A Comparison of Social Service Workers\u27 and the Public\u27s Views of Nursing Home Characteristics

Using the determinant attribute model, this study examined and compared the criteria which 277 social service workers and 842 members of a general population would employ in selecting a nursing home. The results suggested substantial differences between the two groups in selection criteria. Implications of these results and of the use of the determinant attribute model as an aid to practice are discussed

The Impact of Welfare Reform on Rural Alabamians

This exploratory study compared Alabama welfare leavers from two types of rural counties with those from two types of metropolitan counties. It was based on telephone interviews conducted during the summer of 1999 with a random sample of 4 16 people who had left TANF between July and November 1998. There were no statistically significant differences among leavers by county type in the likelihood they were employed and, if employed, in the rate of pay, number of hours worked weekly, or the types of benefits available at the job. Although many respondents no longer received benefits they had received while on TANF (Medicaid, Food Stamps, help receiving child support), county type was unrelated to losing such benefits. There was some suggestion that those residing in persistent poverty counties might have a harder time reaching self sufficiency that those residing in other rural counties. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature ofthe study and the relatively positive economic climate existing when the data were gathered

Perceptions of Welfare Recipient Fraud and Provider Fraud: A 20-Year Follow-Up

This study replicated Roff & Klemmack's (1983) investigation of adult Alabamians' opinions regarding the degree to which welfare recipients and welfare employees defraud the government. The majority of the current respondents continue to see recipients as dishonest, but the mean recipient fraud index score dropped from 13.34 to 11.34. As was the case in the earlier study, beliefs that recipients defraud the government predicted lower support for government programs. The percentage of respondents who believed welfare employees to be dishonest doubled from 15.4% to 30.0% from 1981 to 2000, and the mean worker fraud index score increased from 4.14 to 7.02. Consistent with the previous study, beliefs that welfare employees are dishonest predicted higher, not lower, support for government programs and services. Social workers should be aware that a growing proportion of the population questions the integrity of those running welfare programs

Community and individual factors that influence housing need among low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS

The objective of this research was to study the influence of individual- and community-level conditions on the housing needs among low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Secondary data analysis was conducted on HIV/AIDS housing survey data collected in 2006 in a four-county metropolitan area. The study sample consisted of 384 low-income PLWHA living in 78 ZIP Code areas. Community-level data were compiled from 2000 Decennial Census, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other affordable housing databases. Using hierarchical linear modeling, two housing need outcome variables (a) need for housing assistance and (b) housing stability were studied. The first research question concerned the influence of individual conditions (socio-demographics, housing situations, and social histories) on housing need. In predicting need for housing assistance, none of the socio-demographics of age, gender, race, or ethnicity was a significant predictor of housing need. Of the housing situation predictors (housing burden, household composition, potential impact of rent increase, housing subsidy), only housing burden was a statistically significant predictor. Lastly, considering social history (work status, history of homelessness, mental illness and substance use history), a history of homelessness and substance use history were significant predictors. Only a history of homelessness statistically significantly predicted housing stability. The second research question concerned the influence of the community conditions of distress, degree of rurality, and social infrastructure on housing need. All the community predictors, except number of affordable housing units (a measure of social infrastructure), were statistically significant predictors of need for housing assistance. None of the community variables was a statistically significant predictor of housing stability. The findings suggest that community conditions are associated with the need for housing assistance. The third research question concerned interactions between the individual- and community-level conditions. The relationship between history of homelessness and need for housing assistance was stronger in areas where there were more affordable housing. The findings of the study support the conclusion that both individual and community conditions are associated with housing need among PLWHA. The report concludes with a discussion of these results and offers implications for social work practice, policy, and research. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Predicting the Trajectories of Perceived Pain Intensity in Southern Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Role of Religiousness

This study focuses on the identification of multiple latent trajectories of pain intensity, and it examines how religiousness is related to different classes of pain trajectory. Participants were 720 community-dwelling older adults who were interviewed at four time points over a 3-year period. Overall, intensity of pain decreased over 3 years. Analysis using latent growth mixture modeling (GMM) identified three classes of pain: (1) increasing (n = 47); (2) consistently unchanging (n = 292); and (3) decreasing (n = 381). Higher levels of intrinsic religiousness (IR) at baseline were associated with higher levels of pain at baseline, although it attenuated the slope of pain trajectories in the increasing pain group. Higher service attendance at baseline was associated with a higher probability of being in the decreasing pain group. The increasing pain group and the consistently unchanging group reported more negative physical and mental health outcomes than the decreasing pain group