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Changing Times: Wrapping Up and Moving Forward
Knepper H.J.
Q3
Preventing Musculoskeletal Injury: Security Forces Occupational Wellness and Improvements
Dinkins T.E., Dinkins B.L.
Q3
United States Air Force Security Forces members face unique hazards associated with law enforcement and security duties similar to civilian law enforcement agencies. They also balance combat training requirements and rigorous physical conditioning that creates a high propensity for musculoskeletal injuries. The literature shows that awareness and education of contributing hazards can reduce the rate of injury among at-risk populations. This study explored the experience of Security Forces (SF) veterans to understand how actions on the job, training, and other key factors significantly contributed to their musculoskeletal injuries and chronic conditions. The research employed a phenomenological qualitative method to understand the workplace implications that may contribute to SF injury. We interviewed ten Security Forces veterans, five male and five female, to gain their insights and perspectives on their injuries and preventative measures that took place. The results showed a high rate of injury occurring on the job and a low rate of prevention. Participants described how their injuries were compounded by organizational culture and the hesitance to seek care options based on an underlying stigma. We introduce three considerations for practice to improve the musculoskeletal injury incidence rate among Security Forces: (1) developing a law enforcement-centric educational awareness program that places emphasis on physical conditioning, flexibility, and endurance to withstand occupational duties, (2) focusing on building core strength to reduce lower back and correlating injuries, (3) apply a top-down approach to remove negative stigma with seeking medical treatment for injuries.
Health Literacy and Patient Compliance: Implications for Public Health Interventions from a COVID-19 Study
Menifield C.E., Damas K., Chen T., Hudson S., Van Ryzin G., Song M., Hill D., Harris-Neal N., Alsbrook K.
Q3
A wealth of research has documented the detrimental consequences of health illiteracy and its impact on a multitude of health-related issues. Scholars across various disciplines have consistently shown that individuals with higher educational attainment, those born in the United States, and those with greater English proficiency, are more likely to exhibit higher levels of health literacy. However, the extent to which these individuals adhere to established health guidelines remains an understudied area. Therefore, we analyzed data from one of the largest cities impacted by COVID-19 in the United States, to determine whether traditional predictors of high health literacy levels translated into higher levels of vaccination intentions and vaccination doses, to protect themselves and their communities from COVID-19 related illness and death. The results indicated that individuals with high health literacy levels do not necessarily exhibit higher levels of compliance, thus challenging conventional wisdom.
Identity Crisis Among Clinical Officers at Malawi’s Public Hospitals Amidst the Implementation of Functional Reviews
Chinguwo P.
Q3
In Malawi’s healthcare system, a significant doctor shortage compels clinical officers who are mid-level health professionals, to shoulder responsibilities traditionally reserved for medical doctors. This study delves into the unintended consequences of functional reviews within Malawi’s health sector. The research, employing a qualitative case-study approach across five public hospitals, investigated how the functional reviews triggered an identity crisis among clinical officers. The findings revealed that the implemented changes caused an identity crisis among clinical officers. This identity crisis, demonstrably exacerbated occupational stress among clinical officers. To address this unforeseen consequence and safeguard the well-being of clinical officers in particular and healthcare workers in general, this paper proposes the incorporation of psychosocial risk assessments before implementing functional reviews in the health sector. This proactive approach can help identify potential threats to social identity and mitigate the risk of increased stress among healthcare workers. Ultimately, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that underscores the intricate link between social identity and the impact of large-scale workplace changes within the healthcare system.
The Practice of Supervision in Human Service Organizations: A Descriptive Survey of Canadian Practitioners, Supervisors, and Organizational Leaders
Sewell K.M., Janse van Rensburg M., Peddle M.
Q3
Workplace-based supervision within human services is an organizational resource with potential to support practitioners, delivery of services, client outcomes, and organizations. However, little is known about the practice of supervision in organizational settings. This paper reports on a cross-sectional, descriptive study that explored supervision in practice within human services in Ontario, Canada ( N = 375). Web-based surveys were completed by frontline practitioners ( n = 263), supervisors ( n = 85), and leaders ( n = 27) employed in human service organizations. Descriptive statistics present a broad picture of supervision, with differences between employee groups highlighted. A third of frontline practitioners reported their supervision encompassed all supervisory functions (i.e., support, administration, professional development, and quality of care). Using the MCSS-26, 46% of practitioners reported their supervision was effective. Findings emphasize the need for dedicated funding, organizational policies, enhanced training, and feedback mechanisms. Addressing these areas may improve the effectiveness of supervision, supporting staff well-being and in turn, client outcomes.
Funding (In)security and Challenges: Non-Profit Literacy Programming and Neoliberal Contradictions in Canada
Gallagher T.L., Gosine K., Parker D.C.
Q3
Increasingly, the non-profit sector is expected to provide services for which the state previously took responsibility, and plays a vital role in providing key supports, such as those related to literacy and building social capital. In a jurisdiction of Ontario, Canada, local funding for literacy programs ceased without warning. In this qualitative study, stakeholders consisting of program users ( n = 72), staff ( n = 11), and program leads ( n = 8) shared their experiences regarding the goals, activities, impacts, and needs of the programs through interviews and focus groups. Findings illuminate both challenges and recommendations for future implementation in three themes: (1) Identifying and reconciling funding gaps and restrictions; (2) requiring supports for human resources; and (3) communicating, cooperating, and collaborating to survive. The challenges faced by financially strapped, non-profit entities highlight a fundamental contradiction within neoliberal ideology: Neoliberal-induced funding scarcity within the non-profit sector can undermine the capacity of community organizations to promote neoliberal ideals related to self-reliance and resilience.
Resident Care in the “In-Between Time”: Cross-Sector Perspectives on Enhancing Synergy Between Palliative Care and Permanent Supportive Housing
Johnson I.M., Traver A.C., Light M.A.
Q3
Despite established disparities in serious illness prevalence among formerly homeless people living in permanent supportive housing, there is a dearth of research aimed at promoting and enhancing palliative care service delivery in this setting. This paper describes current practices, perceived barriers, and recommendations in permanent supportive housing for residents living with serious illness through a thematic analysis of interviews with cross-sector stakeholders ( n = 30) from the Research and Supportive Care at Later-life for Unhoused People (RASCAL-UP) study. Themes identified across resident care, program collaboration, and policy and environment areas included: (1) unique resident care needs; (2) on-site relationships; (3) adaptation of aging, disability, and healthcare services for residents; (4) internal implementation barriers; (5) preparing the environment for serious illness; and (6) missing levels of care. From these results, we put forth recommendations for future collaborative care intervention development, supportive housing policy, and capacity-building efforts for healthcare and housing providers alike.
A Study on the Impact of Public Parks on Community Health
Emmnauel O.
Q3
To ascertain if living near green spaces is linked with the health and well-being of the inhabitants of Denton County, this study examines the variables that characterize community well-being regarding park accessibility and proximity. This research identifies a few factors likely to impact residents’ wellness. These factors determine whether living close to or having access to green spaces positively correlates with residents’ health and wellness. This paper found out that distance to the park is not the only factor that enhances physical activity; other factors such as types of nature (Blue space and Countryside) and size of green spaces, accessibility of parks, quality of parks, Social and recreational services availability; park maintenance, and management is influential. Overall, proximity to green spaces, such as parks and natural areas, has been associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Green spaces contribute to cleaner air by absorbing pollutants and producing oxygen.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Ethiopia: An International Human Rights Framework
Zegeye M.
Q3
Human rights are the legal claims that individuals have on society on the basis of being human. It is surprising then that water, a basic necessity to life, has only been explicitly recognized as a human right since 2002 by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and since 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. Recognition as a human right makes its fulfillment a duty of the state to its citizens, obligating steps towards implementation accountable to international law. Access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) would alleviate 10% of the global disease burden. The magnitude of its effect on health is seen clearly in Ethiopia where 60% to 80% of communicable diseases are attributable to limited access to WASH. Ethiopia has achieved MDG 7c for access to clean water supply and has made good progress on ending open defecation. However, its progress on handwashing lags far behind despite its cost-effectiveness. This is partly because of the differences in the codification of the rights to water, sanitation, and hygiene individually. This paper will examine the implications of the international law framework for WASH implementation in Ethiopia.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Communities During the Pandemic: A Case for Culturally Competent Intervention Strategies
Moore P.L.
Q3
Providing access to adequate and culturally competent healthcare in the United States has been an ongoing challenge with healthcare access barriers impacting the quality of care received by racially and ethnically diverse populations. Despite the preventative measures taken to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable populations and diverse communities were disproportionately represented in COVID-19 transmission and mortality rates. Through a review of the available literature and a quantitative analysis of COVID-19 surveillance data, this study addresses how culturally competent intervention strategies impacted COVID-19 mortality and fatality rates. This paper discusses how community leadership addressed vaccine distribution gaps and delayed government responses for diverse populations were addressed by the community leadership and provides examples of culturally competent solutions to healthcare emergencies. This cross-sectional study contributes to the current literature by exploring the impact of culturally competent healthcare interventions in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic and makes the case for culturally competent practices to reduce the impact on diverse populations.
Fresh Voices and Sneak Peeks at Future Research: Meet Our Emerging Scholars
Knepper H.J.
Q3
Health and human services administration is a broad tent with ample opportunity to embrace emerging scholars and help them to frame new ideas. The Journal of Health and Human Services Administration aims to continue elevating the visibility of this broad tent, which exists under the even larger tent of public administration. Public service encapsulates an incredibly diverse range of disciplines and management concerns. Yet, the academy can be a challenging arena to navigate. In our efforts to carve out space for new insights we are charged with striking the best balance in our scholarship. In introducing this first issue of our emerging scholars, we have created space for thoughtful reflection about the nature of our discipline and how we welcome, or not, unique and less represented perspectives. Our discipline strives for inclusivity, transparency and relevance. This must extend to our publishing outlets, particularly in terms of peer review and citations. Learning to scan the new literature and diversifying the journals from which we cite our references may result in leveling the citation game. How we engage effectively in building meaningful studies may be argued to require a degree of reflexivity. In other words, the ability to examine one’s own perspectives and assumptions and consider how these impact research study design and implementation from both a personal and functional angle. In reviewing the articles in this issue, I urge you to grow your opportunities to identify new scholars, practitioners and students and mentor them, guide them, and cite their work.
The Looking Glass Framework: Using Virtual Reality and Video Game Simulations to Improve Clinical Decision-Making and Reduce Healthcare Disparities in African Americans
Fronk A.E.
Q3
A central mission of a healthcare organization is to provide equal access and excellent health outcomes to all populations, regardless of race and ethnicity. However, in the everyday practice of healthcare, organizations have fallen short of this primary tenant. Healthcare disparities in the Black community are well-documented in the literature. Although the reasons are multi-faceted, racial bias contributes to healthcare disparities, and eliminating those disparities should be a chief focus in improving the health and well-being of every community. This paper discusses healthcare disparities in the Black community and the complex cycle that enables gaps to persist despite best efforts among healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the general public. It concludes with a presentation of the Looking Glass Framework; an innovative onboarding and continuing education program using virtual reality and computer-based educational modules to reduce healthcare disparities within clinics, hospitals, and health systems.
Resilience on the Front Lines: Coping Mechanisms of Health System Executives During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Qualitative Inquiry
Batsa P.
Q3
This qualitative inquiry examined the coping mechanisms employed by health system executives in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance resilience and leadership effectiveness. Utilizing in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, this study uncovered a diverse range of coping strategies utilized by both clinical and non-clinical leaders, such as seeking support from family and friends, engaging in physical activity, and using professional counseling. Non-clinical leaders also emphasized time management and spirituality as coping strategies. This study's conceptual framework highlights the interplay between individual and organizational factors, contextual elements, and the pandemic's impact on executives' coping abilities. These practical implications emphasize the need for tailored support systems, addressing health system executives' specific coping needs, and promoting interventions to strengthen resilience during crises. This study provides valuable insights for healthcare leadership and resilience studies and offers evidence-based policies and support mechanisms for health system executives during future healthcare emergencies.
Healthcare and Education Professions’ Perception of Government Health Crisis Management in Thailand
Butakhieo N.
Q3
Government plays a significant role in providing public services to its citizens. When crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic threaten the public, the leading role of government becomes crucial. This study examines the perceptions of healthcare and education professionals of the level of success of the Thai government’s actions and policy implementations when responding to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the mixed-method research approach showed that health professionals thought the government’s actions pertaining to ‘risk communication (to the public)’ was ‘good.’ However, both professions thought the government’s reaction to the pandemic was ‘fair’ in the following domains: risk assessment, regulatory actions, border control and travel bans, proactive risk management, and economic and budgetary responses. Overall, according to the findings, the government’s response to the pandemic left significant room for improvement.
Exploring Interprofessional Education and Collaboration in the Midst of COVID-19
Henley T., Gregory-Martin K., Hopkins U., Amaya A.
Q3
The COVID-19 pandemic and the inequities it uncovered highlighted the need for a rapid and coordinated response among different disciplines in medical settings. Interprofessional collaboration and education is necessary to provide culturally competent emergent care. However, there is still scarce evidence demonstrating the use of interprofessional education in emergent care settings. This paper explores the training and education of health care professionals in a primarily minority serving hospital located in New York City during the first phase of COVID-19. Guided by the appreciative inquiry framework, two focus groups were conducted with administrators and health care workers who provided care to COVID-19 patients in an emergent care setting. It was found that a positive work environment that emphasizes knowledge sharing, collaboration, communication, and continuous on-the-job training facilitates culturally competent care. The implementation of interprofessional education and collaboration has the potential to transform clinical practice and improve health outcomes for under-resourced communities.
Arkansas Domestic Violence shelters: Resilience in the Face of Multiple Challenges
Overholser A., Kelton-Huff J.
Q3
Domestic violence occurs with far too much frequency, with an average of 24 people per minute being victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States (The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d.). Domestic violence shelters are typically 501c3 nonprofits which provide services to victims fleeing violence. This paper explores how shelters within the state of Arkansas have exhibited resiliency over the course of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the 40% cuts required due to changes in the Crime Victims Fund (CVF), the primary source of funding for most shelters. Our findings reveal varied abilities to respond to these co-occurring stressors and found that contracting COVID-19, fears about closing, concerns over victims, and especially funding, weighed heavily on the minds of shelter staff We also found that shelter staff who stayed were resilient, fully invested in their organizations and the clients they serve, and looking onward to the future.
An Examination of Telework Policies: Balancing Work-Life Demands during the ‘New Normal’
Pink-Harper S.A., Rauhaus B.M.
Q3
March 2020 Governors and Mayors across America instituted “Stay at Home” and “Shelter in Place” to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges for the field of HRM. It halted traditional in-person business operations, it shut down in-person workplace operations for government jurisdictions for months. It called for the closure of daycares, the K-12 education system, and universities. Response to the pandemic instantly and dramatically shifted the public sector workplace to a stay at home remote working environment. Of interest to this research are the implications of the remote working requirements that resulted from these orders. The focus of this research is to explore the best practices that can be learned from an existing work-life balance program from The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the pandemic. Conclusions are drawn emphasizing the importance of HR systems that are responsive to employee needs while remaining committed to effective public service delivery.
Exploring the Role of Felt Experience and the Autonomic Nervous System in Human Service Interactions
Edlins M.
Q3
Human service interactions have long been explored through a focus on what happens in these interactions: who participates, what is said and done, and the outcomes that emerge. However, recent political, environmental, and socio-economic shifts highlight the ways a focus on the mere facts of an interaction may not be adequate in understanding what occurs in human service interactions and why, especially if the goal is to improve these interactions. In order to create more resilience in human service interactions and to account for how recent crises impact interactions, there is an opportunity for public and nonprofit institutions to focus in on individuals’ experience of human service interactions, as well as to consider how that experience shapes outcomes. This paper draws on multidisciplinary research to explore felt experience, as shaped by individuals’ autonomic nervous system, as a significant factor and potential determinant of human service interactions.
Organizational Resilience in Public Sector Organizations: Destination Management Organizations
Roach C.M., Lewis-Cameron A., Brown-Williams T.
Q3
This qualitative exploratory study examined the effectiveness of organizational resilience processes adopted by Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) during a global crisis. Study results showed that the DMOs’ organizational resilience engaged strategies fostered within a positive work climate (PWC) where dynamic processes of resilience capabilities emerged for Caribbean SIDS. These organizational resilience processes are complex and dynamic, with an interplay of both internal and external influences. The study offers practical and theoretical implications for public organizations in the service sector, where an integrated framework for engaging resilience strategies and capabilities processes emerges.
Make Hay While the Sun Shines: How Community-Based Nonprofit Organizations Cultivate Refugees’ Social Capital and Disaster Resilience
Xie M., Chen L.
Q3
This article examines community-based nonprofit organizations’ (CBOs') perspectives and practices regarding cultivating refugees’ disaster resilience. Adopting the theoretical framework of structural and cognitive social capital, we conducted in-depth interviews with leaders, staff members, and volunteers from refugee serving organizations. The research findings offer new insights into how CBOs help refugees obtain multiple forms of social capital and develop disaster resilience through education and training, resource mobilization, planning, and coordination. The research findings also reveal the flow of social capital exchange during the disaster resilience cultivation process. Similar CBOs can rely on our research findings to develop evidence-based programs and interventions to help culturally and linguistically diverse groups gain social capital and improve disaster resilience.
Gender and Work-Life Balance during COVID-19: A Study of Public Affairs Faculty
Medina P.S., Azevedo L., Shi W., Bagwell M.T.
Q3
Women have faced disproportionate negative health and economic impacts from COVID-19. This study explores gender differences in work-life balance among female and male public affairs faculty during the pandemic. Drawing on social role theory and the theory of gendered organizations, we survey faculty from the 176 NASPAA accredited schools to examine how gender, workload, institutional support, and domestic responsibilities impacted work-life balance during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that work-life balance was impacted in different ways by gender, domestic responsibilities, workload (teaching, research, and service), and institutional support policies related to the pandemic. An examination of qualitative data from faculty surveys revealed that increased demands, including homeschooling, childcare, domestic responsibilities, among other demands, lowered work life balance satisfaction. Several recommendations are made for addressing work-life imbalances and gender differences among higher education administration practitioners.
From Social to Collective Capital: Factors behind the Success of a COVID-19 Task Force
McKeague L., Wenzel S., Lemaire R.
Q3
Social capital offers an important framework for understanding community disaster preparedness and resiliency at both the individual and community levels. Social capital also offers a lens for understanding interorganizational collaboration, particularly for public health disasters. Yet missing from the literature is an exploration of how social capital at the individual level may develop into collective capital at the group level, to then be leveraged for community public health disaster management. We conducted a mixed-methods case study of an emergent rural task force that formed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Using social network and qualitative analysis, we find that pre-existing relationships, leadership, goal congruence, and frequent meetings helped develop individual-level social capital into collective capital. The findings from this study have implications for strengthening the nexus of public health and disaster management and the creation of collective capital that can help communities better respond to future disasters.
Culture of Collaboration: How Madison County Government Drew from its Roots and used Rural Appalachian Values to Increase Government Participation through COVID Service Delivery
Kritz J., Young R., Cody T.
Q3
This study employs a storytelling approach to describe how a small, rural county in southern Appalachia drew from its roots to combat a pandemic, and in the process increased its resilience. In Madison County, leaders supported their communities by developing cross-sector collaborations that dramatically increased public participation on issues that most affected the county: education access, community outreach, food security and COVID vaccination delivery. Leaders built upon cultural norms and values–honest intent, community spirit, kindness, helping neighbors, hard work, and self-reliance–to increase participation. The results are modeled as an intervention, a flowchart that includes prior county operational norms, cultural norms and values, new models for government operations, and impacts on service delivery. There is a particular focus on mechanisms, the often-unspoken psychological processes that supported the transition in government operations and community and individual participation. Employing storytelling techniques amplifies the explanation of how the processes increased the county’s resilience, and outlines a way of working that they will use to address existing and new complex challenges as they arise.
Stewards of Society: Preparedness and Perceptions Among the Unsung Heroes of Public Health Service Delivery
Camarillo E., Barsky C.
Q3
Front-line public health workers are essential to protecting the health of the public, particularly during widespread public health emergencies. Local public health workers were instrumental in mitigating the spread of the coronavirus pandemic through their efforts to contract trace, disseminate tests and vaccines, and educate the public about the dynamic state of the crisis. Yet, reports indicate that the public health workforce has been shrinking for some time. Recent studies indicate more than one-quarter of those serving in public health roles hope to leave the profession within one year because of factors such as stress and burnout. Few studies examine the perceptions of local health workers or the impacts that multi-level governmental responses have on their ability to do their jobs. Having a strong public health workforce is essential for a thriving society, so addressing this gap and identifying solutions are important steps towards identifying solutions for slowing the exodus of public health workers from the field. Through analysis of original survey data of front-line workers mid-pandemic in two western states, this project examines perceptions regarding factors which contribute to added stress and burnout. Findings indicate that workers felt relatively prepared to address a public health crisis, but institutional factors, such as changing job responsibilities, competing governmental directives, and limited resources, may contribute to ongoing feelings of burnout. To address these concerns, decision makers need to provide more resources and have a clear strategy of communication to mitigate conflicting governmental directives.
