Читать книгу Social Work Research Methods - Reginald O. York - Страница 54

Social work practice is aided by science in many ways. When we assess our client’s behavior, we can review scientific studies on the nature of this behavior and gain a better understanding of it. When we consider the methods we will use to help our clients, we can examine evidence about the different approaches that have been undertaken for the achievement of the objective our client is pursuing. We can examine whether certain interventions are better than others with a given client population. And we can do much more with science as a guide to social work practice.

Social work can be defined in many ways. One such way was presented in the Dictionary of Social Work (Barker, 2003). This definition indicated that social workers improve the capacity of individuals for problem solving and coping, and help those in need to find resources. It also emphasizes the interaction of the individual and the environment. Social workers, according to this definition, work with individuals, families, and communities.

This definition is quite broad and encompasses the large number of tasks and functions that are part of the social worker’s job. Clinical social work is one type of work in this profession. A definition from the NASW (2005) refers to clinical social work as being related to the application of social work theory and methods to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction, including behavioral and mental disorders.

Clinical social work, therefore, is related to work with individuals and small groups with regard to problems we typically classify as related to mental health. Social workers are employed in a variety of settings, but the greatest number serve in direct practice roles. Those who serve in different roles are spread out among many functions, like education, supervision, administration, planning, and so forth. Because of these facts, this book will put more emphasis on research methods for direct practice.

Alison Miley (2016), a student in a Master of Social Work program, undertook a study of the effectiveness of a caregiver support intervention in the reduction of caregiver burnout for the caregivers of dependent elderly individuals. A review of the literature assisted this student in defining caregiver burnout as a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that affects the attitude of the caregiver with regard to the caregiver service. The effect of burnout is a reduction in the quality of care and the termination of the caregiver service.

Miley (2016) also learned from the literature that social support reduces much of the stress associated with the provision of caregiver service. It also improves morale and life satisfaction and enhances feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem. Thus, a support group experience was designed for a group of caregivers served by the agency. This support group was offered monthly for 2 hours. It not only provided a support group experience but also provided for the caregiver to have some time off from the caregiver service.

Miley (2016) designed an evaluation of this support group intervention by administering a scale that measured burnout. This scale was to be administered before the service began and at the end of 6 months of service. She noted from the literature that this scale had been tested and was found to be reliable. Her next step in this process would be to collect and analyze these scores to see if the one taken at the end of the service was significantly better than the one taken at the beginning.

As is evident from the example given above, science can inform various aspects of social work practice. Practice, with this group of clients, was informed by science with regard to the definition and analysis of the client’s target behavior, the search for an effective treatment, and how to measure success. After Miley collects data, she will need to be careful to allow her data to inform her conclusions.

The above example is of direct social work practice. If you are engaged in a program evaluation, there are many avenues you could take. You could examine whether the clients in your program have the characteristics that the program is supposed to serve. If the target population consists of people in poverty, you could collect data on the proportion of the clients in this program who live below the poverty line. You could examine the standards employed in this program as compared with official standards of good practice, such as the credentials of the staff who provide the service. You could examine the efficiency of certain services compared with that of similar agencies. What, for example, is the cost per client served by this agency as compared with other agencies? And, of course, you could examine outcomes for this program, such as the recidivism rate for confirmed cases of child neglect or the gain in feelings of support among those in the support group for victims of violence.