Brian Cheers

Rural Disadvantage in Australia

The current surge of interest in Australian rural social work could subside for the want of relevant literature which is readily accessible to practitioners, students and teachers. This paper has been written primarily to provide a critical overview of literature bearing on rural and remote area disadvantage in Australia. Rural disadvantage is described according to (a) well-being (general indices, income, prices, poverty, unemployment, health and education), and (b) service deprivation (income security, health, education, welfare and essential services).

Boundary crossers, communities, and health: exploring the role of rural health professionals.

Boundary crossers understand the culture and language of community and health service domains and have the trust of both. Rural health professionals living within the communities they serve are ideally placed to harness community capacity so as to influence community-level determinants of health. We analyse five case studies of rural health professionals acting as boundary crossers against indicators of capacity for communities and external agents such as health services working in partnership. A more explicit evidence base for inclusion of community health development in the jobs of rural health professionals is needed.

Rural Social Work and Social Welfare in the Australian Context

Published literature on Australian rural social work and social welfare has recently started to become available. For the most part, this has concerned specific issues, target groups, communities and regions. The present paper addresses four broader questions. How does Australian society influence rural life? What are some of the important parameters of rural Australia? What challenges does rural Australia issue to practice, policy and services? And which principles might be most useful in meeting these? The paper concludes with some possible future directions for the social work profession in its efforts to be useful for rural Australians.

Retaining Rural Social Workers: An Australian Study

Abstract Problematic staff turnover of social workers and other human service professionals has plagued rural communities, employers, employees and their families, and led to significant financial and human costs. This paper reports the findings of a two year longitudinal study of 194 Australian rural social workers and the high staff turnover they experienced during 1994-1997. Regression analyses of survey data revealed that employer-related factors were strongly associated with premature departure, while community and personal factors tended to influence retention positively. Social workers who were well provided with social, emotional and financial support by their employers and colleagues tended to stay long enough for the lifestyle attractions of rural practice to take increasing effect. On the other hand, unsupported practitioners tended to depart early. Hence, problematic staff turnover can be addressed with different approaches from employers, educators and staff. A range of remedial strategies is generated including preparatory briefings, increased training, better-targetted recruitment, and enhanced support and supervision of staff.

Rural social workers and their jobs: An empirical study

Abstract Results are reported from a national survey of 194 social workers commencing rural positions in Australia in 1994 and 1995. This paper focuses on: practitioner, position and community characteristics; which location the practitioners came from; their professional, rural practice and rural living experience; preparation for the positions by employers and educators; satisfaction with rural work and life; and anticipated length of stay. Results challenge myths about rural social workers and support key themes of rural practice literature. Respondents were mixed with respect to age and experience, scattered widely throughout Australia in different-sized communities, mostly living and working in the same communities and engaged predominantly in generic practice. There appears to be a pool of rural practitioners in Australia who are committed to living and working in rural places. Implications are developed for practice, employers, the profession, professional education, research and theory. Tentative explanations are offered for high rural staff turnover.

Is it consumer or community participation?: examining the links between 'community' and 'participation'

Abstract In writing about community participation in health, the term ‘community’ is used loosely and ambiguously. On analysis, it appears that there is a conceptual shift in health policy to thinking about involvement of consumers in health planning and programs rather than communities. This shift is consistent with a managerialist approach to planning health service delivery. Participative processes are perceived as being initiated and directed by health administrators. Participants in the processes are to be ‘representative’ of health service consumers, rather than whole communities. However, in many Australian rural communities, there are enduring traditions of community participation in providing governance for local hospitals, developing infrastructure for general practice services, and providing in-kind support. Participation in health services is embedded in the way the community functions. Acknowledging and understanding the ways in which ‘community participation’ and ‘consumer participation’ are different may result in more effective participative processes.

Aspects of Interaction in Remote Communities

Data is presented from 33 in-depth interviews with residents and practitioners, on social structure and interaction in small, remote agricultural, mining and railway towns in North Queensland. Implications are drawn for welfare service planning and delivery in remote areas.

Social change and social capital in Australia: a solution for contemporary problems?

Profound social changes associated with globalization, economic rationalism and pluralism have sparked concern with social cohesiveness, integration and national identity in contemporary Australia. ‘Social capital’ is frequently invoked as the phenomenon that can restore cohesiveness and integration. However, this reading of social capital is heavily dependent on Putnam’s formulation of the concept and overlooks the earlier work of Bourdieu and Coleman. Bourdieu in particular suggests that social capital is an analytical tool to explain social stratification, not, as Putnam argues, a normative tool to enhance working together on collective goals.We review recent Australian writing on social capital and argue that it is frequently used in the way Putnam advocates and that it is theoretically and empirically inadequate to redress many of the issues facing contemporary Australia.

Exploring social workers’ personal domains in rural practice

• Summary: This article is grounded on Cheers, Darracott, and Lonne’s (2007) framework for conceptualizing the factors that influence rural social care practitioners in their work. Focusing on the ‘personal domain’ we report results of qualitative interviews with 22 social workers who were part of a larger sample of 82 Australian rural social practitioners. As part of the larger study, practitioners were asked how they defined social care, whether they practised it and if so how, factors influencing their practice, and the information bases they used. • Findings: Analysis of the social work interviews identified that the personal domain had considerable influence on their day-to-day practice. Five themes emerged describing the personal domain: ‘life experiences’, ‘beliefs and values’, ‘ideas and theories’, ‘personal relationships’, and ‘personal characteristics’. We call for further research to conceptualize the domain more clearly, identify factors within it, and investigate how they influence practice, with special focus on how social workers’ personal moral-ethical frameworks influence their practice decisions. • Application: Opening space to explore the personal domain challenges social work practitioners and students to critically reflect on how their life experiences, beliefs and values, ideas and theories and personal relationships and characteristics influence their practice. It also provides practitioners, employers, and professional organizations with knowledge they need to help social workers cope with the demands of practice.

Is social capital good for everyone? The case of same-sex attracted women in rural South Australian communities

Abstract Social capital is attracting increasing attention, particularly as a means of improving health status. However, much of the work on social capital employs Putnam’s (1995) formulation of the concept. This view suggests social capital produces generalised benefits, thus presenting an anomaly between the higher stocks of social capital in Australian rural communities relative to urban areas, and their poorer health status. This paper presents data on the experience of same-sex attracted (SSA) women living in rural communities in South Australia. It suggests Bourdieu’s account of social capital is more theoretically and empirically compelling than that of Putnam’s, because of its capacity to explain the harmful psycho-social consequences of exclusion for those who are same-sex attracted. Moreover, the different experiences of younger and older same-sex attracted people in rural Australia indicates the need to take seriously the claim that social capital is unequally distributed and experienced in different ways. A conclusion of this paper is that blanket claims to increase and enhance social capital should be treated cautiously because of the adverse consequences for some groups.