The texts are available in the course materials.
International Approaches to Social Issues
UNIT 3: Defining social problems and social workers role
- What is a social problem?
- How can social workers respond?
- What is trauma and traumatic stress?
Readings:
Availability of texts
Bisson, J. I., Berliner, L., Cloitre, M., Forbes, D., Jensen, T. K., Lewis, C., ... & Shapiro, F. (2019). The international society for traumatic stress studies new guidelines for the prevention and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Methodology and development process. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 32(4), 475-483.
Boals, A. (2018). Trauma in the eye of the beholder: Objective and subjective definitions of trauma. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 28(1), 77.
Cloitre, M., Shevlin, M., Brewin, C. R., Bisson, J. I., Roberts, N. P., Maercker, A., ... & Hyland, P. (2018). The International Trauma Questionnaire: Development of a self-report measure of ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 138(6), 536-546.
Demiris, G., Oliver, D. P., & Washington, K. T. (2019). Defining and analyzing the problem. Behavioral
intervention research in hospice and palliative care: Building an evidence base, 27-39.
Assignment 3: Social problem proposal
Objective: To identify and describe a social issue in your place of work, your internship agency, your
community, or your country and create a proposal to address this social problem that will be your focus
in Rome.
Description: This assignment is aimed at preparing participants for their final project that will take place during the in-person component of the course. For this assignment, participants will first identify a social issue or problem that they believe is important in their communities, using the Demiris et al. (2019) reading as a guide, participants should:
1. Identify which type of problem it is (practice, reports, or literature)
2. Briefly discuss the evidence about the significance of the problem, including why it is an issue YOUR community
3. Present and explain TWO theories of why the problem exists
4. Introduce at least two different interventions that have been used to resolving the problem and describe how well they have worked
5. Identify which stakeholders you will want to discuss as you develop your project
6. Describe cultural considerations that you would need to have in order for your project to be successful
7. Discuss what biases or potential conflicts of interest you would need to consider for your project
8. Identify potential collaborators
Deadline: 15.5. 2023