Background: Following the global financial crisis in 2007/08, the UK implemented an austerity programme which may impact on services. Scotland comprises both densely populated urban conurbations and highly dispersed remote rural and island communities. Method: Expenditure data were extracted from Scottish Government statistics. Per capita…

Black women in South Africa (SA) face multiple and interlocking systems of oppression every-day; among them gender-based violence, economic marginalization, and the legacy of racialized and gendered subjugation under centuries of colonization, followed by the apartheid regime. On the heels of South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994, the…

This article explains early childhood inclusion in Croatia from its beginnings up to challenges in current policy and practice. The first preschool education for children with disabilities dates back to the 1980s and was provided in special institutions. In the last 10 years, mainstream kindergartens have been enrolling children with disabilities…

This qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study explored the subjectivity of the phenomenon of homelessness among women with children. The study examined the perceived critical incidents homeless women with children ascribe to their homelessness alongside the perceptions held regarding the accessibility of available resources…

Rural-dwelling older adults often have difficulty obtaining needed medical and social services due to factors such as physician shortages, lack of transportation, and financial limitations. These factors are further exacerbated during an emergency. Understanding these challenges is important to implement successful health promotion interventions…

Using structural equation modeling, this study examined the mesosystemic processes among rural low-income women, and how these processes subsequently influenced self-reported health. Acknowledging the behavioral processes inherent in utilization of health care and formal social support services, this study moved beyond a behavioral focus by…

Objective: To identify the key issues for service providers in delivering high quality sexual health services, responsive to the needs of young people, in a rural area of Northern Ireland. Design: A triangulation survey approach using questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus groups was undertaken with a range of organizations and…

Rural elderly in Australia lack access to health and welfare services, compounded by an increasingly aging population and downsizing of services. Successful strategies can be found in U.S. retirement communities and the Australian Community Aged Care Package program. However, these strategies often compete with a drive toward cost-effectiveness.…

In response to the growing need to provide health and social services to rural America, the conference addressed the political, economic, and social issues involved in providing appropriate health and social services to rural residents. A cadre of individuals from various disciplines presented alternatives and solutions to these issues. This…

Background: Coordinated school health programs (CSHPs) bring together educational and community resources in the school environment. This method is particularly important in rural areas like Kansas, where resources and trained health professionals are in short supply. Rural Stafford County, Kansas, struggles with health professional shortages and…

Findings indicated that the elderly were quite reluctant to seek or accept help. Assistance or services perceived as earned or available to all elderly were the most acceptable, while those that required a public declaration of poverty were unacceptable. (Author/AM)

Describes experiences of a group of social work students who spent several months working in the public welfare agency of one of Georgia's poorest counties. The results of their efforts support the contention that concrete assistance often enables clients to become active agents for change in their own behalf. (Author)

Examines issues in care provision by social workers to individuals affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in rural communities during each stage of HIV infection. Describes psychosocial features, client fears, and appropriate social worker responses. Considers caregivers' personal issues, including fear of contagion and exposure to…

Childhood disabilities, including intellectual disabilities (ID), are thought to occur in 5-17% of children in developing countries around the world. In order to identify and describe the childhood disabilities occurring in a rural South African population, as well as the context in which they occur, a study was carried out in the Bushbuckridge…

Describes the implementation of the hospice philosophy in rural areas and provides a model of how formal helping systems and natural helping networks can work together effectively. Suggests the emergence of the hospice can reorient social workers to the basic concepts of helping. (Author/JAC)