Community Interventions Flashcards
Social and Human Services
- Evolved to compensate for natural support networks
- A lot of people feel like they don’t have to help because there is help for people out there
- Much of the service system is focused on the issue of poverty and its consequences, not actually tackling poverty
What is poverty
- In general: no money, community, or voice
- The poverty line is political and not very accurate
- If over 30% of your income goes towards housing you’re at risk for poverty
- Dollars don’t go the same in every city
- Environment matters because if you have people to help you it probably won’t feel as bad
Charity/Philanthropy
- Donations or charity to a designated recipient
- A lot were started by the church
- Can create distance between people donating and the services which makes them feel like they’re doing enough when they’re not
Public welfare
- The gov. assumes responsibility for the poor
Social insurance
- Government insurance in support of those who have contributed to the system
Social services
- Services provided rather than monetary aid or support
- A lot of new people coming here don’t know they exist
What is a community intervention
- Refer to actions that address social problems or unmet human needs within a community
- Aim to better understand and address social problems
- Improve individual and group well being
- Prevention and promotion based programs
Child maltreatment
- Very under reported
- But 1/3 of Canadians aged 15 years and older have experienced it
- Early abuse affects brain development
- Early abuse can negatively affect the ability to form healthy relationships later
Causes of maltreatment - individual level
- Unrealistic parental expectations
- Dysfunctional care giving or lack of parenting skills
- Parental substance abuse
Causes of maltreatment - social context
- Stressors
- Poverty
- Social isolation
Causes of maltreatment - Community level
- Violence
- Lack of community identity
- No sense of community
- Distrust of neighbours or government officials
- Limited ability of neighbours to help each other
Nurse visitation to help reduce childhood maltreatment
- Nurse visits poor, unmarried, adolescent, first time mothers
The nurses:
- Educate adolescents on child development
- Encourage involvement of family and friends
- Develop linkages with community
Research based
- Reduction in abuse; 15 year results point to long term effects
- The program does not dampen the effects of other family violence
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
- Describes physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse
- In families where children are being abused, there is also a greater tendency for violence among adults in the family to exist
- Abusers abuse
Programs addressing IPV
Relationship based programs
- Teach participants competencies such as conflict resolution and decision-making, and nonviolent communication skills
- Raise awareness of power dynamics and abuse in intimate relationships
Community-based interventions
- Domestic violence shelters to give women and children refuge and safe spaces to gain financial and emotional independence skills
Teen pregnancy
Many social consequences for girls
- Reduced status and the home and community
- Stigmatization
- Rejection and family violence
- Peers and partners
- Early and forced marriage
- Particularly vulnerable to health consequences as their bodies may not be ready
Causes of teen pregnancy
Community psychologist focus on contexts such as
- Poverty
- Alienation from society
- Media and peer pressure
- Lack of social support in the family or the community
- Lack of social capital
Prevention of teen pregnancy
- Increased attention to ecological or broader social influences
- Abstinence only programs are not support by research
- Comprehensive programs appear to be more successful and include info on contraception and addressing contextual factors
Community interventions and the elderly - Scope of the issue
- Lots of old baby boomers right now
- Longer life expectancy
- Old people are largely ignored
- They prefer to live and die in their houses
- Lots of stereotypes
Elder abuse in Canada
- Around 10%
- Emotional, financial, and physical abuse
- Greater impairment is associated with greater risk for abuse
- Social support associated with lower levels of elder abuse
Prevention for elders
Social supports increase:
- Morale
- Buffer loss
- Slow deterioration
Can include:
- Informal networks
- Confidants
- Internet links
Risk factors that contribute to dropping out of high school
- Large schools
- Multiple transfers
- Repeating a grade
- Need to earn money for families
- Low self-esteem
- Absence of learning environment at home
- Having friends who have dropped out
Three levels of intervention to reduce students dropping out of school
- Individual level
- Microsystem/Organizational
- Macrosystem
Individual level to reduce the number of students who are dropping out of school
- Connect students to mental health services
- Workshops to provide students with skills for interpersonal problem solving
- A telephone helpline at school
Microsystem/Organizational level to reduce the number of students who are dropping out of school
- Making school feel smaller and less complex
- Restructuring the role of homeroom teachers
- Low cost and no changes to individual or curriculum
