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Negotiating challenges: social development in Asia
- Author:
- OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 20(1), June 2010, pp.82-94.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper reflects on the concerns of social development and the contribution of social work in Asia as one of the many forces in social change and development. In Asia, the vision in professional social work is contributing to the goal of building communities and a better society for individual betterment. Within this vision, social development is perceived as part and parcel of professional social work in tune with the socio-cultural, economic, and political context of the society in which it is practiced. However, the linkages between local concerns in Asia and global concerns are inevitable. Some examples from Asian countries are used as illustrations, specifically looking at older people, poverty, children, and migrants. The conclusion is that social development involves more than government initiatives, social philanthropy, and professional social work. Social work’s involvement in social development also includes helping to galvanise the participation of beneficiaries of social development at the local level and to engage the political will of policymakers and the business community in the global platform.
Burden of care and childhood cancer: experiences of parents in an Asian context
- Author:
- OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Work, 28(3), August 2003, pp.232-240.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Reports on a two-phase qualitative study on parents experiences of psychosocial needs arising from having a child with cancer in multicultural Singapore. Given the value of children to Asian families and the practical support available in a collectivist context, the author expected the subjective burden of care to be more pronounced than the objective burden at the initial stage of treatment and the objective burden to be greater after discharge from the hospital. Findings showed subjective burden consistently higher at both phases. Discusses the implications for psychosocial support for parents are discussed.
Social work in a multicultural context
- Author:
- OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 42(12), January 1999, pp.7-14.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Social work practice and education are a reflection of the historical, social, economic and political context of the society the profession seeks to serve. This paper is a discussion of recent developments in multicultural Singapore in social service provisions for the elderly, the family and those with very low income, and the involvement of the social work discipline. The emphasis is on the fine balance in providing services which meet broad societal objectives and also reflect sensitivity to the cultural and social differences and needs of various subgroups.
Mental health care: the Singapore context
- Author:
- OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 8(1), March 1998, pp.120-130.
- Publisher:
- Times Academic
This article describes the remedial and preventive mental health care available in Singapore, with special emphasis on how world-views and other social-cultural factors influence diagnosis and psychosocial treatment of the mentally ill. Certain behavioural concepts typical to the local population and significant in help-seeking therapy, especially in the area of family counselling and support, are included in the discussion on in-patient and community care. Effective delivery and usage of services are shown to be dependent on the ability to blend professional knowledge with the world-views and cultural expectations of the service-user.
Do caregiver beliefs matter? An exploratory study of palliative caregiving decisions in Singapore
- Authors:
- JINGYI Lin, OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 21(1), June 2011, pp.54-70.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The focus of this paper is on the death and dying-related beliefs of caregivers and how this influences their caregiving behaviours. The study is based on the biopsychosocial-spiritual-environmental framework which represents a holistic view of end-of-life care. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 3 primary caregivers of patients diagnosed with terminal illness. The findings are discussed under the following domains: biological, psychological, social, spiritual, and environmental. The findings highlight how caregiving behaviour is associated with the biopsychosocial-spiritual-environmental beliefs of the caregivers. These beliefs could have been influenced by the caregivers’ past experiences with death and dying. Financial difficulty was found to be an obstacle hindering caregivers from providing the kind of care they believed was best for the patients. The article concludes that this framework can help to provide a structure to understand caregiving decisions. The need for face-saving and culturally sensitive helping strategies in order to remove barriers to help seeking from caregivers is also discussed.
Family secrets and the disclosure of distressful information in Chinese families
- Authors:
- OW Rosaleen, KATZ Dafna
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 80(6), November 1999, pp.620-628.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
Multiple in-depth interviews with fifteen Chinese families in Singapore were conducted to study family adaptation arising from the diagnosis of chronic childhood illness. Motivations for keeping family secrets appeared to be related to the behaviour rules of a collectivist culture, emphasising "saving face", maintaining group harmony and hierarchical roles. Disclosures of distressful information were found to be selective. Implications for practice in the health settings, policy issues and intervention (e.g. the role of the social worker in facilitating open disclosure among family members to enhance family adjustments) are discussed.
Development of a research proposal to explore needs and service utilization among the conjugally bereaved in Singapore. Lessons learnt from a pilot study
- Authors:
- WOO Ivan M.H., OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 21(1), June 2011, pp.6-17.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Spousal bereavement is an experience that takes a huge toll on the conjugally bereaved individual’s physical and mental health. This pilot study was an attempt to provide insights on possible ways to build capacity and capability for family-oriented bereavement care for baby boomers in Singapore. More specifically, it aimed to identify important issues for exploration, inform the strategy for data collection, and anticipate potential obstacles in the larger study. Three participants who had experienced spousal bereavement were recruited from HELP Family Service Centre and Assisi Hospice. The participants were interviewed using a guide that included questions on challenges, coping, balance between spousal loss and the need to manage activities of daily living, and service utilisation. Issues found worthwhile for further exploration were the influences of ethnicity, employment, community support, the experience of historical events, gender, and the perceived quality of the marital relationship between the bereaved and the deceased. The study showed that the family life cycle is a useful theoretic framework to account for needs and service utilisation among bereaved spouses.
Issues and challenges in cross cultural counselling in Singapore
- Authors:
- OW Rosaleen, OSMAN Maliki M.
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 13(1), June 2003, pp.81-98.
- Publisher:
- Times Academic
Examines the views of the Chinese and Malay Muslim Singaporean from the perspective of how values and beliefs arising from different religious and cultural background impact on perceptions about social behaviours, life goals, problem defined and problem solving. Discusses the implications for cross cultural counselling and three levels of competence and well as the question of relevant models for social service delivery in a multicultural context.
Towards a cultural accommodation model for effective cross counselling in Asia
- Authors:
- LEONG Fredrick T.L., OW Rosaleen
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 13(1), June 2003, pp.1-21.
- Publisher:
- Times Academic
Uses the Cultural Accommodation Model as a theoretical framework for analysing different approaches to cross cultural counselling. Based on the tripartite model of the Universal, Group and Individual dimensions to human personality and identity, the cultural accommodation model proposes that an integration of all three dimensions are essential for culturally relevant and culturally effective approaches to cross cultural counselling in Asia.
Permanency planning: families of children with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- OW Rosaleen, LANG Fu Ji
- Journal article citation:
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work, 10(2), September 2000, pp.73-85.
- Publisher:
- Times Academic
Discusses findings of a qualitative study of 17 families with a child with intellectual disability in Singapore covering propensity towards permanency planning and systematic or individual factors that influenced the process. In a collectivistic society, the familial network is expected to assume long-term care of the child with disability at the disablement or demise of elderly parents. Several systematic and perceptual factors seemed to work against this ideal. Discusses implications for supporting permanency planning at an early stage of the family life cycle.