Erina White

Interdisciplinary Medical Social Work: A Working Taxonomy

Findings from a year-long exploratory study aimed at describing universal functions of medical social work with interdisciplinary teams in acute care settings are reported here. A universal taxonomy of interdisciplinary social work skills and competencies was empirically identified through a participatory action research framework. Findings support previous conceptual descriptions of medical social work’s overarching and historical role to help interdisciplinary teams in acute care to consider patients’ home environment, knowledge, beliefs, culture, and resources during assessment, treatment, and discharge planning. The empirically determined taxonomy reported is intended to provide social workers a framework with which to articulate and evaluate their core competencies on interdisciplinary medical teams.

Suicide Risk in Adolescents with Diabetes: A Case Report

Adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus Type I are at risk for depression and suicide, particularly suicide via insulin injection. A case presentation is used to examine the suicide attempt via insulin injection of an adolescent female with diabetes. The case is discussed, emphasizing the importance of screening for suicidal ideation, monitoring adolescents with diabetes and comorbid suicide-related thoughts and behaviors carefully, and addressing insulin management in safety planning procedures with these adolescents and their families.

Administrators’ Perceptions of Oral Health Care and Cancer Screening in Long-Term Care Nursing Facilities:

An estimated 1.7 million adults in the United States more than the age of 65 reside in long-term care nursing facilities (LTCNFs), and only 17% of them receive dental care. More than 83% of LTCNF residents require assistance with oral care. Adequate dental care is a preventative behavior for oral cancer. Adults more than age 65 will account for 60% of oral cancer–related deaths, despite an 80% cure rate for early diagnosis. This study sought to expand knowledge of the perceived benefits, barriers, and ability to perform or provide for oral health care and oral cancer screening as reported by Administrators and Directors of Nursing in LTCNFs. Findings indicate that competing demands for resources make oral health a low priority issue and low knowledge about oral cancer risk among nursing home residents, family members, and staff is a barrier. Potential interventions suggested by participants are discussed.

Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a brief alcohol intervention for suicidal adolescents in inpatient psychiatric treatment

Alcohol use, both short-term intoxication and longer-term use, is a notable risk factor for suicide. Despite the strong relationship between alcohol use and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, providers typically treat these two problems independently. In particular, acute psychiatric care hospitalizations for adolescents are typically brief, and many only cursorily address alcohol use. Integrating a brief motivational enhancement intervention for alcohol use into an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization treatment protocol has the potential to enhance motivation to stop or reduce drinking if adolescents can more fully understand how it increases risk for suicidal behavior. This study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the Alcohol and Suicide Intervention for Suicidal Teens (ASIST), a brief motivational enhancement intervention targeting alcohol use and suicidal thoughts and behaviors for suicidal adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment. Results from a randomized pilot trial of ASIST (N = 50) revealed that the intervention was both feasible and acceptable, with 92% of those in the ASIST condition reporting that the intervention helped them to understand how their alcohol use is related to their suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Study findings suggest a larger randomized controlled trial may be warranted to test the effectiveness of ASIST with psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents.

The Role of Parents in Safety Planning Interventions with SuicidalAdolescents

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24 in the United States. The time following discharge from an acute care setting represents a period of especially high risk for suicide among adolescents, but has not been matched by proportionate prevention and intervention efforts. Safety planning procedures, especially those which include means restriction counseling and family communication training, may be especially useful for suicidal adolescents and their parents during the discharge process. Brief interventions that actively involve parents in safety planning have the potential to reduce suicide-related outcomes among suicidal adolescents, and thus warrant an increased clinical and research focus.