Case Management and Social Support System for Families in Distress: A Social Work Response

History is witness to the fact that warring factions in any armed conflict often commit several human rights violations like murder, rape, torture etc., and the act of disappearance of person is one among them. While the persons who are subjected to disappearance are the primary victims, the families they leave behind are the secondary victims. The situation makes families of the disappeared person suffer great anguish when their loved ones go disappeared. The phenomenon produces anguish, fear and unspeakable sorrow for thousands of families. Appreciating the importance of social work professionals in helping families deal effective with their life situations the present paper aims to provide a case for social work interventional techniques of Social Support System (SSS) and Case Management to modify and make the social environment conducive for the families to live a normal life.

Love and Intimacy as Vulnerability to HIV Infection: A Case Study of MSM

Sexual minorities are among the most marginalized groups in the society. Sero-positivity accentuates social exclusion among the sexual minorities. The paper aims to appraise the factors that make Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) vulnerable to HIV infection and influence their health seeking behaviors. It highlights two major domains socio-cultural and interpersonal variables. Qualitative in nature and based on ten in-depth case studies of HIV infected MSM, the study is located in Delhi, India. Factors such as age, marital status, child sexual abuse, multiple sex partners, are crucial in influencing their vulnerability. Socio-cultural milieu puts structural barriers restricting integration of MSM in the society. Cultural values do not allow talking about sex, which hampers healthy sexual behaviors. Exhibiting aggression, sexual violence, visiting sex-workers etc. are considered as important aspects to prove manhood. At the interpersonal level, possessiveness, betrayal, infidelity, heartbreak, strong emotional whirlpool when love-relations go incongruent, all takes a heavy toll of their mental and physical health. These variables socially exclude the sexual minorities from the mainstream life. Findings show positive (disclosing to family, abstinence, spiritual growth) and negative (suicide-attempts, drug-use) ways of coping among the MSM respondents. Critical areas of concern for service-providers while planning interventions for empowering people with sexual minority are delineated.

Impact of Microfinance on Women Empowerment

Micro-finance has proved its importance in relation to poverty eradication, financial development, rural finance, banking and financial services in India. Though the India had philanthropic philosophy to help each other and grow together, micro-finance helped the same in a more institutional and organized manner. India is a diverse country in every aspect of human life which applies to its poverty too. Each region of India has its own language of poverty. Micro-finance also puts forward the movement of financial inclusion of women across the community. Micro-finance has come forward as a ray of hope for the women who are supposed to be equally participating in financial inclusion. The impact of micro-finance in the area of women empowerment in India is still neglected and less documented concept especially in the spectrum of research. The present article is an outcome of literature review which clearly indicates the impact of micro-finance movement in the process of women empowerment. The article has utilized qualitative as well as quantitative aspect to explore the impact of micro-finance in the process of women empowerment.

Indigenising Social Work Education: An Analysis

The present paper is a review based article written on the needs of social work education in Indian context. The researcher had made an attempt to critically review the research works and articles written by scholars on the topics of social work education in India and the need to make it indigenised and more applicable to Indian communities. The researcher had used the reviews which have been studied while doing his doctoral research review work. The researcher had written this article with the reflections from his own practice and experiences while working as an assistant professor in department of social work. The article focuses on social work education and its need to make it suitable, application and relevant in Indian context. The studies made and reviews written on the particular topic were critically studied during the PhD research work. The research gap thus found out that, there is urgent need to redesign the social work curriculum and develop new theories that can fit the India society. The article had travelled right through the history of social work education in India to the contemporary challenges of social work education in India.

A Study on Global Water Consumption and Improved Sanitation Facilities: Indias Plight in Contrast to Other Countries

The effect of poor and unhygienic water on health is a pandemic problem across many nations. As per the estimations, approximately 37.7 million Indians are suffering from waterborne diseases annually, diarrhea is observed to be worst illness that is causing huge child mortality. The bad sanitation and hygiene also affects poor productivity which in turn cripples the economy. The economic burden due to poor sanitation and unhygienic drinking water is estimated at $600 million a year. 700 million people residing in rural India comprise more than about 1.42 million habitations spread over 15 diverse ecological regions. In fact, providing drinking water to such a large population is an enormous challenge. Hence, in this very context, a study have been undertaken so as to study and visualize the global water consumption and improved sanitation facilities to know about Indias predicament in comparison to other countries. Certain powerful statistical tools like principal component analysis and itemized cluster analysis were employed to realize the study objectives. The countries were identified in certain important groups lying in similar situation with respect to sanitation and hygiene drinking water facilities. Most importantly the a (chronbach alpha) and β (factor saturation) are very fair to the clusters identified, whereby, affirming that the study variables, i.e. both urban and rural populations with respect to sanitation facilities and availability of hygiene drinking water could strongly characterize the countries under study.

Educational Problems of Children Orphaned by AIDS: A Study in Krishna, YSR Kadapa and Karimnagar Districts of Andhra Pradesh

HIV/AIDS is one of the major social problems in developing countries like India. In 1986, the first HIV case was diagnosed by Dr. Suniti Salmon in a female sex worker from Tamil Nadu, India. Then gradually the HIV has been transmitted and diagnosed in all states of India. More than 6 million people in India are living with HIV/AIDS. The impact of HIV/AIDS is more on children, women and aged people. According to NACO, more than 2.1 million children, below age of 18 years have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. NACO defined AIDS orphan is a child who is less than 18 years of age whose mother or father or both have died of HIV/AIDS. This study makes an attempt to analyze the situation of AIDS orphans in three high prevalent districts of united Andhra Pradesh i.e. Krishna, YSR Kadapa, and Karimnagar, India. The study analyzed socio-economic demographic profile of the AIDS orphans, perceived stigma and discrimination, educational and psychological problems faced by AIDS orphans and suggested the better interventions to promote the quality of life among AIDS orphans. The study collected data from 316 AIDS orphans and also conducted 6 focus group discussions. The study found that there are many challenges facing by AIDS orphans to access the basic education.

A Journey into Grief: Reflection on Loss and Suicide

The rising suicide rates in United States of America and elsewhere prompted this phenomenological case study which reflects upon the life and loss of a young man. Tom came into this world with mild developmental delays. He struggled with learning disabilities, and subsequently with auditory hallucinations and depression. Excerpts from Toms journal, his mothers narrative on his life, and selected quotes from professional assessments, tell Toms story from his mothers perspective and with her consent and involvement. Sadly, Tom purchased a handgun and ended his life when he was still in his twenties. The authors examine this narrative and its relevance for social work and social workers as we practice within our communities and the larger, global society.

Factors Influencing Utilisation of Maternal Healthcare Services: Womens Perception

This paper analyses the factors affecting for utilization of maternal healthcare services. Following is the section wise description of the paper. Firstly, the paper looks into socio-economic background of women. Secondly, the paper focuses on usage of maternal healthcare services by women. Thirdly, the paper also traces the factors affecting for usage of maternal healthcare services. Lastly, the paper concludes and suggests by emphasizing the significance of proper utilization of maternal healthcare services that it leads to better health of mother and their newborn child.

Determinants, Attitudes and Practices on Child Marriage: Evidences from Rural Rajasthan

Rajasthan State is one of the hotspots of child marriages in India. A large number of children especially girl child get married before attaining the legal age and even before the occurrence of physical maturity. The magnitude of the age-old tradition has decreased in many regions in comparison to the last decade of 20th century. But still the diminishment of the child marriage is not promising and it exists as one of the major social concerns. The very existence of child marriage has multifaceted effects on the individuals who victimized for it. The glaring gender disparity and gender biased issues are also one of the products of early marriages.

What do Parents Know About the Mental Health Needs and Problems of Children?

Mental health is how people think, feel and act as they encounter lifes ups and downs. Parents and child care providers need to be aware of the role of mental health in the overall healthy development of young children. It is the task of caregivers to observe young children to be sure that they are maintaining mental health by mastering age-appropriate social and personal skills, such as understanding and managing their feelings, interacting with others and learning to assert themselves in the world. The present study was conducted to examine and compare the knowledge level of parents on mental health problems of children in Gulbarga district, Karnataka and Wayanadu district in Kerala. The data was collected from 250 respondents who are members of different neighbourhood groups in Gulbarga district and Wayanadu district. Stratified random sampling method used for collecting the data. The findings revealed that there is a poor knowledge regarding the mental health problems of children among the parents. This indicates the need for creating knowledge among the parents with the help of specific intervention programme. This study is an initiative to evolve appropriate suggestions for better strategies to promote mental health awareness among mothers.