April Murphy

Background: Employees of higher education have an increased risk for stress, burnout, and turnover. Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) programs have been shown to improve quality of life, reduce individual health risks, improve morale, reduce health care costs, and increase employee retention. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a WHP initiative on employee intent to stay, life/work balance, and work-related quality of life. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design at a Midwestern university. All faculty and staff were invited to participate in an Employee Wellness Hour, which allowed them to take an additional hour per day to participate in wellness-related activities. Those who chose to participate were required to track their wellness activity on a weekly basis in Qualtrics and invited to participate in a survey examining their intent to stay, life/work balance, and work-related quality of life. Analyses were conducted to determine whether participation in the Employee Wellness Hour had an impact on employee intent to stay, their life/work balance, and work-related quality of life. Results: Results indicated that those who participated in the Employee Wellness Hour were more likely to stay with their current employer and rated their working conditions more positively. Conclusions: The cost of employee turnover is immense, making it imperative that employers develop and implement innovative solutions to retain employees and improve working conditions. This study provided preliminary evidence that WHP programs can have a positive impact on retention and working conditions among those employed in institutions of higher education.

The purpose of this study was to identify essential skills and abilities for mitigating job-related stressors and preventing burnout while also establishing connections between students and community health workers to provide students with a deeper comprehension of the challenges inherent to their future professions. Ten community health workers were interviewed and asked to present photographs that explored sources of burnout and promotions of well-being. The photographs along with quotes were displayed in a gallery style exhibit for students to view and talk with the community health workers and complete a survey. Using thematic analysis, the interviews resulted in four common factors that contribute to burnout: (1) workload demands, (2) unrealistic exceptions, (3) amount of time dedicated to care, and (4) lack of work–life balance. The themes that emerged from student responses were (1) learning self-care practices, (2) gaining insight into the need for self-care, (3) a sense of connection, and (4) exposure to different healthcare careers. This study demonstrates the importance of connecting students with community health workers. It increases understanding of the demands of their future professions as well as resources and engagement opportunities available to them as a part of their respective professional community.

Children of colour, especially non‐Hispanic Black, non‐Hispanic Native American, and non‐Hispanic multiracial, continue to be overrepresented across every decision point in the U.S. child welfare system. Existing research has largely focused on documenting the existence of disproportionality, while there has been less focus on interventions and/or approaches specifically designed to reduce this social problem. This study sought to identify and characterize interventions and/or approaches utilized in child welfare for reducing racial disproportionality by conducting a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines. After reviewing over 1000 studies across eight databases, only three studies met criteria for inclusion in this systematic review. The articles all addressed prevention strategies aimed to address risk factors and subjectivity, while employing interventions across both family and organizational/community levels. Three themes emerged, community‐wide targeted intervention, culturally responsive family preservation, and agency‐specific initiatives, which captured the scope of intervention to the extent as possible. Results indicated that training, collaboration, and comprehensive reform are promising, yet large‐scale systemic efforts must take priority for meaningful change to occur.

Climate change and global warming gained attention at the beginning of the twenty-first century; however, it has been debated for centuries. Despite a plethora of scientific evidence to support its existence, some are still skeptical. Although individuals debate whether climate change is real, vulnerable populations are bearing the brunt of the impact as glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes has broken up, plant and animal ranges have shifted, and trees are flowering sooner. As temperatures continue to rise, precipitation patterns change, droughts and heat waves become even more common, hurricanes become more intense, sea levels keep rising, and the Arctic becomes ice-free, poor people and people of color are losing their lives and/or their livelihoods. A number of policies have mandated that countries slow down the climate change process. The United Nations and the profession of social work have made recommendations and set goals related to climate change. However, it seems as if climate change is just a chess piece to be used in the political arena. This article presents an overview of policies related to climate change and examines the response, both domestically and internationally, by organizations and the social work profession. It appears that U.S. social workers are lagging behind the rest of the world with respect to training and preparedness for addressing climate change and its effect even though social workers are uniquely situated to address this issue given the profession's emphasis on advocacy, social justice, and community organizing. This article presents some suggestions for future research and implications for social work education.

The Council on Social Work Education understands the growing influence of technology on social work practice and education, including the need for students to develop the knowledge and skills to use modern technologies, including Twitter, both professionally and ethically. With the inclusion of technology in social work education, the efficacy of these methods must be assessed. This study aims to conduct the initial phase of scale development, an exploratory factor analysis. Using a purposive sample of over 200 BSW and MSW students in one university, this study presents results of the exploratory phase of the Technology Effectiveness and Social Connectedness Scale, which can be used to assess the effectiveness of incorporating Twitter into social work courses.

Frontline child welfare supervisors are a vitally important component for providing leadership in service delivery and workforce stability. This statewide study of public child welfare supervisors uses a modified version of a previously developed instrument (the CWEFS) to examine job satisfaction and factors influencing supervisors’ intention to leave. A consistent negative perception of salary was found but a stratified pattern of dissatisfaction emerged across other variables when examined by intention to leave (Stayers, Undecided, and Leavers). A Hierarchical Binary Logistic Regression Model identified two factors that predicted intention to leave: dissatisfaction with administrative support and workload impact.