Residential Care as a Resource of the Childhood Welfare System: Current Strengths and Future Challenges

Author(s):  
Eduardo Martn
2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 469-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Damnjanovic ◽  
Aneta Lakic ◽  
Dejan Stevanovic ◽  
Ana Jovanovic ◽  
Jasna Jancic ◽  
...  

Background/Aim. Children and adolescents who enter a child welfare system are at higher risk of suffering from mental disorders, physical health, and/or social and educational problems than the general population of the same age is. This study was organized with the aim to evaluate the general characteristics of quality of life (QOL) in children and adolescents living in residential and foster care in Serbia. Methods. Two hundred and sixteen children and adolescents, aged 8-18 years, from residential and foster care and 238 children and adolescents from the general population participated in the study. QOL was assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) - Serbian version. Three groups were created: residential care group (RCG), foster care group (FCG), and control group (children and adolescents from biological families - CG). Descriptive data were calculated for all questionnaires? scores, while t-test and ANOVA were used to compare them. Results. The mean value of the total PedsQL was lower in the RCG, 67.47 ? 17.75, than in the FCG and the CG, 88.33 ? 11.27 and 80.74 ? 11.23, respectively. Additionally, the RCG reported lower all PedsQL Scale scores, but the lowest value was for the psychosocial domain. These differences were statistically significant (F value ranged from 17.3 to 49.89, p < 0.000). However, only the scores of the RCG were statistically different from the FCG and the CG, while the differences between the FCG and the CG were statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Conclusion. Children and adolescents living in residential care have significantly poorer QOL than those living in foster care or in biological families. On the other side, QOL in children and adolescents from foster care is similar to the one of those living in biological families.


Author(s):  
Vesna Jelic ◽  
Per-Olof Sandman ◽  
Lars-Olof Wahlund

Care for the elderly and people with dementia is an important part of a general welfare system in Nordic countries, particularly in Sweden. A specific characteristic of the welfare system is that it is in the main publicly funded, and care services are also under government supervision. Another feature of the Nordic model of care for the elderly is that it has a long tradition of in-home support services for older people. This chapter gives an overview of relevant demographics and milestones in the development of a National Dementia Strategy and current National Guidelines on the care and nursing of people with dementia, as well as results of their recent evaluation. The chapter concludes with a discussion of some future challenges in dementia care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4.2) ◽  
pp. 80-95
Author(s):  
Norbert Struck

This article analyzes developments in the forms of social work with young refugees and the legal framing of such work in Germany from 1990 to the present. In particular, it addresses the reactions of politicians and the child and youth welfare system to the sharp rise in the number of refugees in 2015 and 2016, and the concomitant significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minor refugees. It underlines the need for an approach based on children’s rights, and the necessity for social workers, especially those involved in helping youth, to resist the policies of deterrence that are aimed at keeping refugees out of Germany.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (19) ◽  
pp. 2581-2595
Author(s):  
Qiuhong Li ◽  
Maria B. Grant ◽  
Elaine M. Richards ◽  
Mohan K. Raizada

Abstract The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has emerged as a critical regulator of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), which plays important roles in cardiovascular homeostasis by regulating vascular tone, fluid and electrolyte balance. ACE2 functions as a carboxymonopeptidase hydrolyzing the cleavage of a single C-terminal residue from Angiotensin-II (Ang-II), the key peptide hormone of RAS, to form Angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)), which binds to the G-protein–coupled Mas receptor and activates signaling pathways that counteract the pathways activated by Ang-II. ACE2 is expressed in a variety of tissues and overwhelming evidence substantiates the beneficial effects of enhancing ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis under many pathological conditions in these tissues in experimental models. This review will provide a succinct overview on current strategies to enhance ACE2 as therapeutic agent, and discuss limitations and future challenges. ACE2 also has other functions, such as acting as a co-factor for amino acid transport and being exploited by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs) as cellular entry receptor, the implications of these functions in development of ACE2-based therapeutics will also be discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuulia M. Ortner ◽  
Isabella Vormittag

With reference to EJPA’s unique and broad scope, the current study analyzed the characteristics of the authors as well as the topics and research aims of the 69 empirical articles published in the years 2009–2010. Results revealed that more than one third of the articles were written by authors affiliated with more than one country. With reference to their research aims, an almost comparable number of articles (1) presented a new measure, (2) dealt with adaptations of measures, or (3) dealt with further research on existing measures. Analyses also revealed that most articles did not address any particular field of application. The second largest group was comprised of articles related to the clinical field, followed by the health-related field of application. The majority of all articles put their focus on investigating questionnaires or rating scales, and only a small number of articles investigated procedures classified as tests or properties of interviews. As to further characteristics of the method(s) used, a majority of EJPA contributions addressed self-report data. Results are discussed with reference to publication demands as well as the current and future challenges and demands of psychological assessment.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Guttman ◽  
Charles W. Greenbaum

This article gives an overview of Facet Theory, a systematic approach to facilitating theory construction, research design, and data analysis for complex studies, that is particularly appropriate to the behavioral and social sciences. Facet Theory is based on (1) a definitional framework for a universe of observations in the area of study; (2) empirical structures of observations within this framework; (3) a search for correspondence between the definitional system and aspects of the empirical structure for the observations. The development of Facet Theory and Facet Design is reviewed from early scale analysis and the Guttman Scale, leading to the concepts of “mapping sentence,” “universe of content,” “common range,” “content facets,” and nonmetric multidimensional methods of data analysis. In Facet Theory, the definition of the behavioral domain provides a rationale for hypothesizing structural relationships among variables employed in a study. Examples are presented from various areas of research (intelligence, infant development, animal behavior, etc.) to illustrate the methods and results of structural analysis with Smallest Space Analysis (SSA), Multidimensional Scalogram Analysis (MSA), and Partial Order Scalogram Analysis (POSA). The “radex” and “cylindrex” of intelligence tests are shown to be outstanding examples of predicted spatial configurations that have demonstrated the ubiquitous emergence of the same empirical structures in different studies. Further examples are given from studies of spatial abilities, infant development, animal behavior, and others. The use of Facet Theory, with careful construction of theory and design, is shown to provide new insights into existing data; it allows for the diagnosis and discrimination of behavioral traits and makes the generalizability and replication of findings possible, which in turn makes possible the discovery of lawfulness. Achievements, issues, and future challenges of Facet Theory are discussed.


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