Drafting a Process Evaluation 6311

6

Analyzing Focus Group Findings

Tolulope I. Moses

Master of Social Work, Walden University

SOCW 6311

Dr. Ashley Nazon

April 1, 2022

Introduction

One dominant barrier that I have noted in providing better health services for patients is the social stigma associated with mental illness (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Based on the data that was provided, there are several challenges, stigma and biases associated with mental health services resources and patients’ views. Stigma can be described as the negative perception directed toward persons suffering from mental distress. If no checks and balances are applied, stigma may lead to unwarranted discrimination of persons with mental illness.

Discuss the themes found in the Week 5 Handout: Content Analysis of Focus Groups. Based on this data, what is your analysis of the current barriers to services?

Social stigma affects how patients seek medical attention from physicians and psychiatrists. For example, due to social stigma and discrimination, patients may stop taking medication, making their situation more complex. Perceptively, due to feelings of shame and hopelessness, patients may result in isolation, increasing the risk of other medical conditions developing. It has been noted that patients may fear facing psychiatrists. Since these patients do not trust psychiatrists and other health professionals, providing needed care becomes challenging. Successful treatment of patients requires building positive rapport to promote patient confidence. However, the prognosis process does not improve patients' health outcomes with the social stigma.

Financial difficulty is cited as another barrier to providing care services to mentally ill patients (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). If a patient cannot afford to pay for psychiatrist services, they are reluctant to seek professional medical care. Some health professionals charge high fees, especially for specialized psychiatrists services which prevent struggling patients from accessing necessary services. Consequently, few people with a mental health condition with insurance covers or financial capability can access the much-needed care while most continue to live in deplorable conditions.

Two social work recommendations to address a current barrier and explain how the recommendation proposed addresses the findings.

The issue of social stigma affects the health of patients and the provision of health services to mentally ill patients. As a social worker, I suggest two potential recommendations to address the issue. First, it is paramount to adopt a culturally-sensitive approach when dealing with mentally-ill patients. For example, people with mental health conditions suffer from discrimination directed toward their state (Marsiglia & Booth, 2015). Using language to point out a specific behavior associated with mental illness can result in an adverse reaction from other people. Language plays a vital role in shaping cultural perspectives in many communities. Social stigma pushes mentally-ill patients away from the social circle leading to isolation and loneliness. For example, dealing with Chinese patients may be difficult, given they are generally unwilling to open up during a conversation with the doctor. It also makes it difficult to establish common ground by building trust to allow for effective intervention between the patient and the doctor. When language barriers hinder the provision of health services, the overall health outcomes are not significant. Thus, principal stakeholders in social work should develop policies rich in cultural backgrounds to create a productive environment that accommodates the needs of culturally-diverse mental patients. Second, financial constraints have negative implications on the patients' health in general. Thus, the social work fraternity should develop financial policies to reduce the burden of acquiring mentally-related health services (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). For example, insurance covers that include personal psychiatrist fees compensation can encourage more people with a mental health conditions to seek medical attention.

How you would collaborate with the research stakeholders (e.g., service providers and community members) to ensure that the data are interpreted accurately and that the practice recommendations will be culturally appropriate.

  Collaboration is a significant feature to promote a holistic approach to providing health services to disadvantaged groups (Abuhammad & Dalky, 2019). To ensure a comprehensive interpretation of the focus group data, I would engage other stakeholders in different capacities. For example, the community members would play a significant role in fighting social stigma among mentally-ill patients through sensitization. Service care providers such as psychiatrists would be engaged to provide therapy sessions to the patients. Due to damage caused by social stigma, psychiatrists can work collaboratively with other professionals to restore patients' confidence. OB nurse would be involved in daily monitoring of the patients to determine progress daily.

What specific cultural knowledge do you think you need to obtain to conduct culturally sensitive research with this group?

Cultural competence is a prerequisite for all social workers (Lee et al., 2016). It is a necessary tool to enlist and understand patients with diverse cultural backgrounds. One of my vital skills is cultural knowledge. I have a vast knowledge of different cultural backgrounds, making it easy to interact with my patient easily. For instance, other ethnic groups such as Asians, African-Americans, and Hispanics have different perceptions regarding prevention measures to address mental illnesses. Thus, with my cultural skills, I interpreted the group data by relating it to different perspectives held by diverse communities. Additionally, having worked and lived among other groups, I can use my knowledge to address intersectionality among the focus group and provide centered care to my patients. I also feel that obtaining skills in promoting multiracial alliance among communities can be significant in conducting culturally sensitive research.

Summary

Cultural awareness and competence play a huge role in how social workers effectively carry out their services when dealing with culturally sensitive clients. And this was also emphasized by NASW that “Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients' cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients' cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups.” (NASW, 2018). For social workers to be culturally competent, there is need to look at, traditions, beliefs, background, values, and belief of clients in other to effectively provide services. When social worker understands and has more knowledge about clients, there will be little or no barrier to effectively serve the client.

References

Abuhammad, S., & Dalky, H. (2019). Ethical Implications of Mental Health Stigma: Primary Health Care Providers’ Perspectives. Glob J Health Sci, 11, 165-74 L: https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v11n12p165

Lee, M. Y., Wang, X. I. A. F. E. I., Cao, Y. I. W. E. N., Liu, C. H. A. N. G., & Zaharlick, A. (2016). Creating a culturally competent research agenda. Strategies for deconstructing racism in the health and human services, 51-66

Marsiglia, F. F., & Booth, J. M. (2015). Cultural adaptation of interventions in actual practice settings. Research on social work practice, 25(4), 423-432 https://doi.org/101177/1049731514535989

National Association of Social Workers. (2018). Code of Ethics of National Association of social workers. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T.E. (2013). Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing & health sciences, 15 3, 398-405 https://doi.org/ 10.1111/nhs.12048