Now showing items 21-40 of 41

    • Evidence-Based Practice at the Crossroads: The Role of Common Elements and Common Factors

      Barth, Richard P., 1952-; Lee, Bethany R.; Lindsey, Michael A.; Strieder, Frederick H.; Evangelista, Nicole; Becker, Kim (2011-09-22)
    • The Common Elements Approach: Possibilities for Child Welfare Services

      Barth, Richard P., 1952-; Lee, Bethany R.; Lindsey, Michael A. (2011-05-04)
    • Dimensions of "doing justice": applications in different social work practice domains

      Garvin, Charles D.; Reed, Beth Glover; Reisch, Michael, 1948-; Yoshihama, Mieko (2009)
    • Doing Justice: Working for Change in a Rapidly Changing Society

      Garvin, Charles D.; Reed, Beth Glover; Reisch, Michael, 1948-; Yoshihama, Mieko (2008)
    • Community organizing & social activism in changing times

      Soifer, Steven; Meyer, Megan; Reisch, Michael, 1948- (2009)
    • Walter P. Carter: Civil Rights as a Field of Practice

      Chaiklin, Harris (2005-09)
      Article about the life of Walter P. Carter, social worker and civil rights activist. Article initially appeared in the September/October 2005 issue of The Maryland Sentinel, the newsletter of the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
    • Impact of South American heroin on the US heroin market 1993-2004

      Ciccarone, Daniel; Unick, George Jay; Kraus, Allison (2009-09)
      BACKGROUND: The past two decades have seen an increase in heroin-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. We report on trends in US heroin retail price and purity, including the effect of entry of Colombian-sourced heroin on the US heroin market. METHODS: The average standardized price ($/mg-pure) and purity (% by weight) of heroin from 1993 to 2004 was from obtained from US Drug Enforcement Agency retail purchase data for 20 metropolitan statistical areas. Univariate statistics, robust Ordinary Least Squares regression and mixed fixed and random effect growth curve models were used to predict the price and purity data in each metropolitan statistical area over time. RESULTS: Over the 12 study years, heroin price decreased 62%. The median percentage of all heroin samples that are of South American origin increased an absolute 7% per year. Multivariate models suggest percent South American heroin is a significant predictor of lower heroin price and higher purity adjusting for time and demographics. CONCLUSION: These analyses reveal trends to historically low-cost heroin in many US cities. These changes correspond to the entrance into and rapid domination of the US heroin market by Colombian-sourced heroin. The implications of these changes are discussed.
    • Factors affecting psychiatric inpatient hospitalization from a psychiatric emergency service

      Unick, George Jay; Kessell, Eric; Woodard, Eric K.; Leary, Mark, 1955-; Dilley, James W., 1951-; Shumway, Martha (2011-11)
      OBJECTIVE: As a gateway to the mental health system, psychiatric emergency services (PES) are charged with assessing a heterogeneous array of short-term and long-term psychiatric crises. However, few studies have examined factors associated with inpatient psychiatric hospitalization following PES in a racially diverse sample. We examine the demographic, service use and clinical factors associated with inpatient hospitalization and differences in predisposing factors by race and ethnicity. METHOD: Three months of consecutive admissions to San Francisco's only 24-h PES (N = 1,305) were reviewed. Logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between demographic, service use, and clinical factors and inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. We then estimated separate models for Asians, Blacks, Latinos and Whites. RESULTS: Clinical severity was a consistent predictor of hospitalization. However, age, gender, race/ethnicity, homelessness and employment status were all significant related to hospitalization. Alcohol and drug use were associated with lower probability of inpatient admission, however specific substances appear particularly salient for different racial/ethnic groups. DISCUSSION: While clinical characteristics played an essential role in disposition decisions, these results point to the importance of factors external to PES. Individual and community factors that affect use of psychiatric emergency services merit additional focused attention.
    • Heterogeneity in Comorbidity between Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder and its Clinical Consequences

      Unick, George Jay; Snowden, Lonnie R., 1947-; Hastings, Julia, Ph.D. (2009-04)
      Major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are highly comorbid and, as diagnoses, problematic because they are heterogeneous, may impair functioning even in subclinical manifestations, and may not predict important external criteria as well as empirically-derived classifications. The present study employed a latent class analysis using data from National Comorbidity Survey (1990-1992) and focused on respondents who endorsed at least 1 screening question for MDD and 1 for GAD (N = 1009). Results revealed 4 symptom domains (somatic anxiety, somatic depression, psychological anxiety, and psychological depression) reflecting the heterogeneity of MDD and GAD, and 7 respondent classes. Analysis revealed that people in classes with a high prevalence of either somatic anxiety or somatic depression symptoms presented with the highest levels of disability, distress, and service utilization. Evidence also was found for clinically meaningful subthreshold comorbid conditions. Anxiety-related and depression-related symptoms can be meaningfully differentiated, but differentiating between somatic and psychological symptoms has the greatest practical significance.
    • Differential item functioning of pathological gambling criteria: an examination of gender, race/ethnicity, and age

      Sacco, Paul; Unick, George Jay; Torres, Luis R., Ph.D.; Cunningham-Williams, Renee M.; Woods, Carol M. (2011-06)
      This study tested for the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) in DSM-IV Pathological Gambling Disorder (PGD) criteria based on gender, race/ethnicity and age. Using a nationally representative sample of adults from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), indicating current gambling (n = 10,899), Multiple Indicator-Multiple Cause (MIMIC) models tested for DIF, controlling for income, education, and marital status. Compared to the reference groups (i.e., Male, Caucasian, and ages 25-59 years), women (OR = 0.62; P < .001) and Asian Americans (OR = 0.33; P < .001) were less likely to endorse preoccupation (Criterion 1). Women were more likely to endorse gambling to escape (Criterion 5) (OR = 2.22; P < .001) but young adults (OR = 0.62; P < .05) were less likely to endorse it. African Americans (OR = 2.50; P < .001) and Hispanics were more likely to endorse trying to cut back (Criterion 3) (OR = 2.01; P < .01). African Americans were more likely to endorse the suffering losses (OR = 2.27; P < .01) criterion. Young adults were more likely to endorse chasing losses (Criterion 9) (OR = 1.81; P < .01) while older adults were less likely to endorse this criterion (OR = 0.76; P < .05). Further research is needed to identify factors contributing to DIF, address criteria level bias, and examine differential test functioning.
    • Linking Heroin Price and Heroin Overdose

      Unick, George Jay; Ciccarone, Daniel; Rosenblum, Dan (2012)
      PowerPoint presentation of a study to determine the relationship between the changing price of heroin and the number of heroin overdoses in the United States.
    • Longitudinal Outcomes for Community Mental Health System Clients Diagnosed with Schizophrenia

      Unick, George Jay; Madoff, Debrah; Santoni, Tim; Harring, Jeffrey, 1964- (2012)
      PowerPoint presentation hightlighting the results of a study of Maryland community mental health services outcomes for clients diagnosed with schizophrenia.