social welfare advice and health among young people: a scoping review

Social determinants of mental and physical health that influence young peoples' trajectories into adulthood are often remediable through law. To address inequalities, including those exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to better understand young people's need for and uptake of advice for social welfare legal problems. This scoping review aimed to review available evidence and identify gaps to inform further research. To identify studies relevant to social welfare legal advice among young adults we conducted searches of eight bibliographic databases (compiled between January 1998 and June 2020), hand searches of included article reference lists and targeted grey literature searches. 35 peer reviewed and grey literature studies were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria including evaluations of interventions to promote access to advice, general population surveys, observational studies, and audits of charity data or targeted surveys. Evidence suggests considerable and inequitable need for social welfare legal advice among young adults with adverse consequences for health and wellbeing. Needs among higher risk groups are likely underestimated. Evidence for interventions to enhance access/uptake of advice is limited and methodologically weak. We identify several gaps in the literature to inform research and to enable systematic reviews around more specific questions to inform practice.

Hope and social connectedness as intervention targets in youth mental health

The DisCOVery study sought to better understand the experiences of young people with complex emerging mental health problems over the longer-term social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic Quantitative findings (N = 105) will be shared to demonstrated how belonging to multiple social groups can promote better mental health through the provision of hopefulness and social connectedness. Qualitative findings (N = 16) will be shared to elucidate how young people with complex emerging mental health problems experienced social connectedness during the ongoing social restrictions, and how they perceive social connection to be associated with their well-being Results also indicate young people's social preferences and the complex role of in-person versus online connection and interaction. A brief summary will be given regarding a linked trial (TOGETHER), evaluating the feasibility of delivering a social connectedness-focused intervention for young people with emerging complex mental health problems across clinical and community services in the UK.

The evolution of a charity support services team

Our charity's mission is dedicated to beating blood cancer by funding research and supporting those affected. Since 1960, we have invested over 500 million in blood cancer research, transforming treatments and saving lives. Since 2015 there has been a Support Services team within the charity. This service was established to provide information that the blood cancer community can trust, in a language they can understand. By connecting and listening to our community they deepen our understanding and help shape our work. Research suggests that blood cancer patients are more likely than any other patients to leave their diagnosis appointment feeling they do not fully understand their condition. Our service can often consolidate the information given by clinicians. Patients also need advice and support on how to adapt to day-to- day life after their diagnosis. There are challenges that are unique to blood cancer, such as living with cancer as a chronic condition, being on 'watch and wait' or fluctuating remissions and relapses. In 2023 the Support Services team have a 7 day presence on our phone line, email and social media platform where people can communicate with one of our trained blood cancer support officers, or one of three Registered Nurses, all who can provide information about blood cancer diagnosis and help with emotional and practical support. We also run an online community forum where people affected by blood cancer can connect, share experiences and provide peer support. The highly experienced haematology nurses provide a clinical aspect to the support of the Blood Cancer Community that enhances the established patient centred support given historically by the charity. The nurses advanced knowledge and experience of haematological cancers, treatments, side effects, holistic care and NHS process can further guide the community. This is in addition to the invaluable information from their treatment teams. In 2023 the Support Services team are now reaching thousands of the blood cancer community. We understand that in the past 3 years the COVID-19 pandemic and the work of our charity around this will have influenced the significant increase in contacts but equally the robust and trusted services provided through this charity has contributed too.

Social insecurity and varieties of family resilience strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study is aimed at developing an understanding of the consequences of the pandemic on families' socioeconomic resilience, and the strategies adopted by the families in overcoming social vulnerabilities amid uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThe materials for this study consist of semi-structured interviews with 21 families spread across the South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Families in the study represent four different income levels, namely very high, high, middle and low, and who also work in the informal sector. Each family has at least 1 or more members who fall into the vulnerable category (children, the elderly, people with disabilities unemployed or having potential economic vulnerability).FindingsTwo main findings are outlined. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, many of the families analyzed adopted similar strategies to remain resilient. Among the strategies are classifying the urgency of purchasing consumer goods based on financial capacity rather than needs, leveraging digital economic opportunities as alternative sources of income, utilizing more extensive informal networks and going into debt. Another interesting finding shows that the pandemic, to some extent, has saved poor families from social insecurity. This is supported by evidence showing that social distancing measures during the pandemic have reduced the intensity of sociocultural activities, which require invited community members to contribute financially. The reduction of sociocultural activities in the community has provided more potential savings for the poor.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, informants who provided information about their family conditions represent a major segment of the workforce and tend to be technologically savvy and younger, due to the use of Zoom as a platform for conducting interviews. Therefore, there may be a bias in the results. Another limitation is that since the interviewees were recommended by our social network in the fields, there is a risk of a distorted selection of participants.Originality/valueThis study offers insights that are critical in helping to analyze family patterns in developing countries in mitigating the risks and uncertainties caused by COVID-19. In addition, the literature on social policy and development could benefit from further research on COVID-19 as an alternative driver to identify mechanisms that could bring about change that would result in "security.” Critical questions and limitations of this study are presented at the end of the paper to be responded to as future research agenda.

The Australian Centaur State and the Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery

This article uses Loïc Wacquant's concept of the centaur state to analyse symbolic framings of the meaning and future of work in the Australian policy response to COVID-19 in 2020. In contrast with historical conceptualisations anchored in rights and social security, contemporary Australian social welfare policy discourse is dominated by political representations of the imperative to work. For people currently outside of the labour market, self-reliance through paid work is a primary objective of social security policy. In 2020, economic impacts of national lockdowns were ameliorated by large transfers from the state to businesses and individuals. Concurrent announcements of plans for a 'business-led' post-pandemic economic recovery centred the message that the meaning of work lies in its individual and social utility. Prior to the pandemic, transformation of the modes of organisation of work had already brought into question normative claims about the meaning of work, and what is comprehended by the term 'job'. Analysis of key 'economic recovery' policy initiatives illustrates that they combined considerable corporate welfare with a construction of job seekers as having unrealistic expectations of meaningful work, for which there could be no room in the institutional machinery driving economic recovery. In the policy trajectory of the Australian centaur state, the future of work for people currently unemployed is to serve as a resource to fuel the business-led recovery. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of UNSW Canberra.

Governing Rural Poverty on Urban Streets: Guangzhou's Management of Beggars in the Reform Era

This study investigates how discourses on panhandling intertwine with the governance of beggars on China's urban streets. It focuses on local policy implementation in Guangzhou city, led by the bureau of civil affairs along with its centres for "custody and repatriation” and "assistance stations.” The study aims to understand how the state regulates panhandling and engages with beggars in public spaces. Exploring the internal logic of the state's approach and how it has changed during the 40 years of reform, it also considers the junctures at which contradictions and conflicts arise. Based on fieldwork data (2011 to 2014) and the analysis of government documents, yearbooks, academic and mass media discourses, I argue that the state's treatment of panhandlers poses a conundrum as welfare measures conflict with control. While several layers of state regulation and actors contradict each other and create grey areas of state-induced informality, people who beg for alms are continuously criminalized and excluded from public space.

School Food Programming across Canada during the COVID 19 Pandemic: Program Reach and Modalities

In 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures and a consequent pause in school food programs (SFP), stakeholder groups soon found alternate methods for delivering meals and snacks to students. This paper examines the breadth of school food programming in Canada during the pandemic. SFPs collectively offered meals (breakfast was most frequent), food boxes, and gift cards and average weekly distributions were over 10,000 meals. In most cases, the programs provided enough food/coupons to feed multiple or all household members. Almost half the programs received funding from provincial/territorial governments and around two-thirds received charitable contributions.Copyright © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Online Mdt Patient Education for Early Inflammatory Arthritis

Background/Aims Patient education in early inflammatory arthritis (EIA) promotes understanding and engagement with treatment, empowering patients to use self-management in their long-term health condition. It is embedded in national guidance and audit. Individual appointments are time consuming, and groups sessions became impossible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our education sessions have evolved to a monthly online meeting which aims to be engaging, effective and time efficient. Methods Face-to-face group education afternoons were previously embedded into our early arthritis pathway. Presentations and opportunities for questions were given by a rheumatology consultant, nurse, physiotherapist, podiatrist and occupational therapist. Sessions lasted 2 hours and local charity representatives attended. Group education sessions completely stopped with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This successful MDT model was moved to a monthly Microsoft Teams meeting and condensed to 1 hour. Sessions continue to consist of five short presentations, introduction to charity representatives and opportunity for questions. Following the session, all patients received links to videos of the talks for future reference, contact details for the MDT and local charities, and a link to download our local rheumatology self management app. Patients who are unable to attend also receive this content by email. Patient feedback was gathered through an online questionnaire. Results Attendance has increased over time with 75% of our new EIA patients now attending each month. Feedback from 16 patients rated 75% of all talks as extremely useful or useful. 89% are interested in attending future meetings. 93% had already used or plan to use our rheumatology self management app. Positive patient feedback included: ''the whole team were brilliant giving advice and answering questions'', ''nice to see the specialists' faces, and to get the feeling they really cared'', and ''a perfectly sensible and productive way to introduce all the options for help and support''. Some patients did not feel confident to ask questions in the meeting. Email and telephone advice lines were signposted. Attendance was increased by 40% by a short telephone reminder of the appointment. Conclusion An online meeting has proven to be a time efficient and effective way of providing multidisciplinary education and introducing self management. A short time investment from each MDT member gives breadth to the education. Inviting all newly diagnosed early arthritis patients and encouraging attendance by a short telephone call has maximised reach. Ensuring all patients are sent presentation videos to re-watch and the self referral details further facilitates self management. The format could easily be adapted to other patient education events.

Reflections on COVID-19 and Its Impact on Marginal Urban Places: The Case of Four Small Towns in the Western Cape, South Africa

COVID-19 reached South Africa in March 2020, with a national lockdown being implemented on the 26th of that month. The lockdown entailed a total shutdown of non-essential businesses, a curfew and strict safety precautions such as masks, sanitizers and social distance. This chapter examines the impact of COVID-19 in the first 6 months of the pandemic and its subsequent regulations in four small towns (Ceres, Tulbagh, Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Key stakeholders from governance, business, health, tourism and residents were interviewed on experiences during this time pertaining to tourism, governance, food security and social welfare. It was found that poverty, unemployment and crime are factors that detract from the prioritization and capacity with which COVID-19 was managed in each town. Rapid rising food insecurity has become a central component to the COVID-19 management strategy and it was handled differently by CBOs and local government. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

‘The one thing guaranteed in life and yet they won't teach you about it': The case for mandatory grief education in UK schools

Nearly all British children are bereaved of someone close to them by the time they turn 16 and, with the Covid-19 pandemic and world humanitarian crises across the news and social media, they are being exposed to more anxiety about death than ever before. Learners need to be taught about grief and death to prepare them to manage bereavement and support others. As it stands, although teaching resources exist and some curriculum guidance documents mention loss or death, there is no statutory requirement for schools anywhere in the UK to cover grief or bereavement and many pupils have no classes about these difficult topics. This article consolidates the case for grief education in schools. We discuss six key questions to examine evidence that children benefit from talking about grief, death and loss;the current provision for grief education in UK schools;the obstacles to teaching these topics and ways to overcome them;and the potential further implications of a policy change. Following the lead of child bereavement charities, research and new national reports on UK bereavement support, we demonstrate the need for mandatory grief education in all four countries of the UK and offer evidence-based recommendations for its implementation. © 2023, Cruse Bereavement Care. All rights reserved.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 and related interventions on poverty and economic growth in Pakistan: A structural path analysis

This study uses social accounting matrix multipliers and structural path analyses to estimate effects of COVID-19 and related fiscal stimuli on five household groups. The COVID-19 lockdown increased poverty in Pakistan by 15%, which was addressed using a $1.5 billion, digitally implemented Ehsaas Emergency Cash (EEC) program that reached 14.8 million poor households. The study's models show that the largest multipliers from Ehsaas program finance were in agriculture, as a 1 Rupee shock adds 0.225 Rupee income to households. About 30% of that gain was estimated to go to poor farm families. In contrast, our models find that construction and trade growth added three times as much income to poor nonfarm and urban households as to farm households. However, those sectors added only one third as much total income as agriculture. From the structural path analysis, the importance of capital assets in generating income was seen, as was the possibility of greater poverty reduction from sectors with proportionally fewer intermediate inputs and more value added. © 2023 The Authors. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

Understanding and Measuring Child Well-being in the Region of Attica, Greece: Round Five.

This research paper aims to present the results of the implementation of the C.W.-SMILE tool that recorded child well-being in the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year. This is the fifth round of this ongoing diachronic research. The C.W.-SMILE tool consists of six dimensions: home conditions (D.1), nutrition (D.2), unemployment of guardians (D.3), free healthcare (D.4), moral education (D.5), and leisure (D.6). The first three dimensions concern children's economic well-being, while the latter three dimensions determine children's non-economic well-being. Based on welfare economics, the combination of economic well-being and non-economic well-being constitutes children's general (social) well-being. Each dimension consists of Simple Indicators. The paper also presents the results of the school year as a whole, to help investigate the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's well-being for more periods. The tool was used to measure the well-being of children in Attica, through questionnaires that were circulated in 22 public schools and three support centers of the organization 'The Smile of the Child' (25 units in total). The sample consisted of 509 children, belonging to three distinct school categories. The results of the second semester are mapped in seven clusters (relating to seven socio-economically homogenous groups of municipalities in Attica). Analysis of the results of the school year 2020-2021 was done based on the data collected from a sample of 1,623 children; in other words, it took into account the data relating to the entire samples that were surveyed in the first and second semesters. The central outcomes of all the previous rounds of the research are verified through a principal component analysis (PCA), and a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) which are employed for the fifth round. Finally, the paper suggests an action plan of social welfare based on a ChoiCo game designed for the needs of the fifth round of the C.W.-SMILE research.

Smart welfare and slow digital poverty: the new face of social work

The arrival of the pandemic which has affected the entire world, in addition to spreading fear due to the initial inability to manage the health crisis, has increased the fluidity and uncertainty in today's society. The system of social security itself has not only changed its contents, combining primordial material welfare with a relational type of well-being, but also its form. We have gone from the more conventional form of face-to-face relationships to the more innovative methods making us talk about e-welfare with the use of digital technology. If on the one hand the latter has removed the space-time barriers, connoting itself as smart welfare, on the other hand it has generated a digital divide, with the creation of the digitally poor. During the pandemic, schools, health care and social services have had to invent new operational methods on an experimental level by using cutting-edge organisations to meet their new needs. The aim of the article is therefore to shed light on these changes which are taking place by highlighting the operational and ethical implications of digitalisation in order to find a new approach to social work which has been seen as 'a beacon in the night of the pandemic'. L'avvento della pandemia che ha coinvolto l'intero globo, oltre a disseminare paura per l'iniziale incapacità di gestione dell'emergenza sanitaria, ha acuito le caratteristiche di fluidità e di incertezza della società attuale. Lo stesso sistema di protezione sociale ha cambiato non solo i suoi contenuti, affiancando al primordiale benessere materiale (welfare) un benessere di tipo relazionale (wellbeing), ma anche le sue forme. Si è passati da quelle più classiche che richiedevano esclusivamente un rapporto face to face a quelle più innovative che fanno parlare di un e-welfare che contempla l'uso del digitale. Quest'ultimo, se da un lato ha consentito l'abbattimento delle barriere spazio-temporali, connotandosi come smart welfare, dall'altro, ha generato un digital divide, facendo nascere il povero digitale. In piena pandemia la scuola, la sanità, il servizio sociale per fronteggiare i bisogni nuovi hanno dovuto inventare modalità operative inedite o agite solo a livello sperimentale da organizzazioni all'avanguardia. Scopo dell'articolo è pertanto quello di porre in luce questi cambiamenti in atto, evidenziando le implicazioni operative ed etiche del processo di digitalizzazione per ripensare ad un nuovo volto del lavoro sociale che ha rappresentato "un faro nella notte pandemica".

Communication matters! The value of patient information at times of change

Background: The COVID 19 pandemic saw many changes to the experience of lung cancer patients and their relatives, not least access to previously available information within hospitals, support centres or support groups. Many clinicians were unaware of the lack of access to information centres (often manned by volunteers) which had closed during the pandemic, closure of patient support groups and increased pressure on social media sites from worried and concerned relatives, no longer able to accompany their loved ones to clinical appointments in some areas. Highlighting the issue during a regular UK Clinical Expert Group meeting on lung cancer, contributions were sought from relevant members to identify what had changed and what could be done to support patients and their relatives in this new era. Aim(s): To collate different perspectives from nursing, relevant charities and patient advocate experience to report on the latest situation To suggest learning to help future communication and awareness within HCP community To work collectively to identify areas to improve future awareness and communication Methods: A paper was written by the CEG Patient representative and Roy Castle lung cancer foundation inviting comments from other CEG members. Contributions by email, relevant research links and other information sources were added to a revised paper for circulation to relevant contacts. Recommendation to assess any impact on communication methods and supportive information available during periods of change to ensure patients/relatives can still access relevant support using different media (e.g. phone, online, written information and any in-person support). Recognise that obtaining well written/lay information about many aspects of their situation (diagnostics, treatments, living with conditions) supports their patients mental and physical health. Disclosure: No significant relationships.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Introduction: The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a historic toll on Americans' health and longevity. It has also shaped socioeconomic inequalities along the lines of gender, race, ethnicity, nativity, and class in America. The effects of COVID-19 are evident in the stratified experiences of Americans in work, unemployment, and unpaid labor;in stark inequalities in wealth and income;in the historic expansions and retrenchments in social welfare spending;and in the increase in violence and changes in the criminal justice system. While there has been an outpouring of research on the social and economic consequences of COVID-19, far less work draws together research across these varied, but interrelated, domains. In this introduction, we provide a broad narrative of how the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in America and reshaped, in some instances fleetingly and in others more permanently, the landscape of socioeconomic inequality in America.

Centella asiatica extract inhibits Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in rat tuberculosis models

Background and Aims: The covid-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress in the fight to end tuberculosis. So, the discovery of new drugs as antituberculosis is very much needed. Our previous studies have shown that the extract of Centella asiatica is able to inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro and requires further research. The aims of this study is to prove the effect of Centella asiatica inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis in rat model tuberculosis. Method(s): The protocol in this study was approved by the veterinary ethics committee of Airlangga University. The rat tuberculosis model was induced by intrathecal injection of a suspension of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37 Rv. Twenty-eight tuberculosis rat were randomly divided into four groups. Groups 1,2, and 3 were treated with ethanol extract of Centella asiatica at 375 mg/kgBW, 750 mg/kgBW and 1500 mg/kgBW, and the fourth group was the control group. Centella asiatica extract is administered orally via an intragastric feeding tube for two weeks, once daily At the end of the experimental period, rats were sacrificed by cervical decapitation. The left lung tissue was taken aseptically and cultured on Middlebrook 7H10. Result(s): The results showed that there was no bacterial growth on the culture media in the group that received Centella asiatica extract at a dose of 750 and 1500 mg/kg BW. Conclusion(s): The conclusion in this study, that Centella asiatica extract inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at doses of 750 and 1500 mg/kg BW. We thank the Directorate of Research and Community Services, the Directorate General of Higher Education, and Ministry of Education and Culture in Indonesia for the financial supportCopyright © 2023 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Thinking Resistance, "Emergency,” and Kismet: A Response to Dylan Rodríguez's Presidential Address

The battles over masking only amplified preexisting culture and race wars in which entrenched libertarianism and neoliberal individualism evaded the economic and existential precarity caused by degraded social welfare and state health care. Counterterrorism projects such as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) introduced by Barack Obama have relied on recruitment of community members, social service providers, and educators for self-surveillance and self-regulation of political expression and community organizing: a liberal counterterrorism approach for "reformist reform.” 5 Nabeel Abraham and Will Youmans provide important analyses of the "Containment System” in response to the War on Terror, based on "entrepreneurial opportunism” (Rodríguez) by Arab and Muslim American educators, professionals, and community leaders (including in the nonprofit industrial complex), some of whom collaborated with federal and state agencies.6 Academic Containment Reckoning with these critiques from critical Arab American or Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) studies requires grappling with the long history of anti-Arab/Muslim state policies of surveillance, policing, and mass incarceration that preceded 2001. The Zionist lobby and anti-Palestinian organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League have increasingly deployed the language of tolerance and civility to tar critics of Israel with charges of anti-Semitism.7 These liberal strategies, illustrating Rodríguez's argument, can be more damaging than frontal attacks on the Palestine justice movement because the language of racism is harder to challenge

The tragedy of climate change science

The science-society contract is broken. The climate is changing. Science demonstrates why this is occurring, that it is getting worse, the implications for human well-being and social-ecological systems, and substantiates action. Governments agree that the science is settled. The tragedy of climate change science is that at the same time as compelling evidence is gathered, fresh warnings issued, and novel methodologies developed, indicators of adverse global change rise year upon year. Meanwhile, global responses to Covid-19 have shown that even emergent scientific knowledge can bolster radical government action. We explore three options for the climate change science community. We find that two options are untenable and one is unpalatable. Given the urgency and criticality of climate change, we argue the time has come for scientists to agree to a moratorium on climate change research as a means to first expose, then renegotiate, the broken science-society contract.

Experiences of Female-headed Households in the ADRA Cash Transfer Programme in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe

The social, economic, and political crises in Zimbabwe have resulted in extreme poverty and the female-headed families are no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in rural households. This sudden shock was not anticipated, and many governments failed to sustain livelihoods for smallholder farmers who relied solely on farming activities and selling of farm produce. The state has failed to fulfil its basic mandate of social service provision to the most vulnerable sections of society. Consequently, the Basic Agricultural Assistance programme was introduced as a microeconomic stability tool to buffer income risks faced by the poor. The article aimed to discuss the experiences of female-headed households in the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer Programme in Nganunu Village in Zvishavane. A phenomenological research approach through an exploratory qualitative research design was used to get in-depth insights on the experiences of female-headed households. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Content thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings indicated that despite health, political and economic crises, the implementation of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer was a success in bridging the gap left by the collapse of the social welfare system. The cash transfer programme empowered female-headed households to access agricultural inputs timeously. Female-headed households were capacitated to make decisions and improve food security in and to initiate social cohesion with other beneficiaries. The study recommended inter-sectoral collaborations between state and non-state actors for more effective programmes that cushion female-headed households from poverty.