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PURPOSE: Understanding why nearly 80% of youth ages 6-18 years with a mental disorder fail to receive treatment represents an important public health priority. International data suggest that underrecognition of mental illness and the need for treatment are barriers to service utilization. This study extends work to a U.S. sample of 1,104 adolescents. METHODS: High School students were invited to participate in a self-report study assessing knowledge and beliefs regarding mental illness. Participants completed the survey in groups at school and read vignettes portraying peers experiencing major depression, social anxiety disorder, and a situation where the individual has to cope with a common life stressor followed by a series of questions in reference to each vignette. RESULTS: Adolescents had better recognition of depression than social anxiety disorder and were more likely to recommend seeking help for it. However, <50% of youth recognized depression. Family, friends, and counselors were recommended as sources of help. Differences according to the sex of the respondent and person in the vignette were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These data are among the first to provide information regarding the mental health literacy of American adolescents and suggest potential points for intervention. Pending replication of the findings herein, efforts to help adolescents recognize mental health problems and to increase the likelihood of recommending professional help will be important.

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This study assessed how a social work-led care coordination intervention would reduce the within-30-day hospital readmission rate among moderate- and high-risk patients age 50 years or older. Authors ran a randomized controlled trial to determine whether there was a significant difference in within-30-day readmission rates between patients receiving usual care post-discharge and those receiving intervention from an MSW intern (one home visit and one to two phone calls). Results were obtained using a sample of hospitalized patients with a LACE index score of 7 or higher (N = 89). Analysis suggests that the intervention improved the likelihood of not being readmitted by some 22 percent (RR = 1.222; 95% CI = 1.063-1.405). The risk improvement with the intervention was highly statistically significant (p = .003). This study shows that a time-efficient care coordination intervention by MSW interns may decrease hospital readmission rates. Replications of this study in other communities, with more diverse populations, and with larger numbers of patients will indicate whether results are generalizable.

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Interprofessional collaborative practice is increasingly recognized as an essential model in health care. This study lends preliminary support to the notion that medical students (including residents) and social work students develop a broader understanding of one another's roles and contributions to enhancing community-dwelling geriatric patients' health, and develop a more thorough understanding of the inherent complexities and unique aspects of geriatric health care. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests of participants' scores on the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration (IIC) indicated the training made significant changes to the students' perception of interprofessional collaboration. Qualitative analysis of participants' statements illustrated (1) benefits of the IPE experience, including complementary roles in holistic interventions; and (2) challenges to collaboration. The findings suggest that interprofessional educational experiences have a positive impact upon students' learning and strategies for enhanced care of geriatric patients.

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In this paper the authors report the development and preliminary evaluation of the Rogerian-based Well-Being Picture Scale-Children's Version in a sample of 19 fourth and fifth grade students. Data was collected in conjunction with a larger study that examined childhood overweight and depression, and other measurements in the data set included the Child Depression Inventory. Scores on the Child Depression Inventory indicated that 20% of the children in the study were at risk for depression. A significant statistical inverse correlation (p < .05) was found between the post-test scores on the Well-Being Picture Scale-Children's Version and the Child Depression Inventory indicating that as depression scores increase well-being scores decrease.

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Expanded school mental health (ESMH) utilizes interprofessional collaboration to implement learning support and mental health promotion strategies in schools. This study reports on the early development and initial psychometric examination of a new scale, the Index of Interprofessional Team Collaboration for Expanded School Mental Health (IITC-ESMH), for measuring the functioning of interprofessional teams. Exploratory factor analysis results, using data collected from 436 members of interprofessional teams in schools, yielded a 26-item scale with a four-factor model (a) Reflection on Process, (b) Professional Flexibility, (c) Newly Created Professional Activities, and (d) Role Interdependence. Cronbach's alphas for the four factors were .91, .91, .84, and .80 respectively. The findings from this study provide evidence to support the IITC-ESMH as a reliable instrument for measuring interprofessional collaboration.

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This comparison study analyzes the commonalties, similarities, and differences on supervisory and organizational factors between a group of high turnover systems and a group of low turnover systems. Significant differences on organizational factors, but not on supervisory factors, emerged from the statistical analysis. Additionally, this study found that low turnover is not necessarily predictive of a healthy organizational environment. Implications for turnover reduction and prevention are provided in conclusion.

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This study addresses the fit between social work education and practice in health care. A random sample of NASW members identifying with health care (N = 179) responded to a mail survey about the utility of core knowledge and roles that we had identified by reviewing seven commonly used health care social work texts. Quantitative data revealed knowledge and roles most frequently used in health care settings as well as differences in roles used dependent upon department name; and different professionals supervising social workers. Qualitative data from four open-ended questions provided suggestions for what knowledge and skills should be taught in social work programs, the best forums/methods for teaching this content, and topics for continuing education. Findings are discussed in relation to six key areas of the peer-reviewed literature: vulnerable populations/diversity, ethical dilemmas, interdisciplinary collaboration, mental health, managed care/accountability, and advocacy. Implications for social work practice, education, and research are discussed.

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This paper reports on a collaborative process to create an "aging prepared community" in a four county region. The process benefited from a generous grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation that supported an 18 month planning period which included input from service providers and a vast array of aging persons and their families, including particular efforts to reach underserved populations from multicultural, inner- city and rural communities. Under the umbrella of the Elder Network of the Capital Region, the process is now beginning its implementation period with foci on the following: linking health, social service and faith communities; developing accessible health education and wellness programs; creating and implementing a regional system of information and assistance; and mounting a media campaign.

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This study reports on a qualitative national telephone survey with coordinators of 14 prison hospice programs in 11 states. The rationale behind the survey was to learn about interdisciplinary collaboration between social work and criminal justice, using prison hospice as an exemplar of this collaboration. In addition to learning that all prison hospices in the study operate using an interdisciplinary team model and that most report high quality collaboration on the hospice team, the following additional five themes emerged: administrators and wardens are very supportive while correctional staff provides mixed support to team and program; greater collaboration with those outside prison hospice is critical; collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on dying prisoners; collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on prisoner volunteers; and, collaboration through prison hospice has a positive impact on the entire culture of the prison.

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Although social work participation on interdisciplinary teams is long-standing, little research has been done to examine its effectiveness. This study used the Index of Interdisciplinary Collaboration to explore relationships between selected variables and teamwork in the hospice setting. The findings indicate that hospice social workers report a high level of interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues. Whereas education, hospice census, the presence of other social workers, and quality of care were found to be unrelated to overall levels of collaboration, individual items measuring collaboration proved to be linked with hospice census, the presence of other social workers on the team, and quality of care. Further research is required to investigate other possible related variables and their impact on successful interdisciplinary collaboration and service delivery.

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Social workers have worked with colleagues from other disciplines since the early days of the profession; yet, they were without clear models to guide this interdisciplinary work. The author uses multidisciplinary theoretical literature and conceptual and research pieces from social work literature to support the development of such a model. First, current trends relevant to interdisciplinary practice are noted to emphasize its importance. The article describes a two-part model. Part one of the model consists of five components that constitute interdisciplinary collaboration between social workers and other professionals: interdependence, newly created professional activities, flexibility, collective ownership of goals, and reflection on process. Part two of the model consists of four influences on collaboration: professional role, structural characteristics, personal characteristics and a history of collaboration. Implications for social work practice are discussed.

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