MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF EMPTY-NESTERS: A CHINESE URBAN CASE STUDY

The research examined the mental health and well-being of a sample of empty-nesters in Jinan City, Shandong Province, China. An in-depth individual interview approach, with document analysis and participant observation, was performed on three types of interviewees (N = 33) recruited via purposive sampling. The empty-nesters faced many unique problems, especially a sense of being disjointed from the family, community and society. Influencing factors included Chinese traditional filial piety culture, lagging implementation of relevant policies and development of community aging services, as well as the loss of productive roles for the empty nesters. While this paper supports the argument that religious and related social activities play a role in facilitating the psychological adjustment of older people, it reveals a different finding from previous studies that highly educated empty nesters are likely to have lower levels of social participation and psychological fulfillment. Moreover, by employing the social-ecological systems theory for analysis, this study confirms the importance of the family interactions in the life of empty nesters, which contributed to the implication to relevant social policy and social work practice.

BEYOND THE CHALLENGES: NEW INSIGHTS AND INNOVATIONS IN FIELD EDUCATION

The International Conference on Social Work and Fieldwork Education in Hong Kong was organized to discuss the need for change and innovation in social work education with a particular focus on field education. There is a need for social work field educators to identify innovative, promising, and wise practices in field education. In many contexts, field education is challenged to procure sufficient placements each year. This growing demand for placements has created numerous challenges in field education programs. In response to the challenges facing social work field education, and the need to develop sustainable models of field education, the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) project was formed. The TFEL project is a partnership designed to integrate research and practice through the development of partnered research training initiatives aimed at enhancing student research practice knowledge and applied skill development. In Canada, many field education challenges were amplified due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required social work programs to adapt in order to navigate unprecedented circumstances. This article discusses the challenges facing field education programs and provides an overview of the TFEL project, with a focus on how the partnership is addressing these concerns. It defines what is meant by innovative, promising, and wise practices in field education, and how these innovations can assist in preparing the next generation of social workers to become highly qualified personnel.

ADOLESCENT DRUG REHABILITATION SERVICE MODELS IN HONG KONG: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FRONTLINE SOCIAL WORKERS

This study aimed to contribute to an exploratory categorization of different adolescent drug rehabilitation service models in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews were conducted with local social workers working in the medical model setting, integrated model setting, and social model setting. There was a trend that hybrid models were used by the drug rehabilitation service providers and a shift to postmodernism was found in the current service settings.

LIFE STRESS, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND DEPRESSION LEVELS IN MID- AND OLDER-AGED INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING BEREAVEMENT OF A SPOUSE IN TAIWAN

This research aimed to explore life stress, available social support, and depression levels in mid- and older-aged individuals experiencing the bereavement of a spouse. We excluded subjects who were remarried, living with companions, divorced but not remarried, separated, or never married, resulting in a final sample of 1,231 subjects. Analyses indicated that a significant level of stress related to health, finances, and family relationships was associated with higher levels of life stress and depression. Individuals with family and friends who were less willing to listen or who cared less tended to suffer from more severe symptoms of depression.

BLENDED LEARNING IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE COURSES: A REFLECTIVE LEARNING MODEL

The rapid development of information technology and the recent global pandemic have accelerated the use of online courses in spheres of higher education. However, the use of technology in social work education remains controversial, particularly regarding practice-related courses. This paper reports experiences of using the reflective-based blended approach in courses for teaching social work practice. Positive evaluation and feedback were obtained from students that indicates the success of blended teaching. Based on the practice experience, the paper discusses success factors and difficulties in blended teaching and strategies for blended course design.

WHAT REALLY MATTERS? AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON PERCEIVED EFFECTIVENESS, ACTUAL PRACTICE AND DETERMINANTS OF ADVOCACY IN SOCIAL WORK

This article presented empirical information to explore and examine the advocacy activities conducted by social workers in Hong Kong. The effectiveness of the advocacy activities as perceived by the social workers are measured and matched with the actual practice. Reasons for undertaking advocacy are collected. The determinants of advocacy include: recognition of the importance of empowerment and relationship building between social workers and service users, helping service users exercise their rights and broaden their life options are instrumental in driving advocacy efforts. The sense of guilt is also a contributing factor behind certain advocacy activities. The importance of research and education in advocacy are emphasized.

在新冠肺炎疫情期間，中國兒童青少年的心理健康狀態與心理健康支持

新型冠狀病毒肺炎（COVID-19）是目前影響全球的突發公共衛生事件。從疫情爆發至現階段，新冠肺炎已對各國人民造成了不同程度的身心傷害。兒童青少年作為弱勢群體，在此期間更加需要特別照顧。本文介紹了新冠肺炎疫情期間，中國居家隔離的兒童青少年的心理健康狀況及其主要影響因素。同時，本文還從父母的角度出發，就面對諸如新冠肺炎疫情等此類公共突發事件期間，就如何幫助兒童青少年應對外部環境的不確定性提供了建議和策略。