Conner receives Pitt Momentum Funds

Dr. Kya Conner, Director of the Center on Race and Social Problems and Associate Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, was awarded a Teaming Award from the University of Pittsburgh through the Momentum Funds initiative to support the project entitled "Creating Synergies and Collaborations to Advance Race-Based Research at the University of Pittsburgh" . This project leverages Directors/Associate Directors of the six research centers with a racial equity lens across the University of Pittsburgh to engage in strategic planning and visioning, research team development, and the development of a race-related research database with the Center on Race and Social Problems in the School of Social Work as the lead. One of the objectives of this project is to create a localized repository of race-related research and scholarship that will further amplify the work of local race-based research and create meaningful connections to community partners and external racial equity scholars. This work has the potential to empower communities to participate in the research process and have a voice in shaping the solutions to their own challenges, generate new knowledge and insights that challenge dominant narratives and assumptions and inform policy and practice that are more responsive to the needs and interests of diverse populations. The ultimate goal of this project is to better position the University of Pittsburgh as an epicenter for racial equity research. Co-investigators include Mr. Ron Idoko (School of Social Work and Fredericks Honors College), Dr. Catherine Koverola (Center for African Studies), Dr. Tiffany Gary-Webb (Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health), Dr. Gabby Yearwood (Department of Anthropology), Dr. Zuly Inirio (Center for Ethnic Studies), Dr. T. Elon Dancy (School of Education) and Dr. Felix Germain (Department of Africana Studies). Read more.

Ohmer project to be featured on radio program this Wednesday

The Pittsburgh Study and ReCAST (Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma) team have been invited to appear the radio program, The Inside Page, which airs on 620 KHB am, 92.3fm, 94.1fm, 102.1fm, and online at bciradio.net. The interview is on Wednesday March 27th and will be broadcast live from 10:00am-11:00am. It will also be recorded. Guests will include Dr. Mary Ohmer, Jamil Bey from UrbanKind Institute and Theresa Jenks, Facilitator from the West Side project. 

Rubash Lecture with Lisa Fairfax this Thursday!

The University of Pittsburgh Schools of Law and Social Work are co-hosting the 2024 Rubash Lecture on Thursday, March 28th from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m! Join us for an exciting evening at Pitt's University Club, comprised of a reception and lecture.

We are honored to welcome Lisa Fairfax, Presidential Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and co-director of Penn Law’s Institute for Law & Economics (ILE), as this year's distinguished speaker.

REGISTER HERE

“Flourishing AAPI Communities and Beyond” symposium a success

The School of Social Work and the NASW-PA chapter jointly hosted an AAPI Mental Health Symposium titled “Flourishing AAPI Communities and Beyond” on March 7th, 2024. Doctoral students, Christina B. H. Babusci and Jenn Lee took the initiative to organize this event under the guidance of Dr. Deborah Moon. The speakers addressed such topics as racial trauma, local resources, and advocacy within AAPI communities. The DEI leadership panel discussed strategies for fostering alliances, partnerships, and synergy among DEI advocates working with Asian, Black, and Latinx communities. The event was generously funded by the School of Social Work, NASW-PA, CRSP, Pitt Business, and the Asian Studies Center.

ICYMI: World Social Work Day Lecture video now available

You can now watch the video of the 2024 Teller World Social Work Day Lecture with Dr. Reggie Ferreira of the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Academy.

Interested in climate change and environmental justice? Do you want to know how social work can join the movement for a more equitable environment?

Learn how to make a difference from a social work perspective in the fight for climate justice to create a more equitable future for everyone!

Innovations in Opioid Use Treatment

In ‘Telemedication for Opioid Use Disorder: A New Approach for Treatment’, the authors, Rebecca A. Georgiadis, Paige Sable, and Daniel Rosen, explore how medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment delivery at an urban federally qualified health center (FQHC) has been shaped and transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although attendance at MOUD appointments and urine drug screen completion rates trended downward during fully remote care, they approached pre-pandemic levels with the implementation of hybrid services. Read more.

Animal Companionship during COVID-19

In ‘Qualitative exploration of the dog acquisition process during the COVID-19 pandemic: impact on owners' loneliness and isolation’, the authors, Sahana Sridar and Mary Elizabeth Rauktis, investigated dog adoption in Western Pennsylvania during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other questions, they asked: were people motivated to adopt a dog as a replacement for human contact during a period of enforced isolation? How did people acquire their dogs during the pandemic? And finally, did having a dog optimize happiness, or did supporting another living creature during a pandemic become a source of stress? Read more.

Caught in the Neoliberal Churn: Pushing Back Against “Productivity” as a Measure of Impact

In their new paper, ‘Caught in the Neoliberal Churn: Pushing Back Against “Productivity” as a Measure of Impact’, the editors, Sara Goodkind, Jennifer Zelnick, Mimi Kim, and Sam Harrell, reflect on the ways in which capitalism undermines our ability to conduct social work research of impact and provides recommendations for fostering academic environments that encourage thoughtful, meaningful, and impactful scholarship. Read more.

Using Research to Build Power: The Pittsburgh Wage Study

In ‘Using research to build power: the Pittsburgh Wage study’ Jeffrey Shook, Sara Goodkind, Kess Ballentine, Jihee Woo, Ray Engel, Holley Tillman, and Tess Schleitwiler highlight the critical importance in social work research of: building relationships; centering the questions and concerns of community partners; disseminating research findings via a diverse range of platforms; and using research insights to build political power. Using the Pittsburgh Wage Study as a case study, the authors of this paper ask social work researchers to move beyond the realm of entrenched academic structures to build community power for societal impact. Read more.

Financing Collaborative Care

Check out this new paper by Brianna M. Lombardi, Catherine Greeno, and Lisa de Saxe Zerden, ‘Examining the use of psychiatric collaborative care and behavioral health integration codes at federally qualified health centers: A mixed-methods study.’ Financing services is critical for the successful implementation of integrative care models. In their research, the authors find that a lack of billing clarity and awareness at federally qualified health centers is hindering the adoption of Psychiatric Collaborative Care Models. These findings suggest that education about existing reimbursement mechanisms will enhance the use of evidence based integrated behavioral health care models. Read more.