Professional self-efficacy for responding to child abuse presentationsFraser, Jennifer Anne; Flemington, Tara; Thi Ngoc Doan, Diep; Hoang, Van Minh Tu; Doan, Binh Thi Le; Ha, Tuan Manh
2018 Journal of Children's Services
doi: 10.1108/jcs-09-2017-0044
The purpose of this paper is to validate measures of professional self-efficacy for detecting and responding to child abuse and neglect presentations, and then evaluate a clinical training programme for health professionals in a tertiary-level hospital in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachA prospective, cohort design was used and professional self-efficacy was measured immediately prior to, and shortly after, training 116 nurses and doctors in emergency settings. Longer-term follow-up was measured six months later.FindingsLinear mixed modelling showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in efficacy expectations for both suspected and known cases of child abuse and neglect between the pre- and post-test measures at zero and six weeks. These improvements did not persist to the six-month follow-up.Research limitations/implicationsThe training succeeded in improving detection and clinical response to child abuse and neglect presentations but not faith in the provision of ongoing support for children and families.Practical implicationsPractice change in emergency settings in Vietnam can be achieved using a sustainable theoretically driven training programme.Social implicationsBuilding the capacity of health professionals to respond to cases of child abuse and neglect relies on the strength of the community and support services within which the hospital is located.Originality/valueMeasures of self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations for responding to child abuse and neglect presentations in emergency settings in Vietnam are now validated.
The activity does not archive well: comparing audio and written records of supervision case discussions in Children’s ServicesWilkins, David; Jones, Rebecca; Westlake, David
2018 Journal of Children's Services
doi: 10.1108/jcs-03-2018-0005
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast what is spoken about in supervision case discussions in Children’s Services with what subsequently appears in the written record on the child’s file. As an exploratory study, the authors set two research questions – how do supervision conversations and corresponding records compare? And how do social work supervisors make use of these records?Design/methodology/approachThe authors sampled ten pairs of supervision audio recordings and written records from the child’s file. Using a content analysis approach, the authors compared what was spoken about (on the audio recordings) with what was subsequently written down (on the child’s file).FindingsThe complex activity of social work case supervision is not easily captured in written form. Written records did not reflect objectively the content of the audio recordings and on occasion, even contained information absent from the discussion. Supervisors seemed to engage in an interpretative process when creating the records, translating what was spoken about into a record thought (more) suitable for the file.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was limited to one authority and did not compare between different models or approaches to supervision.Practical implicationsSupervisors understandably orient their recording behaviour towards anticipated audiences (chiefly, senior managers and Ofsted inspectors). To change recording practices, it would help to promote the role of children and families as the more important audience for written recordings of supervision case discussions.Originality/valueThe major strength of this study is the inclusion of audio recordings of actual supervision case discussions and real case records. This is an advantage over the more common methods of vignettes, role plays and self-reports because it allowed the authors to examine directly what happens in practice. The findings from the study are strengthened via the use of a focus group with social work managers, helping the authors to validate and test the themes the authors’ identified.
Roles and capacities of Thai family development centresSupprasert, Warunsicha; Hughes, David; Khajornchaikul, Piyatida
2018 Journal of Children's Services
doi: 10.1108/jcs-11-2017-0048
The purpose of this paper is to examine Family Development Centre (FDC) staff’s[1] perspectives on their roles and capacity to promote early childhood language learning through good parenting.Design/methodology/approachThis research employed in-depth interviews with 30 FDC coordinators and volunteer staff, supported by limited field observations.FindingsIdentifying risk, surveillance of at-risk families, building community solidarity and activities to support parenting and children, emerged as key components of FDC work. Volunteers softened their surveillance role by emphasising their social support function and personal links to local communities. Most activities aimed to strengthen family bonding and relationships, with fewer specifically addressing early childhood language deficits. Volunteers found the latter challenging, and generally sought to work in cooperation with education, public health and child care staff where projects involved language development.Practical implicationsMost volunteers said they lacked the capacities to promote early language development effectively and required additional training in such areas as partnerships and collaboration, family and parenting support, and project management. The authors argue that the importance given to partnerships reflects volunteers’ recognition that they need to draw on outside expertise to address children’s language problems. Given resource constraints, volunteers will remain central to family support work for the immediate future. Even with training lay volunteers will not become language experts, and future policy should centre on building a framework of professional support for the community teams.Originality/valueThis study fills a gap in knowledge about FDC volunteer roles and suggests a need for training that focuses on teamwork rather than specialist language expertise.
Family factors and fruit and vegetable consumption in Chinese preschool children living in Hong KongChan, Ruth; Yeung, Suey; Leung, Cynthia; Lo, Sing Kai; Tsang, Sandra
2018 Journal of Children's Services
doi: 10.1108/jcs-08-2017-0033
The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of various family factors with children’s fruit and vegetable (FV) intake.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional analysis of data from 601 parent-child dyads with children aged three to six years old was conducted. Parents completed questionnaires on child’s FV intake, parenting styles, parental feeding practices, family functioning, television viewing at mealtimes and frequency of family meals. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between various family factors and the likelihood of meeting the child’s daily FV recommendation with adjustment for different demographic variables.FindingsMultivariate model adjusting for sociodemographic data indicated that meeting vegetable recommendation was associated with lower frequency of dining with grandparents (Odds ratio (OR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.99, p=0.031) and positively associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.09–1.21, p<0.001). Meeting fruit recommendation was associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.09–1.17, p<0.001), higher frequency of dining with grandparents (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00–1.10, p=0.041), lower frequency of dining with father (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82–0.98, p=0.014) and higher score on authoritative parenting style (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.08, p=0.009).Originality/valueThis study highlights the potential protective roles of various family factors, in particular authoritative parenting style and parental feeding practices, such as role modeling, moderate restrictive practices for less healthy foods, avoidance of forced feeding, and not using junk food as reward in relation to meeting FV recommendation in children. The role of grandparents in influencing the young children’s eating behaviors within the Chinese family warrants further investigation.