Fostering Co-operative Behaviour Through Social Intervention

RESUMENEl presente artículo es fruto de una investigación de largo alcance que busca generar discusión en torno a los desafíos contemporáneos del Trabajo Social en la construcción de alternativas de intervención social en contextos de diversidad sexual en Chile. La crisis de la norma heterosexual refleja una contemporaneidad marcada por la visibilidad de los grupos históricamente excluidos, reflejo de la sensibilización y cuestionamiento de una masculinidad dominante intrínsecamente exclusora e inalcanzable, como también de procesos de posicionamiento político y cultural de un colectivo presente, pero hasta hace poco invisibilizado, en nuestro país. A través de técnicas etnográficas y la incorporación del concepto de mercado como vehículo de visibilidad, el trabajo propone ideas coherentes con la construcción de una praxis transdisciplinar que responde a la nueva definición de Trabajo Social, en discusión a nivel mundial, como de los procesos de cuestionamiento y mudanza ciudadanos revitalizados en la última década.Palabras clave: Intervención social, diversidad sexual, trabajo social, desafíos. Diversidade sexual e intervenção social: reflexões a partir do Trabalho SocialRESUMOO presente artigo é o resultado de uma pesquisa de longo alcance que procura gerar discussão em relação aos desafios contemporâneos do Trabalho Social na construção de alternativas de intervenção social em contextos de diversidade sexual no Chile. A crise da norma heterossexual reflete uma contemporaneidade marcada pela visibilidade dos grupos historicamente excluídos, reflexo da conscientização e questionamento de uma masculinidade dominante intrinsecamente que exclui e que se apresenta como inatingível, bem como processos de posicionamento político e cultural de um coletivo presente, mas até recentemente invisível em nosso país. Através de técnicas etnográficas e incorporação do conceito de mercado como veículo de visibilidade, o trabalho propõe ideias coerentes com a construçãode uma prática transdisciplinar que respondam à nova definição de TrabalhoSocial, discutido mundialmente, como dos processos de questionamento emudança cidadã revitalizados na última década.Palavras-chave: intervenção social, diversidade sexual, trabalho social,desafios. Sexual diversity and social intervention: Reflections fromsocial workABSTRACTThe current article is the result of a wider research that seeks to generatediscussion about the actual challenges of social work in the constructionof alternatives of social intervention on sexual diversity contexts in Chile.The crisis of the heterosexual regulation reflects a contemporaneity markedby the visibility of the historically excluded groups, as a reflection of thesensitivity and questioning of a dominant manhood inherently excluder andunreachable, as political and positioning processes of a current group, butuntil recently hidden in our country. Through ethnographic technics and theincorporation of the concept of market as a vehicle of visibility, this worksproposes ideas coherent with the construction of a cross-curricular praxisthat responds to the new definition of social work, globally discussed, as wellas the questioning processes and citizen movements during last decade.Keywords: Social intervention, sexual diversity, social work, challenges

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ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES IN LEAD EXPOSURE IN CHILDREN

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal ◽

10.30638/eemj.2011.005 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 31-36

Author(s):

Corina Lupu ◽

Corina Rugina ◽

Maria-Cristina Neagu ◽

Iulia Adina Neamtiu ◽

Cristian Pop ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lead Exposure ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Social Intervention

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Exploring the impact of a complex intervention for women with depression in contexts of adversity: A pilot feasibility study of COURRAGE-plus in South Africa

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/00207640211010203 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002076402110102

Author(s):

Rochelle A Burgess ◽

Niklas Jeske ◽

Shahana Rasool ◽

Ayesha Ahmad ◽

Anna Kydd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

South Africa ◽

Narrative Therapy ◽

Mental Distress ◽

Social Intervention ◽

Friedman Test ◽

Time Points ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

The Impact ◽

Collective Narrative

Background: Depression is a leading cause of disease burden worldwide but is often undertreated in low- and middle-income countries. Reasons behind the treatment gap vary, but many highlight a lack of interventions which speak to the socio-economic and structural realties that are associated to mental health problems in many settings, including South Africa. The COURRAGE-PLUS intervention responds to this gap, by combining a collective narrative therapy (9 weeks) intervention, with a social intervention promoting group-led practical action against structural determinants of poor mental health (4 weeks), for a total of 13 sessions. The overall aim is to promote mental health, while empowering communities to acknowledge, and respond in locally meaningful ways to social adversity linked to development of mental distress. Aim: To pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention – COURRAGE-PLUS on symptoms of depression as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) among a sample of women facing contexts of adversity in Gauteng, South Africa. Methods: PHQ-9 scores were assessed at baseline, post collective narrative therapy (midline), and post social intervention (endline). Median scores and corresponding interquartile ranges were computed for all time points. Differences in scores between time points were tested with a non-parametric Friedman test. The impact across symptom severities was compared descriptively to identify potential differences in impact across categories of symptom severity within our sample. Results: Participants’ ( n = 47) median depression score at baseline was 11 (IQR = 7) and reduced to 4 at midline (IQR = 7) to 0 at endline (IQR = 2.5). The Friedman test showed a statistically significant difference between depression scores across time points, [Formula: see text](2) = 49.29, p < .001. Median depression scores were reduced to 0 or 1 Post-Intervention across all four severity groups. Conclusions: COURRAGE-PLUS was highly effective at reducing symptoms of depression across the spectrum of severities in this sample of women facing adversity, in Gauteng, South Africa. Findings supports the need for larger trials to investigate collective narrative storytelling and social interventions as community-based interventions for populations experiencing adversity and mental distress.

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