Social Work
Section Newsletter
Fall 2010

Greetings from the Chair

Social workers have a rich legacy within APHA. The profession can claim a presence within the Association from its inception. The Sociological Section of APHA was established by social workers in 1910. The Sociological Section was one of five sections initially organized within the Association. Since joining APHA and more specifically since becoming actively engaged in the Social Work Section, I have sought to understand the historic relationship between social workers and the Association. This spring with the aid of APHA Archivist Karla Pearce, I rediscovered documents that confirm the role of social workers early in the formation of the Association. So while we eagerly plan to celebrate our 40th anniversary as a section, we can comfortably acknowledge 100 years of practice/service within the Association.

On Sunday, Nov. 7 at 4:00 p.m., the Social Work Section will host a reception. We encourage all members, potential members, as well as students to attend the Sunday reception. In addition to honoring earlier generations of public health social work leaders, we want to celebrate new members while welcoming back current practitioners (check the final program for location).

Elizabeth Clark PhD, MPH, MSW, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers, will join us and celebrate the import of public health social work practice. Dr. Clark, an invited guest speaker, will speak to us on Monday, Nov. 8, at 10:00 a.m. (check the final program for location).

I am pleased to announce that our Social Work Section Student Award has been named and will be underwritten by Dr. Robert H. Keefe. Robert initiated the student award concept last year and donated the recipient's registration fee. This year, Rob has pledged to fund the award. We will formally acknowledge Catherine Cunningham from the University of Washington, Department of Global Health, the first recipient of the Robert Keefe Outstanding Student Paper Award on Monday evening as well.

This year's Conference is of significant importance to the Section. We are celebrating many innovative initiatives as well as our 40th year celebration of the Social Work Section. Join us in Denver and feel the energy, be a part of this transformation!

Theora Evans, PhD, MPH, MSW
Section Chair

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A Few Words from the Chair Elect

Dear Section Colleagues:

Another year has passed, and we will soon be meeting again for our annual conference, this year in the wonderful city of Denver. 

This was a terrific year for submitted abstracts. Our abstract reviewers were challenged with the task of selecting only the highest quality abstracts submitted for conference presentation. In spite of the seemingly never-ending fiscal crisis our country is now in, the Social Work Section will have a full and intellectually stimulating conference. Not only will the Social Work Section have a total of 34 oral and poster presentations, but we will be co-sponsoring more than 500 sessions with 43 different sections, SPIGS, forums, and caucuses, which demonstrate the relevance of social work in many public health fields.

Among my roles as chair-elect of our section I am responsible for assuring our elected posts are full. This year we elected two new Section Councilors, Derek Smith, MSW, MPH, and Jewel Stafford, MSW, and one new Governing Councilor, Betty Ruth, LCSW, MPH. 

• Derek holds the position of director of the Tobacco Prevention Program at San Mateo County Health Department in San Mateo, Calif.  He is a community organizer, coalition staffer, and health educator and also has experience working in hospitals and social service agencies.
• Jewel is a research coordinator for the graduate program in Public Health at Stony Brook University, SUNY, where she works to build bridges between the community and public health research on Long Island.  She is committed to improving the health of under-served communities through education, outreach, and advocacy.
• Betty is a clinical associate professor and director of the dual degree program in social work and public health at the Boston University School of Social Work.  She has published extensively on the topic of public health social work and serves on the editorial boards of various social work journals.

I am delighted to have Derek, Jewel, and Betty serving with us as elected officers to our section, and I know that they will make wonderful contributions.

I know that this year’s conference will be a wonderful experience for all of us. Please remember to stop by our booth and say hello.  I look forward to seeing all you.

Rob Keefe
Chair-Elect, Social Work Section
Associate Professor
School of Social Work
University at Buffalo
State University of New York

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2010 Insley-Evans Public Health Social Worker of the Year Recipient

The APHA Social Work Section is honored to present its 2010 Evans/Insley Public Health Social Worker of the Year Award to Dr. Gary R. Lounsberry. An APHA member since 1980, Gary has served (multiple-terms) as Section Councilor and Governing Councilor, and secretary. Dr. Lounsberry is an alumnus of the University of Michigan (MSW) and the University of Pittsburgh joint MPH, PhD degree program. Currently a full professor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences at Alfred State College, Gary has devoted his career to the principles of public health practice. Please join me in acknowledging Dr. Gary Lounsberry’s extensive commitment to public health social work service, on Monday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m.; review the program for all conference sessions as room locations may change.

Throughout his career, Gary has supported and sought to insure the rights of others, social justice was not a concept but away of life.  Dr. Lounsberry was a commissioned officer in the USPHS for twenty-two years. In mid-career with the USPHS, Gary assumed directorship of mental health services at the Indian Health Service Unit at Haskell Indian Nations University and part-time faculty member in Social and Behavioral Sciences in Lawrence, Kansas. After eleven years at Haskell, a transfer to Health Resources and Services Administration (DHHS-HRSA), Community and Migrant Health division sent Gary to Fort Myers, Fla.  His task in Southwest Florida was to develop mental health and social service programs at community and migrant health clinics.  While establishing clinics, Dr. Lounsberry was also addressing a shortage of mental health professionals by nurturing the development of a Masters in Social Work program under the auspices of the University of South Florida.

In 1996, Gary retired from the USPHS and became a full-time academic, he has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers (target population/area: homeless, migrant health, and Native Americans), engaged in funded research, and has been an invited speaker.  His academic career includes appointments at The University of South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University and Alfred College. Dr. Lounsberry has and continues to distinguish himself as a consummate public health social work practitioner; he has advocated for change and practiced at all systems-levels for social and economic justice while facilitating the empowerment of under-served populations.

Awards Committee Members (Theora Evans, Edward Saunders, and Bari Cornet)

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40th Anniversary Celebration

Please join your felllow Section colleagues and guests to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the APHA Social Work Section on Sunday, Nov. 7, at 4:00 p.m. [This is the first Business Meeting and Reception on the schedule to be held in the Hyatt Regency Mineral Hall B].

While our “roots” in APHA go back for 100 years, the Social Work Section was formed in 1970. There are four current members who have been continuous members since 1970 that we will honor as part of the celebration:

Velma Anderson, Marvin Feit, Isaiah Lee and Alma Young

Forty years of continuous membership is a goal we can each adopt! We will also take a look back at our history in APHA, as well as forward to the future, share stories — and have cake. In addition to honoring earlier generations of public health social work leaders, we will be celebrating new members and re-connecting with APHA friends made in past years. The first 100 members to come to the session will receive a commemorative ribbon for their conference name badge.

More information will be sent out closer to November — please check your e-mails from APHA/Social Work Section in October.

If you have any suggestions for specific activities or recognitions at the celebration, please send them to Jeanne Saunders at Jeanne-saunders@uiowa.edu.

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Update from the Membership Chair

Every thriving organization has a strong membership base with thriving opportunities. Despite concerns that our membership has dropped slightly this past year, we have an opportunity to recruit social workers into our section as a secondary section. Members are now allowed to have two secondary sections added to their membership, thus, this seems like an excellent way for us to recruit members to our membership base.

Networking, and word of mouth has been cited by experts in membership building for professional organizations as the best way to recruit people to one’s organization. Please encourage those whom you know to consider adding Social Work as a secondary section to their membership at APHA.

During the APHA Annual Meeting in Denver, we will have an opportunity to showcase the Social Work Section, and our “40 years of service” through APHA as a social work profession! Please stop by our booth and pick up a ribbon to wear which recognized the 40 years of service to our social work profession.

Part of building a strong membership base also includes understanding the needs of the members. Currently our section is working on developing a membership survey which will be distributed to members to help us better understand membership needs. We very much appreciate the efforts of Dr. Betty Ruth for taking leadership in this initiative.

Although we have lost about 20 primary members from our section in the past year, we are making efforts to follow-up with people who have lapsed memberships to encourage them to return back to the Section, or consider taking on secondary memberships.

We look forward to networking with you and visiting during the upcoming APHA Annual Meeting in Denver. Please join us at either our business meeting or reception on Sunday and Monday evenings! We also look forward to seeing you in the exhibit hall at our Social Work section booth!

Elaine Jurkowski
Membership Chair

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Notes from the Action Board

The Action Board continues to encourage all APHA members to contact their legislators regarding those public health policies which build and sustain healthy communities. The Public Health Action Campaign (PHACT) is in full force. Members may access the APHA website for more detailed information. The advocacy toolkit is a wonderful tool to review before contacting legislators. It is imperative that social workers have an active voice in communicating APHA’s positions to legislators as many of the people we serve will benefit from the expansion of these public health programs. The advocacy section of the APHA website has an array of vital information that can keep Social Work Section members apprised of current policies, legislation, policy briefs and coalition letters. This material will assist members in providing accurate and current data to their legislators. As a reminder, if there are dated social work policies that should be archived, contact the Social Work Section Chair Theora Evans for procedural protocols. During the 2010 Annual Meeting, the Action Board Advocacy Committee has planned an informative session on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. A diverse slate of speakers will discuss their efforts in advocating for their programs. Please lend your support by attending this session. See you in Denver!!!

Belinda Tate Hardy, MPA, LCSW
Action Board Representative

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The 2010 Social Work Section Program for the 138th APHA Annual Meeting in Denver

It is no easy feat to develop and deliver a section program; this year brought unique challenges.  Our program chair, Whitney Mende,l has worked under the tutelage of Dr. Rob Keefe. Mendel is a doctoral student at SUNY Buffalo, who will attend her first APHA meeting this fall! Whitney and Rob, thanks for all that you have done. Whitney, your leadership and interpersonal skills are remarkable always attentive to the details, accessible, and responsive!

Because rooms are subject to change, we encourage each of you to verify room assignments against the final program distributed by APHA.

For a PDF version of this schedule, click HERE.

SUNDAY, NOV. 7, 2010: 4:00 P.M.

285.0 Social Work Section Business Meeting and Reception Hyatt Regency Mineral Hall B

MONDAY, NOV. 8, 2010: 6:30 A.M.

309.0 Social Work Section Business Meeting Hyatt Regency Quartz A

MONDAY, NOV. 8, 2010: 8:30 A.M.

3065.0 Child welfare: policy impacts

Hyatt Regency

Summit 25

Moderator: B. Cornet, MSW, MPH

8:30 a.m. — You can count on me, kid: Social cohesion and the health of youth in urban environments J. Liu, PhD, MBA, MS; J. Rissi, PhD; P. Garcia-Filion, MPH; P. Radford, MD

8:45 a.m. — Child Well-Being in the Early Years of Welfare Reform: What Really Mattered? R. Stone, PhD; D. Kemp, MSSW, PhD; G. Barber, PhD

9:00 a.m. — Serving gang-involved Latino youth: Strengths and service gaps for a community violence prevention plan R. Olate, PhD, Assistant Professor; C. Salas-Wright, PhD Student; M. Vaughn, PhD, Assistant Professor

9:15 a.m. — Supporting military families with young children: Results from a needs assessment and pilot phase of a home-based prevention program for National Guard/Reserve families D. Prouty, MSW; A. Ross, MSW; S. Bryant, MSW; E. Maynard, BA; E. DeVoe, PhD

MONDAY, NOV. 8, 2010: 12:30 P.M.

3247.0 Educating a public health social work workforce to promote social justice Hyatt Regency Summit 25

Moderator: T. Thomas, MSW, MPH

12:30 p.m. — Renters for life: Ensuring healthy housing that supports physical well-being for all of our communities D. R. Smith, MPH/MSW; G. Lemus; E. Cabuslay, MPH; S. Morrow, MD, MPH, MBA

12:45 p.m. — Youth transitions in bullying and victimization status: A latent class analysis A. Powell, PhD; D. Brisson, PhD; K. Bender, PhD; S. Forrest-Bank, MSW; J. Jenson, PhD

1:00 p.m. — Cash assistance and social justice from the perspective of low-income mothers: Community participation to change the dialogue on welfare policies J. Rabinowich, BA; A. Ortiz; I. Sullivan; J. Breaux, MPH, CHES; M. Welsh, BA; M. Chilton, PhD, MPH

1:15 p.m. — Social work interest in prevention: New findings from an ongoing content analysis of the professional literature B. J. Ruth, MSW, MPH; J. W. Marshall, MSW, MPH; E. Hill, MSW, MPH; L. A. Taranto, MSW, MPH; S. Sisco, MPH, MSSW

1:30 p.m. — An examination of occupational health phenomena: Secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burnout among social workers in Montana J. Caringi, PhD; E. Hardiman, PhD; P. Weldon; H. C. Kim; L. Strand

MONDAY, NOV. 8, 2010: 2:30 P.M.

3279.0 Poster Session: Social Justice

CCC

Halls A/B

Organizer: R. H. Keefe, PhD, ACSW

Moderator: W. Mendel, PhD Student

Board 1 — An evaluation of GTO for pregnancy prevention programs J. A. Saunders, PhD, MSSW, LISW

Board 2 — Social supports and mental health needs of caregivers of those with early-onset dementia E. Rinfrette, MSW, PhD Candidate

Board 3 — Promoting Social Justice through Service Learning E. Saunders, MSW, MPH, PhD

Board 4 — A Pilot Project to Identify Opportunities to Increase the Number of Formerly Incarcerated Veterans Successfully Linked to Health Care for Reentry Veterans Services S. R. Henry, DPH, MPH; H. Saifu, BA; J. F. McGuire, PhD; M. Wildy, MSW; J. Brosnan, RN, PhD; M. Y. Iguchi, PhD; L. Gelberg, MD, MSPH; L. V. Rubenstein, MD, MSPH

Board 5 — Grocery shopping in your neighborhood may be dangerous to your health R. H. Keefe, PhD, ACSW; W. Mendel, PhD Student; K. Patterson, PhD

Board 6 — Youth mentoring relationships: The role of mentor expectations and characteristics in relationship closeness and duration R. Spencer, EdD, LICSW; R. Wasserman, BA; A. M. Basualdo-Delmonico, MS; S. M. Jeon

Board 7 — Perceived Discrimination and Fear of Deportation among Latino Immigrants in the U.S. D. Becerra, PhD; M. Gurrola, PhD; J. Castillo, PhD

Board 8 — Putting Census data to work: Educating social workers and community practitioners to use community data sources to inform practice D. Ray, MSW

Board 9 — Neighborhood safety and delays in health care among children with special health care needs F. Gibbs, MPH; L. R. Robinson, Phd MPH; S. Visser, MS; R. Perou, PhD

Board 10 — When words can't help: Women's literacy in domestic violence shelters E. Teeter, BSW; M. Peck, MSW, PhD

TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 2010: 7:00 A.M.

409.0 Social Work Section Business Meeting Hyatt Regency Centennial Ballroom C

TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 2010: 12:30 P.M.

4217.0 Eliminating health and mental health disparities in access to care Hyatt Regency Capitol Ballroom 5

Moderator: J. Hasting

12:30 p.m. — Increasing men's access to health services: A case management intervention at workforce development programs in Upper Manhattan B. Armstrong, DSW; D. Kalmuss, PhD; C. Leruth, MPH; J. Gonzalez, LCSW; E. Zambrano; D. L. Bell, MD, MPH

12:45 p.m. — Barriers and facilitators to depression treatment completion among low-income, minority patients seeking care within a public emergency department A. Wells, PhD, MSW; I. Lagomasino, MD, MSHS; D. Gonzalez, BA; J. Green, MSW

1:00 p.m. — Access to primary health care for racial minority women in Canada: Opportunities for social work and social justice to impact barriers and facilitators of effective health care C. Williams, PhD; N. Massaquoi, MSW, PhD Candidate; M. Redmond, MSW, PhD Candidate

1:15 p.m. — Health and mental health care disparities in Asian American women: Results from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) H. B. Appel, PhD, MPH; A. L. Ai; B. Huang, PhD; C. Lin, PhD

TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 2010: 4:30 P.M.

4388.0 Community efforts to promote social justice Hyatt Regency Mineral Hall B

Moderator: B. J. Ruth, MSW, MPH

4:30 p.m. — Social workers as connectors in community level disease control efforts in Kassala State, Sudan C. Waters, MSW/MPHc; C. Cunningham, BA; S. Idris Okoued, MPH; S. Hassan Mustafa, MPHc

4:45 p.m. — Utilizing Photovoice in Community Practice: Giving voice to People Living with Disabilities A. Vitriol, MSW, MPH; K. Felman; T. Thomas, MSW, MPH

5:00 p.m. — Promoting behavioral and oral health literacy in rural communities among older adults E. T. Jurkowski, MSW, PhD; C. J. Lautar, RDH, PhD

5:15 p.m. — Models of community governance in the Good Neighborhoods: Authentic community participation, community well being and social justice L. M. Gant, PhD, LMSW; L. Hollingsworth, MSW, PhD; T. Shanks, MSW, PhD; P. Allen-Meares, MSW, PhD; P. Miller, MSW; R. Williams, MSW

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2010: 8:30 A.M.

5086.0 Moving from disparities to equity in social work practice Hyatt Regency Capitol Ballroom 7

Moderator: J. A. Saunders, PhD, MSSW, LISW

8:30 a.m. — Globalization of emotion work: Fear management in child protection work with undocumented immigrant families E. M. Slayter, PhD, MSW; K. Kriz, PhD

8:45 a.m. — Chernobyl Nuclear Catastrophe: Existential Crisis from an Environmental Justice Perspective I. Morozova

9:00 a.m. — Predictors of Access to Needed Health and Mental Health Services among Sexual Minority Youth: Findings from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health K. Williams, PhD, MSW

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2010: 12:30 P.M.

5189.0 Immigrants and refugee: health and social justice Hyatt Regency Capitol Ballroom 7

Moderator: E. Saunders, MSW, MPH, PhD

12:30 p.m. — Advancing Social Justice for Immigrants and Refugees – Completing a Cultural Health Assessment E. Congress, MSW, DSW, LCSW

12:45 p.m. — Examining the etiology of crack use among Latino immigrant day laborers in New Orleans N. Negi, PhD, MSW; A. Valdez, PhD; A. Cepeda, PhD; C. Kaplan, PhD

1:00 p.m. — African women's experience of refugee services: A social justice issue H. Nyiransekuye, PhD in Social Work

1:15 p.m. — Undocumented Latinas in small town USA: Surviving the hostile implementation of Section 287g by local law enforcement T. Hancock, MSW, DSW; M. Jimenez McGee, MSW

Theora Evans

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Public Health Social Work – The Book

The latest update on “the book” (tentative title Essays in Public Health Social Work) is that Elaine Jurkowski, with assistance from Bari Cornet, has taken over the lead in the development of the book that the Social Work Section is writing. Rob Keefe led us through the initial stages of planning and negotiations with the publisher. As we approach the assignment/writing stage, there are several chapters for which potential authors have not yet been identified. They are:

• Infectious Diseases
• Chronic Health Conditions
• Substance Abuse
• Rural Health
• Global Health
• PHSW in the Military Services
• Health Disparities & Inequities
• Emerging issues: ACM, Faith & Spirituality, Informatics
• Mental Health

We have some thoughts, but want to get the interests and participation of more members of the Section. Are you interested? Can you recommend someone? Please let Elaine Jurkowski know at etjurkow@siu.edu.

We have identified folks for the remaining 16 chapters…and we will be contacting you shortly to confirm your interest.

The rough guidelines are that each chapter will be based around the Public Health Social Work Core Competencies and Standards. The total book will be approximately 300 pages (i.e. about 500 double-spaced manuscript pages) and thus each chapter about 20 manuscript pages.

Just a reminder that this is an edited book being written by the Social Work Section of APHA… so, everyone should be a part of the adventure!

Contributed by Bari Cornet

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Managing Health Care in the New Economic Environment

Online course opportunity - Managing Health Care in the New Economic Environment

To increase knowledge about the changing health care landscap,e Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, working in collaboration with the New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, developed on online distance education course for multidisciplinary health care practitioners. This course that provides an introduction to basic concepts of managing health care was recently revised to provide the most up to date information about managing health care in the new economic environment. This course will help public health social workers and other health care professionals increase their understanding of managing health care concepts in order to develop interventions that maintain a high quality of care and consumer satisfaction, while containing costs.

Each of the six modules take approximately 2 hours to complete through independent study - PowerPoint lectures, assigned readings, and quizzes. This asynchronous online program can be accessed at any time.

The topics/modules covered are:

I. Managing Health Care in the New Economic Environment: The Basics

The complex historical, social and market forces that have shaped contemporary health care finance, delivery and practice are presented.

II. How it Works

Fundamental concepts are explained including the various types of plans and systems for reimbursement for services provided. The health plans for public benefits - Medicaid and Medicare - are also highlighted.

III. Alphabet Soup for the Economist's Soul

The importance of the underlying economic models with case studies is stressed.  Those enrolled will also learn about cost/benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, cost/utility analysis.

IV. Advanced Care Management

How is medical care managed under various health plan arrangements? The focus of this unit is on disease and case management, utilization management, various uses of data, and the central topic of importance for health care practitioners: the quality of care. The managed approach to the provision of mental health and substance abuse treatment services, and behavioral health care are also explored.

V. Ethical Issues

Utmost on the minds of health care practitioners today are ethical dilemmas brought about by health plans and their reimbursement methods; the confidentiality and privacy of medical records; the

freedom or limitations on autonomous practice by providers; and the choices and rights of consumers, as well as equal access and health care disparities.

VI. The Future

What are the trends in the market? Are new patterns emerging of finance and delivery of health care? What shape might current health care reform efforts take?

Continuing education credit is available.  If you are interested, you can find out more about the course and register here or e-mail Dr. Elaine Congress at congress@fordham.edu.

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Join us for the APHA 138th Annual Meeting and Exposition

From Nov. 6-10, 2010, join us in Denver for the APHA 138th Annual Meeting and Exposition. More than 1,000 cutting edge scientific sessions will be presented by public health researchers, academicians, policy-makers and practitioners on the most current public health issues facing the nation today. For more information about the Annual Meeting visit www.apha.org/meetings .

Our section will have a strong presence at the meeting. View the sessions sponsored by our section by visiting the interactive Online Program. Search the program using keyword, author name or date. Don’t forget to stop by our new booth in the Section and SPIG pavilion (booth 1370)  in the Public Health Expo next to Everything APHA.

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