Children with idiopathic short stature have significantly different gut microbiota than their normal height siblings: a case-control study.

Objectives: To investigate the role of gut microbiota (GM) in pathogenesis of idiopathic short stature (ISS) by comparing GM of ISS children to their normal-height siblings. Methods: This case-control study, conducted at the Schneider Children's Medical Center's Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes between 4/2018-11/2020, involved 30 pairs of healthy pre-pubertal siblings aged 3-10 years, each comprising one sibling with ISS and one with normal height. Outcome measures from fecal analysis of both siblings included GM composition analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing, fecal metabolomics, and monitoring the growth of germ-free (GF) mice after fecal transplantation. Results: Fecal analysis of ISS children identified higher predicted levels of genes encoding enzymes for pyrimidine, purine, flavin, coenzyme B, and thiamine biosynthesis, lower levels of several amino acids, and a significantly higher prevalence of the phylum Euryarchaeota compared to their normal-height siblings (p<0.001). ISS children with higher levels of Methanobrevibacter, the dominant species in the archaeal gut community, were significantly shorter in stature than those with lower levels (p=0.022). Mice receiving fecal transplants from ISS children did not experience stunted growth, probably due to the eradication of Methanobrevibacter caused by exposure to oxygen during fecal collection. Discussion: Our findings suggest that different characteristics in the GM may explain variations in linear growth. The varying levels of Methanobrevibacter demonstrated within the ISS group reflect the multifactorial nature of ISS and the potential ability of the GM to partially explain growth variations. The targeting of specific microbiota could provide personalized therapies to improve growth in children with ISS.

Poverty in Arab-Palestinian society in Israel: Social work perspectives before and during COVID-19.

Arab-Palestinian families have one of the highest poverty rates in Israel. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding this population from a social work perspective. This article presents an analysis of 64 supervision sessions held with Arab-Palestinian social workers with the aim of identifying context-specific knowledge on the barriers service users face in their daily lives. Our findings point to three types of barriers: economic, sociopolitical, and cultural/political. The article relates to the intersections of these barriers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poverty-Aware Programs in Social Service Departments in Israel: A Rapid Evidence Review of Outcomes for Service Users and Social Work Practice.

Critical perspectives and practices are fundamental to social work, yet there are only scarce examples of direct critical practice in public social services, and even fewer empirical evaluations of their outcomes for service users and social workers. This article presents a rapid evidence review of 25 evaluation studies of five programs that operate in the social services departments in Israel according to the principles of the Poverty-Aware Paradigm (PAP). The PAP is a critical paradigm for direct social work practice with people living in poverty that was implemented in the welfare services by the Ministry of Welfare, targeting over 14,000 service users. The evaluation studies we reviewed encompass an overall quantitative sample of 4612 service users and 1363 professionals, and a qualitative sample of 420 service users and 424 professionals. The findings present: (1) the program's outcomes for service users in terms of relationship with social workers, financial circumstances, family relations, and children's safety; and (2) the program's impact on social workers' attitudes and practices. Finally, we discuss the lessons learned regarding social workers' role in combatting poverty, the construction of success in interventions with people in poverty, and the article's limitations.

COVID-19: A poverty-aware perspective.

Preliminary evidence indicates that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects people differently along social axes, among which socioeconomic status is key. This study used mixed methods to add data from Israel to this developing body of knowledge. Using closed questions, the study compared 126 people living in poverty with 147 people not living in poverty in terms of their economic and employment status, need for assistance, and mental distress. In addition, in order to better understand the experiences of poverty, open questions regarding the effect of COVID-19 on the participants' lives and their means of coping with the pandemic were employed. The study was conducted in May 2020, just after the first lockdown, through online media and through social workers who personally went to disadvantaged neighborhoods to reach out to participants who are vulnerable to digital illiteracy. The analysis points to major differences between the groups, with people in poverty suffering more in terms of their economic and employment situation and mental distress. In addition, we found that people in poverty needed and received more support. The qualitative analysis indicates the specificities of the severe nature of the intersection of poverty and the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Service users' perspectives of social treatment in social service departments in Israel: Differences between standard and poverty-aware treatments.

This article uses mixed methods to examine service user satisfaction with social work treatment in social services departments (SSDs) in Israel-its level, the factors that influence it and its experiential dimensions. A total of 235 service users (SUs) from 11 SSDs were interviewed for this study. They were divided into three groups: (a) SUs receiving standard treatment; (b) SUs participating in poverty-aware programs and (c) SUs receiving a poverty-aware standard treatment. The quantitative findings indicated a significant higher level of satisfaction among the SUs who had been included on poverty-aware programs or received a poverty-aware standard care compared to SUs who had received standard treatment. Additionally, high reported levels of satisfaction were influenced by the frequency of meetings between the service user and the social worker, while the history of care in the SSD had no apparent impact on satisfaction levels. The qualitative analysis indicated that high levels of satisfaction were linked to the service user perceiving the social worker as active, supportive and respectful, and as responsive to the user's emotional and material needs. These findings are discussed in the context of the Poverty-Aware Paradigm and relationship-based social work.

Mental Distress during the Coronavirus Pandemic in Israel: Who Are the Most Vulnerable?

Based on Pearlin's stress process model and the social inequality approach to health, this study used a social lens to explore the role of socioeconomic inequities in mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel. Specifically, we examined people's pre-pandemic sociodemographic characteristics and economic situation, and the economic effects of the pandemic itself on mental distress. A real-time survey was conducted in May 2020 among 273 adults (ages 20-68), and hierarchical linear models were employed. Findings indicated that groups vulnerable to mental distress in routine times (e.g., women, people with economic difficulties) showed the same pattern during the pandemic. Not only was unemployment related to mental distress, so too was a reduction in work hours. The pandemic's economic effects (e.g., needing to take out loans, having a worsening financial situation) were also associated with increased mental distress. This study is one of very few studies to explore a wide range of socioeconomic factors and their association with mental distress during the current crisis. The findings call for broader interventions to alleviate the economic distress caused by the pandemic to promote mental health, especially for groups that were vulnerable before the crisis and those most affected economically following the pandemic.

Redistribution and recognition in social work practice: Lessons learned from providing material assistance in child protection settings.

Despite growing recognition of the links between poverty and child maltreatment, little is known about the specific practices and strategies utilized to directly respond to families' poverty. One such practice is the provision of material assistance, which is widespread in child protection settings but has received negligible scholarly attention. The article aims to describe and conceptualize this underresearched practice and to explore the challenges workers face when implementing it. The study described here included 20 in-depth interviews conducted with social workers working in an innovative Israeli child protection program called Families on the Path to Growth. The program is based on the Poverty-Aware paradigm and provides social workers and families with a substantial flexible budget designated for families' needs. Findings revealed that utilizing material assistance is an extremely complex and multidimensional task. Specifically, workers' engagement with this practice revolved around three continuums that range between (a) collaboration and countercollaboration; (b) splitting and integrating the emotional and the material; and (c) a hermeneutic of trust and a hermeneutic of suspicion. In the discussion, we explore the findings in relation to Nancy Fraser's conceptualization of social justice, redistribution, and recognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Molecular diagnosis of α-thalassemia in a multiethnic population.

OBJECTIVE: α-Thalassemia, one of the most common genetic diseases, is caused by deletions or point mutations affecting one to four α-globin genes. Molecular diagnosis is important to prevent the most severe forms of the disease. However, the diagnosis of α-thalassemia is complex due to a high variability of the genetic defects involved, with over 250 described mutations. We summarize herein the findings of genetic analyses of DNA samples referred to our laboratory for the molecular diagnosis of α-thalassemia, along with a detailed clinical description. METHODS: We utilized a diagnostic algorithm including Gap-PCR, to detect known deletions, followed by sequencing of the α-globin gene, to identify known and novel point mutations, and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) for the diagnosis of rare or novel deletions. RESULTS: α-Thalassemia was diagnosed in 662 of 975 samples referred to our laboratory. Most commonly found were deletions (75.3%, including two novel deletions previously described by us); point mutations comprised 25.4% of the cases, including five novel mutations. Our population included mostly Jews (of Ashkenazi and Sephardic origin) and Muslim Arabs, who presented with a higher rate of point mutations and hemoglobin H disease. Overall, we detected 53 different genotype combinations causing a spectrum of clinical phenotypes, from asymptomatic to severe anemia. CONCLUSION: Our work constitutes the largest group of patients with α-thalassemia originating in the Mediterranean whose clinical characteristics and molecular basis have been determined. We suggest a diagnostic algorithm that leads to an accurate molecular diagnosis in multiethnic populations.

Feminist Social Work: Practice and Theory of Practice.

Although feminist social work has been practiced in Israel since the 1970s, little has been written about it. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by documenting and conceptualizing feminist theory of practice and actual practice based on interviews with 12 feminist social workers. Findings reveal that the interviewees perceive feminist practice as significantly different from traditional social work practice based on four analytical principles: (1) gender analysis, (2) awareness of power relations, (3) analysis of welfare services as structures of oppression, and (4) utilization of feminist language, as well as 10 principles of action. The principles are discussed in the context of feminist social work in Israel and in light of feminist principles described in international literature.

Partnership-based practice with young people: relational dimensions of partnership in a therapeutic setting.

The recent literature concerning partnership between professionals and young people reveals important developments regarding the nature of partnership: from short-term partnerships with young people's parents intended to improve decision-making in the context of critical life decisions, to a growing interest in direct partnership between professionals and young people as a core principle of long-term relationships. Although it is widely acknowledged among health and social service professionals that partnerships can have positive outcomes for young people, the concept and implementation of partnership remain vague. This article examines the meanings of partnership for people involved in a community youth centre for marginalised youth. Data were collected during the year 2011 using multiple-methods including focus groups (with eight youth workers), participant observations (in assembly meetings and 'partnership meetings') and semi-structured interviews (with 10 principal stakeholders, including youth, youth workers and the Center's founders). Data were analysed using principles of grounded theory to articulate partnership as an ongoing experience, combining both structural-technical and content-experiential components. Our findings present partnership as existing simultaneously in the practice of decision-making and in the realm of self-experience and interpersonal relationships, and explore the relationship between both spheres. The findings also shed light on the importance of the specific characteristics of shared decision-making (atmosphere, content and duration) in the creation of partnership. We discuss our findings in the light of possibilities for partnership-based practice with marginalised youth.

Chronic pain as a narratological distress: a phenomenological study.

OBJECTIVES: This paper reports finding from a study that focused on people living with chronic pain, chronicling their experiences of pain and emotional distress, and their social and personal narratives. METHODS: The paper presents an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of six interviews conducted with men and women aged between 27 and 61. The interviews were taken from a larger study of the experience of chronic pain. FINDINGS: Chronic pain is a double faced phenomenon: a vivid and total experience on one hand, an elusive and deceptive phenomenon on the other. The nature of this phenomenon - together with the medical and public discourse that ignores and delegitimizes chronic pain this condition - prompts people to question their own experiences and to face what we define as a narratological distress. DISCUSSION: Narratological distress is the internal battle between two unwanted narratives: The elusive delegitimizing narrative of denial, which seeks to ignore the experience of pain; and the narrative that acknowledges the pain, but with the price of accepting oneself as "ill" or "disabled."