Me-to-We Design: A Blueprint for Enriching Welfare Technologies.

Current technologies for ambient assisted living leave underexploited that social interaction is key to human wellbeing. Me-to-we design provides a blueprint for enriching such welfare technologies with social interaction. We present the five stages of me-to-we design, illustrate how it may transform a common class of welfare technologies, and discuss the distinguishing features of me-to-we design. These features include scaffolding social interaction around an activity and supporting transitions among the five stages. In contrast, most current welfare technologies support only some of the five stages and, thereby, either bypass social interaction or presuppose that social relations already exist. Me-to-we design offers a blueprint for building social relations stage by stage if they do not exist up front. It is for future work to validate whether the blueprint in practice delivers welfare technologies that are enriched by its profoundly sociotechnical approach.

Experiences of insecurity among non-standard workers across different welfare states: A qualitative cross-country study.

In recent decades, economic crises and political reforms focused on employment flexibilization have increased the use of non-standard employment (NSE). National political and economic contexts determine how employers interact with labour and how the state interacts with labour markets and manages social welfare policies. These factors influence the prevalence of NSE and the level of employment insecurity it creates, but the extent to which a country's policy context mitigates the health influences of NSE is unclear. This study describes how workers experience insecurities created by NSE, and how this influences their health and well-being, in countries with different welfare states: Belgium, Canada, Chile, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Interviews with 250 workers in NSE were analysed using a multiple-case study approach. Workers in all countries experienced multiple insecurities (e.g., income and employment insecurity) and relational tension with employers/clients, with negative health and well-being influences, in ways that were shaped by social inequalities (e.g., related to family support or immigration status). Welfare state differences were reflected in the level of workers' exclusion from social protections, the time scale of their insecurity (threatening daily survival or longer-term life planning), and their ability to derive a sense of control from NSE. Workers in Belgium, Sweden, and Spain, countries with more generous welfare states, navigated these insecurities with greater success and with less influence on health and well-being. Findings contribute to our understanding of the health and well-being influences of NSE across different welfare regimes and suggest the need in all six countries for stronger state responses to NSE. Increased investment in universal and more equal rights and benefits in NSE could reduce the widening gap between standard and NSE.

Improving Older Adults' Health by Reducing Administrative Burden.

Policy Points Administrative burdens, which are the onerous experiences people have when trying to access government benefits and services, reduce older adult's access to health promoting policies. Although considerable attention has been focused on threats to the old-age welfare state, ranging from long-term financing problems to attempts to roll back benefits, administrative barriers to these programs already threaten their effectiveness. Reducing administrative burden is a viable way to improve population health among older adults going forward over the next decade.

Gaps in the welfare state: A role-based model of poverty risk in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: Research clearly demonstrates that income matters greatly to health. However, income distribution and its relationship to poverty risk is often misunderstood. METHODS: We provide a structural account of income distribution and poverty risk in the U.S., rooted in the 'roles' that individuals inhabit with relation to the 'factor payment system' (market distribution of income to individuals through wages and asset ownership). Principal roles are child, older adult, and, among working-age adults, disabled individual, student, unemployed individual, caregiver, or paid laborer. Moreover, the roles of other members of an individual's household also influence an individual's income level. This account implies that 1) roles other than paid laborer will be associated with greater poverty risk, 2) household composition will be associated with poverty risk, and 3) income support policies for those not able to engage in paid labor are critical for avoiding poverty. We test hypotheses implied by this account using 2019 and 2022 U.S. Census Current Population Survey data. The exposure variables in our analyses relate to roles and household composition. The outcomes relate to income and poverty risk. RESULTS: In 2019, 40.1 million individuals (12.7% of the population) experienced poverty under the U.S. Census' Supplemental Poverty Measure. All roles other than paid laborer were associated with greater poverty risk (p < .001 for all comparisons). Household composition, particularly more children and disabled working-age adults, and fewer paid laborers, was also associated with greater poverty risk (p < .001 for all comparisons). Five key policy areas-child benefits, older-age pensions, disability and sickness insurance, unemployment insurance, and out-of-pocket healthcare spending-represented gaps in the welfare state strongly associated with poverty risk. CONCLUSIONS: The role one inhabits and household composition are associated with poverty risk. This understanding of income distribution and poverty risk may be useful for social policy.

Money Matters: Time for Prevention and Early Intervention to Address Family Economic Circumstances.

Child poverty is associated with poorer physical and mental health, negative educational outcomes and adverse long-term social and psychological consequences, all of which impact on service demand and expenditure. Until now, however, prevention and early intervention practice has tended to focus on enhancing inter-parental relationships and parenting skills (e.g., via relationship skills education, home visiting, parenting programs, family therapy) or child language, social-emotional and life skills (e.g., early childhood education, school-based programs, youth mentoring). Programs often target low-income neighborhoods or families but rarely address poverty directly. While there is substantial evidence for the effectiveness of such interventions in improving child outcomes, null results are not uncommon and even positive effects are often small, short-term, and difficult to replicate. One avenue to enhance intervention effectiveness is to improve families' economic circumstances. There are several arguments for this refocusing. It is arguably unethical to focus on individual risk without acknowledging or seeking to address (where relevant) families' social and economic contexts, while the stigma and material constraints associated with poverty can make it harder for families to engage with psychosocial support. There is also evidence that increasing household income improves child outcomes. Although national policies to alleviate poverty are important, it is increasingly recognized that practice-based initiatives have a role to play (e.g., income maximization, devolved budgets, money management support). However, knowledge about their implementation and effectiveness is relatively thin. For instance, there is some evidence that co-located welfare rights advice in healthcare settings can improve recipients' financial circumstances and health, but it is mixed and of limited quality. Moreover, there is little rigorous research on whether and how such services affect mediators (parent-child interactions, parenting capacity) and/or child physical and psychosocial outcomes directly. We call for prevention and early intervention programs to attend more to families' economic circumstances, and for experimental studies to test their implementation, reach and effectiveness.

Descripción del bienestar social y prevalencia del consumo de alcohol en jóvenes de Ciudad del Carmen, México / Description of social welfare and prevalence of alcohol consumption in young people in Ciudad del Carmen, México

Introducción: la juventud ha sido considerada una etapa de mayor riesgo ante conductas saludables o no saludables, asimismo una etapa de menor control parental y un incremento en las actividades sociales que configura el estilo de vida de esta población. Objetivo: analizar la relación del bienestar social y el consumo de alcohol en jóvenes Método: investigación cuantitativa de tipo correlacional realizada en 279 jóvenes de Ciudad del Carmen Campeche, se utilizó un muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia, como instrumentos de medición se utilizó una cédula de datos personales y de consumo de alcohol y la escala de Bienestar Social de Keyes. Resultados: la prevalencia global (U= 5483.50, p=.026) y en el último año (U= 8432.00, p=.038) muestra diferencias significativas, siendo mayor las puntuaciones en los jóvenes que no han consumido alcohol. Se identificó una relación negativa y significativa del bienestar social y el número de bebidas alcohólicas consumidas (rs=-727, p=.001). Conclusión: los resultados permitieron comprender el grado de bienestar social de los jóvenes, siendo un elemento crucial para su crecimiento y desarrollo para la vida adulta, además se constató la magnitud del consumo de alcohol en esta población, el cual representa un problema de salud pública. (AU)

Introduction: youth has been considered a stage of greater risk for healthy or unhealthy behaviors had a stage of less parental control and an increase in social activities that make up the lifestyle of this population. Objective: to analyze the relationship between social well-being and alcohol consumption in young people Method: correlational-type quantitative research carried out on 279 young people from Ciudad del Carmen Campeche, a non-probabilistic sample was obtained for convenience, as measurement instruments a certificate of personal and alcohol consumption data and the Keyes Social Welfare scale. Results: the global prevalence (U= 5483.50, p=.026) and in the last year (U= 8432.00, p=.038) show significant differences, the proportions being higher in young people who have not consumed alcohol. A negative and significant relationship was identified between social well-being and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed (rs=-727, p=.001). Conclusion: the results allowed us to understand the degree of social well-being of young people, being a crucial element for their growth and development for adult life, in addition, the magnitude of alcohol consumption in this population was verified, which represents a public health problem. (AU)

Bienestar psicológico, salud mental y pautas percibidasde apego: estudio comparativo entre mexicanos y estadounidenses durante la pandemia COVID 19 / Psychological well-being, Mental health and patterns of perceived attachment: a comparative study between Mexicans and Americans during the COVID 19 Pandemic

Psychological Well-Being, Mental Health and Patterns of Perceived Attachment: A Comparative Study between Mexicans and Americans during the COVID 19 Pandemic. A correlational and comparative study was carried out on Psychological Well-Being, elements of mental health, and Patterns of Perceived Attachment in Childhood as a possible protection variable in the COVID-19 pandemic. The total N was 316, of which 161 were Mexican students and 155 Americans. The instruments used were the Psychological Well-being Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Inventory, and the Inventory of Perceived Attachment Patterns During Childhood. The results show higher indicators of mental health impairment in young Mexicans compared to Americans: depression 76% vs 20.24%. anxiety 93% vs 38% and stress 68% vs 12.5%. In addition, average positive correlations were identified between Psychological Well-Being and secure attachment and negative correlations with the other forms of attachment. In the Americans, a low positive association was found between secure attachment and self-acceptance, positive relationships (the highest correlated), and the scale’s total. Similarly, disorganized, anxious, and avoidant attachment patterns are negatively correlated with self-acceptance, positive relationships, mastery of the environment, life purposes, and the total. Therefore, we consider that Patterns of Perceived Attachment in Childhood are associated with the elements of mental health such as: anxiety, depression, and stress, and with the levels of psychological well-being experienced during the pandemic. Finally, suggestions of other mediating and protective variables for future research are offered (AU)

Factors affecting collaboration between clinical and community service organizations.

BACKGROUND: Collaboration between clinical and community-based social service organizations is increasingly seen as vital for preventing and managing chronic diseases but has been challenging to establish and sustain. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify organizational barriers and facilitators for clinic-community collaboration. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: We employed multiple methods to study a national sample of nonprofit community-based organizations that each collaborated with local clinical organizations for diabetes prevention in the United States. We used qualitative data collected longitudinally through 65 semistructured interviews from 2016 to 2017 at seven of these organizations and their clinical collaborators to understand their relationships. We employed survey data ( N = 247 with 73% response rate) to measure and explore relationships among qualitatively identified themes and collaboration performance. RESULTS: We documented three levels of organizational challenges to community-clinic collaboration. Interorganizational challenges pertain to facing only weakly aligned interests across organizations. Interpersonal challenges pertain to misperceptions and miscommunications that occur as frontline employees from differing organizations seek to work together. Task-related challenges pertain to the inadequacy of current processes to effectively link services across clinical and community settings. We found that bridging leadership , provisional teamwork, and learning processes helped to overcome these challenges by enabling iterative progress. Follow-up national survey results indicated that these facilitators were significantly associated with collaboration performance. CONCLUSIONS: Because community-clinic collaboration presents substantial interorganizational, interpersonal, and task-related challenges, financial incentives alone are likely insufficient for success. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Resources that help develop capacity to work across community and clinical settings may be vital and warrant dedicated funding.

Justice perceptions of sanctions for unemployed welfare recipients.

Institutions of the welfare state are supposed to function in accordance with normative principles of redistributive justice, which should guide not only the allocation but also the withdrawal of resources. Our study examines justice assessments of sanctions for unemployed individuals receiving welfare benefits, a much-discussed variant of benefit withdrawal. We present results from a factorial survey that asked German citizens to indicate which sanction they would perceive as just under different scenarios. In particular, we look at different kinds of deviant behavior on the part of the unemployed job seeker, which allows for a broad picture concerning potential sanction-triggering events. The findings show that the extent of sanctions perceived as just varies considerably across scenarios. Respondents would impose more sanctions on men, repeaters, and young people. Moreover, they have a clear picture of the severity of the deviant behavior.

Demands for Community Services and Associated Factors among Residents in Smart Communities: A Case Study of Xuzhou City.

Smart community enables a sustainable and livable community future, in which residents' demands play an important role in its success. Though great efforts have been made to encourage residents' participation in the implementation of smart communities, inefficient service supply still exists. Thus, this study aimed to classify residents' demands for community services in smart communities and to explore relevant influencing factors based on the developed conceptual framework. Data from 221 respondents in Xuzhou city of China were analyzed by using binary logistic regression. The results indicated that more than 70% of respondents had demands for all community services in smart communities. Moreover, the demands were influenced by distinct factors, including sociodemographic characteristics, living characteristics, economic characteristics, and individual attitude characteristics. The types of community services in smart communities are clarified and fresh insights are provided into associated factors related to residents' demands for these services in this study, through which enhanced provision of community services and effective implementation of smart communities can be achieved.

Water-climate change extended nexus contribution to social welfare and environment-related sustainable development goals in China.

Climate change exacerbates uncertainties in water resource management, water supply, and treatment that are energy intensive and then exert great pressure on climate change mitigation; hence, interrelated and contradictory characteristics within the water-climate change (WC) nexus system are needed to be studied. The nexus thinking and coordination of WC would impact many realistic practices and assist in sustainable socioeconomic development since traditional single-target policies have sometimes been out of function. Hence, the ability to direct water production and use as well as climate change mitigation has become a hotspot recently. Furthermore, we find that there has been no complete research on reviewing the impacts of the WC nexus in different areas on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, this paper builds a core nexus of WC and then analyzes those effects on social and environmental aspects in many areas, including sewage treatment, energy transition, waste treatment, land management, and ocean management. This paper discusses how WC interlinkages are utilized to realize SDGs in those areas. Moreover, uncertainties derived from exogenous hydrology, climate change, and anthropogenic endogenous systems for realistic problems appeal to gradually increasing concern. Finally, implications offer valuable guidelines for integrated management of water and carbon emissions, as well as sustainable socioeconomic development in the future.

Service-learning's impact on dental students' attitude to community service.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe the impact of service learning on the attitude of senior dental students toward community service. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey-based was conducted and recruited a total of 120 senior students of Dentistry Taibah University that were enrolled in a clinical service-learning course using convenience sampling. The attitude of dental college students toward community service based on the model of helping behavior by Schwartz was evaluated through Community Service Attitude Scale (CSAS). The data was collected using the same questionnaires for the pre-test and post-test. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 25. A repeated-measures mixed-model ANOVA was used to test the changes across pre-and post-test. RESULTS: A total of 96 students completed the first survey, making a response rate of 80%, and 78 among them completed the second survey as well, making a response rate of 81%. Significant change (P < 0.0001) in ANOVA indicated that there was an overall change in attitude.  CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that community-based service-learning positively impacts the attitude of last year's dental students toward understanding needs at the community level and the attitude to help in providing dental care at the community level.

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.

A Theoretical Discussion of How Common Understanding and Reflection Upon Need for Resources Can Prevent Risks Underlying Social Innovations.

The welfare state is facing complex challenges. Social innovation is considered as the solution to social challenges and so-called wicked problems, problems in the welfare state that are important, but difficult to solve. This implies being willing to take the risk that is involved when being innovative. A discussion of how different kinds of social innovations carry various risks and how some of these can be prevented, is still limited. This article looks at experiences from previous social innovations and ask what we can learn from them. It elaborates on why social innovation is challenging and what we can do to reduce the risk of failure. The research question is: What risks are at stake in different social innovations, and how can these be prevented? The article highlights risks and issues associated with social or collaborative innovation related to welfare services. It is theoretical and based on innovation theory and previous research, with examples from Norwegian welfare services. The purpose is to explore challenges and risks involved in 4 stereotype versions of social innovation as a result of crossing 2 dimensions of social innovation described above: (a) the degree of novelty and (b) who has initiated the innovation. The article enlightens some aspects of the implementation phase that are important to be aware of if we want to minimize the risk of failure. This concerns the importance of creating a common understanding of the innovation and reflecting on the need for extra resources.

Is it worth promoting battery swapping? A social welfare perspective on provider- and consumer-side incentives.

In countries that promote further EV diffusion, battery swapping opens up a market outlet for time-sensitive consumers as well as another green policy channel. To better understand this phenomenon from the perspective of policy-making, this study establishes a Hotelling model of a competitive market comprising a battery swapping service provider and a charging service provider. The analyses of three scenarios, no subsidization, consumer subsidization, and provider subsidization, reveal how to maximize social welfare. Considering subsidy amount, consumer time preferences, service time, and operating costs, the findings provide valuable insights for policymakers. Whereas incentive programs are generally helpful for battery swapping development and social welfare improvement, it is more effective to subsidize service providers than end consumers. Considering subsidy opportunity cost, it is necessary to control incentive amount and make continuous adjustments to promote battery swapping services without harming charging services.

Associations Between State TANF Policies, Child Protective Services Involvement, And Foster Care Placement.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which was established in 1996 and renewed in 2005, constituted a major reform of the US welfare system. Since its renewal, few studies have examined its effects on children. We used instrumental variables, two-way fixed effects, and event studies to examine the associations between state-level TANF policies, Child Protective Services involvement, and foster care placement during the period 2004-16. We found that each additional TANF policy that restricted access to benefits was associated with a 13 percent reduction in TANF caseloads. Using TANF policies as an instrument, we found that increases in TANF caseloads were associated with significant reductions in numbers of neglect victims and foster care placements. In two-way fixed effects models, restrictions on TANF access were associated with more than forty-four additional neglect victims per 100,000 child population and between nineteen and twenty-two additional children per 100,000 placed in foster care. Our findings suggest that additional research using data that capture the nuances of maltreatment should be used to investigate the relationships among TANF policies, child maltreatment, and foster care placement.

Temporary Assistance For Needy Families: Sanctioning And Child Support Compliance Among Black Families In Illinois.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal cash welfare program for low-income, working families with children in the United States that requires participation with child support enforcement, if one parent is noncustodial, to receive the cash benefit. Cash assistance has been linked to improved child health and academic achievement, but sanctions to benefits can increase health risks. Our community-engaged, mixed-methods research project sought to identify barriers to TANF among families with young children in Illinois. In this study we analyzed TANF sanctions related to child support enforcement, using analysis of TANF administrative data and semistructured interviews with TANF customers. We conducted logistic regression and Fisher's test to explore demographic differences in sanctioning and sanction types. Black families were 111 percent more likely than White families to receive at least one sanction in 2018-19. Black families who were enrolled in TANF received more sanctions for child support noncompliance (2018: 42 percent; 2019: 50 percent) than White families (2018: 30 percent; 2019: 34 percent). Mothers who were survivors of intimate partner violence voiced particular challenges with child support compliance. Policy recommendations include shifting to alternative cash assistance models and removing pass-through funding so that families receive the full child support benefit.

Evaluation of changes in eating habits of chronically mentally ill patients residing in 24-hour social welfare home, subject to various forms of health-promoting education.

INTRODUCTION: One of the decisive factors in maintaining good health and physical and mental fitness is proper nutrition. Its role becomes particularly important when a disease occurs, including chronic and mental illness. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was aimed at investigating whether, and to what extent, it is feasible to conduct health-promoting nutritional education and to implement principles of correct nutrition in chronically mentally ill patients residing in a 24-h Social Welfare Home (SWH). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 52 people staying in the 24-hour SWH for chronically mentally ill participated in the study. Nutritional education was conducted by a dietitian with whom a psychologist, nurse and physiotherapist collaborated. Nutritional education was aimed at accepting changes in the way of nutrition by changing the composition otfthe diet and food preparation, changing eating behavior (throwing food under the table, taking food from other residents, etc.) and changing the structure of own purchases. RESULTS: One year after the correction of the diet and nutritional supervision, a statistically significant increase in the consumption of vegetables, fruit, cottage cheese, fish and vegetable fats and a decrease in the consumption of white wheat bread, rennet cheese, cold meats and sugar and sweets. In the assortment of women's own purchases, the amount of cold cuts, sweets and cakes decreased, and apples and dairy products appeared. In men, the amount of cold cuts, cheese, cakes and sweetened drinks decreased, and fruits and fermented milk drinks appeared. A significant reduction in the value of the glycemic load was found: 2nd breakfasts, snacks and the value of a 24-hour diet. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that multidirectional pro-health nutritional education of chronically mentally ill people is reflected in their nutritional behavior. The fact that the respondents are aware of the influence of the diet on their health also translates into a change in the range of their own purchases.