Health Policy/Systems: Overview and History

This article describes the complex healthcare policy and financing systems in the US within a historic and political context for how the US arrived at these systems. It also provides an overview of frameworks useful for articulating how social work may have an increased influence on policies impacting the healthcare system along with specific arenas ripe for social work interventions towards healthcare system improvements. Social workers have the obligation, through the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, and the requisite skills, to participate in the healthcare policy process ensuring that they not only have a place at policy making tables, but that members of communities impacted by these policies have an opportunity to assist in setting the healthcare policy agenda and programs to best serve them.

Ubuntu Philosophy as a Humanistic–Existential Framework for the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ubuntu has been identified by several scholars as a philosophy that provides a framework to fight health disasters such as COVID-19. Ubuntu refers to the African worldview of seeing oneself through others. It refers to the pattern of interconnectedness between people in the form of a philosophy or worldview. Ubuntu explores concerns about cosmic and global context of life. This article stipulates that Ubuntu can provide ways to deal with challenges that emerge with the COVID-19 pandemic. Ubuntu fosters the integrated components of humanity as it appreciates the biological, psychosocial, spiritual, and environmental aspects of life. The article explores several themes such as self-awareness and societal responsibility, holism, spirituality, health promotion, food security, social justice and human rights, generosity, sharing, and teamwork. Others have advanced that Ubuntu is a philosophy to adopt in the fight against epidemics, and we seek to broaden the debate by exploring Ubuntu axiological and ontological humanistic–existential themes. Finally, the article calls for the adoption of Ubuntu philosophy in psychological and social work interventions in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Challenges in making school social work a reality in Brazilian schools

At the end of 2019, the presence of social workers became mandatory in Brazilian state-funded elementary schools. This brief note explores the challenges schools may have in translating the new legislation from paper to practice. The goal is to frame and advance the discourse of school social work in Brazil. Among other topics, this note discusses the role of social workers in educational environments in Brazil and identifies the barriers that may exist to the exercise of the profession in these institutional spaces. Ultimately, suggestions are made on how to develop effective social work interventions in Brazilian schools.

The Mediating Role of Gaming Disorder in the Effect of Narcissism on Happiness in Children

We aimed to determine the relationship between gaming disorder, narcissism, and happiness levels of children between the ages of 9 and 15. This study was based on the compensation theory. The sample consists of 461 boys who continue their education in public schools in Istanbul. In the study, a mixed research design, which nests qualitative data into quantitative, was used. In addition to the scales and sociodemographic form, the Draw-a-Person test was also used to better understand children’s inner world. According to the findings, there is a significant relationship between gaming disorder and narcissism and happiness levels in children. Accordingly, as narcissism increases in children, the gaming disorder level increases, and happiness decreases. We also found a mediation effect in the impact of narcissism on happiness through gaming disorder. According to the results, we think that the problem is not caused by the individual but by society. For a solution, we recommend making more macro-level social work interventions within the framework of system theory instead of the current medical model in combating gaming disorder.

An exploration of teachers’ perceptions of Syrian students in Turkey and implications for school social work

Low rates of school enrolment emerge as a significant problem among Syrian students in Turkey; however, enrolment in the school brings about new challenges not only for the Syrian refugee students but also for Turkish students and their teachers. In order to address this issue, this study aims to depict the perceived problems experienced by Syrian and Turkish students and their teachers. In the scope of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 primary and secondary school teachers to gather their perceived opinion on the issue. The findings are discussed within the context of school social work interventions.

Challenges of contemporary social work in Ghana

Social work is practiced all over the world with the primary aim of helping individuals and improving the welfare of the general society. Ghana is a multi-ethnic society with a multitude of different cultural practices that may affect social work interventions (implementation by practitioners and clients’ response). The main goal of this paper is to show how indigenous cultural practices in Ghana shape the way of supporting children, older people, people living with physical disabilities and mental health disorders, and the socially excluded. This paper relies on available literature and the first-hand account of the author. The extended family system where parenting, kinship, and identity includes the nuclear family as well as grand-parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws is prominent in Ghana, especially in rural areas. The positive aspect of this system as shown in this paper shows the merits in a collectivist approach to social welfare. However, some aspects of local cultural practices are shown to limit how vulnerable people have access to needed help. The article indicates the need to prepare social workers in such a way that their practice is adjusted to respond to local cultural practices in order to ensure more people have access to help and reduce the potential of rejection by people in local communities. It also contributes to the discussion on the merits of indigenization of social work.

Creating alternative interventions in social work to promote socio-economic development in South Africa: Lessons from selected social enterprises

Social work interventions for families, individuals and communities should be comprehensive and sustainable. A social enterprise model with dual social and economic value creation provides a useful framework for such interventions. Through a qualitative research approach and case study design, three social enterprises were studied. The findings indicate that social enterprises pursue people-centred investment; engineer and promote social integration and equity in the local communities; and create employment and promote skill development for vulnerable groups such as women and youth. Thus, a social enterprise dual mission for accruing social and economic value aligns with the social work helping mandate, and therefore smoothly integrates.