circumstances and during last week, referred to as before and during COVID-19, respectively. These symptoms were stress, hypervigilance, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, unable to relax, fear, irregular lifestyle, flashback, difficulty concentrating, feeling unhappy and dejected, failing to recognize their own emotional response, doubting knowledge and skills and feeling uncomfortable within the team. Associations between COVID-19 and mental health symptoms were estimated by cumulative logit models and reported as odds ratios. The needed support was our secondary outcome and was reported as the degree to which health-care workers relied on sources of support and how they experienced them. Results All symptoms were significantly more pronounced during versus before COVID-19. For hypervigilance, there was a 12-fold odds (odds ratio 12.24, 95% confidence interval 11.11–13.49) during versus before COVID-19. Positive professional symptoms such as the feeling that one can make a difference were less frequently experienced. The association between COVID-19 and mental health was generally strongest for the age group 30–49 years, females, nurses and residential care centers. Health-care workers reported to rely on support from relatives and peers. A considerable proportion, respectively, 18 and 27%, reported the need for professional guidance from psychologists and more support from their leadership. Conclusions The toll of the crisis has been heavy on health-care workers. Those who carry leadership positions at an organizational or system level should take this opportunity to develop targeted strategies to mitigate key stressors of health-care workers’ mental well-being.

scholarly journals Coopetitive Nature of Energy Communities—The Energy Transition Context

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
Karolina Mucha-Kuś ◽  
Maciej Sołtysik ◽  
Krzysztof Zamasz ◽  
Katarzyna Szczepańska-Woszczyna
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Transformation ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Self Sufficiency

The decentralization of the large-scale energy sector, its replacement with pro-ecological, dispersed production sources and building a citizen dimension of the energy sector are the directional objectives of the energy transformation in the European Union. Building energy self-sufficiency at a local level is possible, based on the so-called Energy Communities, which include energy clusters and energy cooperatives. Several dozen pilot projects for energy clusters have been implemented in Poland, while energy cooperatives, despite being legally sanctioned and potentially a simpler formula of operation, have not functioned in practice. This article presents the coopetitive nature of Energy Communities. The authors analysed the principles and benefits of creating Energy Communities from a regulatory and practical side. An important element of the analysis is to indicate the managerial, coopetitive nature of the strategies implemented within the Energy Communities. Their members, while operating in a competitive environment, simultaneously cooperate to achieve common benefits. On the basis of the actual data of recipients and producers, the results of simulations of benefits in the economic dimension will be presented, proving the thesis of the legitimacy of creating coopetitive structures of Energy Communities.

“The Minor Would Hinder the Mother in Finding Employment:” Child Protection and Women’s Paid Work in Early State Socialist Hungary

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 818-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eszter Varsa
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Early State ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Residential Care Institutions ◽  
State Socialist

This article discusses the role of child protection and residential care institutions in mediating the tension between women’s productive and reproductive responsibilities in early state socialist Hungary. At a time when increasing numbers of women entered paid work in the framework of catch-up industrialization but the socialization of care work was inadequate, these institutions substituted for missing public child care services. Relying on not only policy documents but more than six hundred children’s case files, including Romani children’s files, from three different locations in Hungary as well as interviews with former children’s home residents and personnel, the article examines the regulatory framework in which child protection institutions and caseworkers operated. It points to the differentiated forms of pressure these institutions exercised on Romani and non-Romani mothers to enter paid work between the late 1940s and the early 1950s from the intersectional perspective of gender and ethnicity. Showing that prejudice against “Gypsies” as work-shy persisted in child protection work across the systemic divide of the late 1940s, the article contributes to scholarship on state socialism and Stalinism that emphasizes the role of historical continuities. At the same time, reflecting on parental invention in using child protection as a form of child care, the article also complicates a simplistic social control approach to residential care institutions in Stalinist Hungary.

scholarly journals Child and youth care workers: Profile, nutrition knowledge and food safety and hygiene practices

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrina H. Grobbelaar ◽  
Carin E. Napier
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Vegetable Intake ◽  
Youth Care ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Food Preparation ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
Child And Youth Care ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Care Workers

Background: Facilities concerned with children ‘in need of care’ should not only be considered as a last resort for a child’s care, but also as an intervention that requires more than addressing a child’s basic physical needs. The nutritional needs of children are particularly important to consider as they are a fundamental part of the care provided.Objectives: The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to investigate the profile, nutrition knowledge, food safety and hygiene practices of child and youth care workers (CCWs) in residential care settings in order to guide the development of a food preparation and nutrition manual.Method: The residential care settings included in this study were three that were selected randomly in Durban. CCWs (N = 40) employed permanently or part-time were included. Convenience purposive sampling of the CCWs was undertaken. A structured self-administered questionnaire, developed and tested for this purpose, was used to gather information on the profile, nutrition knowledge, food safety and hygiene practices. The data were analysed for descriptive statistics (means and frequencies).Results: The majority of CCWs were women aged 18−34 years. Very few had completed a relevant tertiary qualification. The results indicated that the respondents’ knowledge was fair on general nutrition guidelines, but there were areas of concern. Specifically, knowledge on recommended fruit and vegetable intake, correct serving sizes and importance of a variety in the diet were lacking. Some knowledge about food safety and hygiene practices was demonstrated, but not in totality.Conclusion: The overall findings supported the development of a comprehensive food preparation and nutrition manual for child residential care facilities. Agtergrond: Fasiliteite gemoeid met kinders ‘in die behoefte van sorg’ nie net beskou moet word as ’n laaste uitweg vir ’n kind se sorg nie, maar ook as ’n intervensie wat meer as net die basiese en fisiese behoeftes van kinders aanspreek. Die voedingsbehoeftes van kinders is veral belangrik om te oorweeg as ’n fundamentele element van versorging.Doelwit: Die doel van hierdie beskrywende kwantitatiewe studie was om die profiel, voeding kennis en voedsel- veiligheid en higiëne van kinder-en jeugsorgwerkers te ondersoek in residensiële sorg instellings met die doel om ’n voedsel voorbereiding en voedings handleiding te ontwikkel.Metode: Die residensiële sorg instellings het bestaan uit drie ewekansig gekiesde kinderhuise in Durban. Die studie het bestaan uit kinder-en jeugsorgwerkers (N = 40) in permanente of deeltydse poste. ’n Doelgerigte steekproef van die kinder-en jeugsorgwerkers is onderneem. ’n Gestruktureerde self-geadministreerde vraelys, ontwikkel en getoets vir hierdie doel, is gebruik om inligting oor die profiel, voeding kennis, voedselveiligheid en higiëniese praktyke van die kinder- en jeugsorgwerkers in te samel. Die data is ontleed vir beskrywende statistieke.Resultate: Die meerderheid van die kinder- en jeugsorgwerkers was vroulik, tussen die ouderdomme van 18−34 jaar. Min het ‘n toepaslike tersiêre kwalifikasie gehad. Dit blyk uit die resultate dat die respondente se algemene voeding riglyne was aanvaarbaar. Die resultate het gedui op ’n gebrek aan kennis oor die aanbevole vrugte en groente inname, korrekte porsiegroottes en die belangrikheid van ’n verskeidenheid in die dieet. Die respondente het tot ’n mindere mate kennis oor voedselveiligheid en higiëne gehad.Gevolgtrekking: Die algemene bevindinge ondersteun die ontwikkeling van ’n omvattende voedsel voorbereiding en voedings handleiding vir kinder residensiële sorg instellings.

scholarly journals The Stress of Caring—Resilience and HPA-Axis Activity in Hair Samples of Youth Residential Caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bürgin ◽  
Nina Kind ◽  
Martin Schröder ◽  
Vera Clemens ◽  
Jörg M. Fegert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Residential Care ◽  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Residential Care Institutions ◽  
Hair Samples

Background: Professional caregivers in youth residential care institutions experience frequent verbal and physical aggression as well as multiple stressors as part of their everyday work, leading to high levels of burnout and staff turnover. Resilience might buffer against psychophysiological stress response and therefore be crucial for well-being in professional caregivers.Objectives: We aimed to investigate if measures related to resilience [sense of coherence (SoC), self-efficacy and self-care] and attachment security of caregivers were cross-sectionally associated with stress markers in hair samples [cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)].Method: Participants (n = 134; 64.2% women) reported on individual resilience measures and provided hair samples for cortisol and DHEA assays. Attachment was assessed in a subsample using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP, n = 69). Linear regression models were fitted to estimate the association between resilience measures and the Cortisol:DHEA ratio, cortisol and DHEA, controlling for gender and age.Results: SoC was associated with a lower Cortisol:DHEA ratio (β = −0.36, p < 0.001), driven by a positive association between SoC and DHEA levels (β = 0.28, p = 0.002). Self-care was also associated with lower Cortisol:DHEA ratios (β = −0.24, p = 0.005), due to self-care being associated with higher DHEA (β = 0.21, p = 0.016). HPA-axis measures were not associated with self-efficacy nor with attachment patterns in a subsample.Conclusions: Our findings imply that youth residential care institutions might benefit from programs focusing on enhancing SoC and self-care practices. Fostering a meaningful, comprehensible and manageable professional climate in caregiving environments and implementing self-care in routine practices might enhance not only well-being but also physical health of professional caregivers and in this way buffer adverse health effects of chronic stressors.

City Kids in the Wilderness: A Pilot-Test of Outward Bound for Foster Care Group Home Youth

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Fischer ◽  
E. B. Attah
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Group Home ◽  
Group Homes ◽  
Outward Bound ◽  
Care Group ◽  
Pilot Test ◽  
Group Home Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Before And After

Children in urban foster care settings, rarely have the opportunity to participate in adventure-based wilderness experiences, such as Outward Bound. This paper describes the use of a seven-day Outward Bound experience with 23 youth from four foster care group homes in Atlanta, Georgia. The effort examines data collected before and after the program documenting the perspectives of the youth, their foster parents, and their foster care workers in regard to the impacts on the youth. The research highlights the difficulties of evaluating a field-based experience, and provides data that illustrates the potential effects of Outward Bound on youth in group-home care. Further research is needed to fully demonstrate the effects of such efforts and to identify how to best tailor the experience to the needs of youth in urban foster care settings.

scholarly journals Measuring movement into residential care institutions in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew: A pilot study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. e0195515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth L. Rubenstein ◽  
Matthew MacFarlane ◽  
Celina Jensen ◽  
Lindsay Stark
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Residential Care Institutions

scholarly journals Trauma responsive care model: An Aotearoa New Zealand research informed practice model for residential group homes

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Greer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Group Homes ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Care Model ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

INTRODUCTION: This article presents a research-informed model of trauma responsive care for use in residential care practice social work settings with children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The model was developed from a qualitative project which sought to address the research question “Does the quality of relationships with staff members have a positive impact on outcomes for children who reside in group home settings?”METHODS: Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews, eight children were interviewed regarding their experience of relationships while living within supervised group homes (SGHs). In order to gain multiple perspectives on this topic, six biological parents and two legal guardians of children were interviewed and focus group discussions were held with staff members from three SGHs. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes identified from the findings.FINDINGS: Five dominant themes were identified from the children’s and parent’s interviews. The central theme was the importance of relationships; that relationship is the key when working with children who have experienced trauma. Children who have experienced trauma need to feel safe in the context of relationships and benefit from bottom-up interventions in order to heal from their traumatic experiences.CONCLUSION: A research-informed model of trauma responsive care was constructed from study findings informed by two principal bodies of knowledge: (1) attachment theory; and (2) neuroscience. The resultant trauma responsive care model provides a framework of strategies for anyone working with children in residential care settings who have experienced trauma and/ or attachment difficulties.

scholarly journals Young People’s Voice: The First Visiting Advocacy Project in Italian Residential Care for Children

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (15) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Valentina Calcaterra ◽  
Maria Luisa Raineri
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Looked After Children ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Children’S Homes ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Listening Process

This article presents the research of the project Giving Young People a Voice: Advocacy in Children’s Homes, set up as a result of the interest of a nonprofit organization working with looked-after children, with an aim to improve advocacy as a listening process and to promote the participation of children that reside in children’s homes. The research focused on the implementation of a visiting advocacy project and the activities carried out by an independent advocate working in children’s homes. The children’s evaluation of the project was collected by two focus groups; interviews were conducted with social care workers and the manager of the organization. This research deals with the implementation of the first visiting advocacy project in the context of the Italian child protection system.

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