Collaboration/Macro Social Work

Race, Privilege, and Colin Kaepernick

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I am probably not the first, nor will be the last white social worker to address the concept of White Privilege.  Recent events have made me think deeply about this concept so here I go…
A few weeks ago renowned social worker Brene’ Brown and Activist Deray McKesson started a conversation on twitter. It started this way..

But transitioned into the intersection of race and privilege ..

The other highlight being Brene’ Brown agreeing with my thoughts…(really there were other highlights… I promise)…

In that moment, secondary trauma as a social worker became important but also the notion that we can grow from trauma arose.  But can as white person can I ever truly understand the trauma happening in African American communities right now? That is where the notion of shame drops in and recent events made me think about “shame”. As a person with privilege, should I feel shame or discomfort for wanting to do something about the racial narrative?

Fast forward to recent events of the Quarterback of the San Francisco 49’ers, Colin Kaepernick, deciding not to stand for the national anthem. He did this out of protest for African Americans who have lost their lives at the hands of police. There was a lot of rage and shaming him for these actions. There was outrage directed at him for making 61 million dollars per year but feeling that he is protesting for the oppressed. Can an African American who makes 61 million per year can he truly speak for the oppression happening in the African American communities?  People were asking “does he have the right to speak for the oppressed” ?  There was even question of his lighter skin tone and if he has “the right to protest” on these grounds.  With this twitter fought back with #KapSoBlack…

Clearly there are disturbing parts of the racial narrative in this country. I would like to think we have made progress with racism, but we have a long way to go. What can we do to bend the needle to change this? Seems like we can’t get out of our own way privilege is a an interesting barrier. Why was Kaepernick’s “right to protest” called into question?  Why was he shamed for protesting? This seemed to be about his perceived privilege. It made me think, as a white social worker with money what “right to protest” or speak up do I have? Should I feel shame for doing so?

Kaepernick’s protest forced me to do “the work” that Deray was talking about. In thinking about privilege and my social work practice, I went a little more strength-based (shocker for a social worker). Also I have been reflecting on Brene’ Brown’s use of the word shame.

Home visits in impoverished areas are part of my job. I have a beautiful home and I consider this a privilege. I have two college degree’s, this is also a privilege. The homes that I visit are not always as nice. They are often having difficulties accessing a primary education for their disabled children. This is something I don’t and should not take lightly. Should I feel shame and guilt about this difference?

Putting a more positive spin on the word I consider the invitation to their home as a privilege. They are in crisis of some kind, but why should they let me in the door? Why should they trust I will do right for them. The answer…

It is about the relationship…Relationships are important but they can often be the great equalizer. Through trust, dialogue, and co-producing a plan I am able to change this. It is about being vulnerable and acknowledging differences that “the work happens”. This is true on a micro-practice level.  This also can happen at the community.

I recommend that you read the whole dialogue between Brene’ Brown and Deray McKeeson FOUND HERE... This is also a great example of how a micro conversation can potentially drive change at a larger level.

This demonstrates the ability to recognize differences and flip “privilege” on its head. Lets acknowledge our differences, be vulnerable, develop relationships, and hopefully create some meaningful change along the way.

 

 

case mangagement/Macro Social Work/Supervision

Population Health or Good Old Fashioned Social Work?

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This week I ran into this article about the use of Geo-Spacial Tools for Anaylzing Population Health. This demonstrated the potential of using mapping technology that can be over-laid with various healthcare data.  I also remembered that social work colleague Samantha Teixeira did similar work with how social workers can use this technology for research. These two articles got me thinking about population health, what it means, and how social work should play a role.

I like to mix it up with the healthcare crowd on social media and have been hearing about population health for a while. In looking in the definition of population health, it can’t truly happen without social work values.

Defining Population Health is tricky. It was interesting to explore a variety of definitions but to keep things fairly simple I will borrow parts for the Wikipedia definition…  “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group”. Within subgroups one starts find variation and health disparities. Population Health shifts the focus from looking at individuals but to groups. This image via the ImprovingPopulationHealth.org captures the complexity of this definition well…

Social Deter. of Health
Image credit: ImprovingPopulationHealth.com

Taking a glance at this one can see why this relevant to social work. But does population health know how relevant social work is to it?

For those knowledgeable about population health but not social work, the “Social Work Core Values” are a great home base for our profession. They can be found in the preamble the National Association of Social Workers “Code of Ethics”.  The core social work values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationship, integrity, and competence fit well with population health.

Service– In service to others we have a deep understanding of connecting determinants to the outcomes. Service provides a “boots on the ground” view and how to intervene.  It is about finding ways to make a direct impact on the social determinants of health.

Social Justice – In looking at the disparities in healthcare this is clearly a social justice issue. Social work recognizes that huge gaps in access to services exist. This is one of the hallmarks of the social work profession. To close the gap between the “haves” and “have nots”. To ensure that everyone who has the right to healthcare service, receives it.

Dignity and Worth – In order to move population health forward one should start that everyone is worth something. No matter where you stand in social status, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.

Importance of Human Relationships–  In moving from individual health to population health one has to increase the scale of intervention. You are not only looking at one person but you are looking a families, groups, and communities. Social work excels at this.

Integrity–  Population health must be addressed in a manner that is honest and fair. One can’t just say you are “doing population health” you have to follow through with action.

Competence–  The above factors must be addressed in a clear and concise manner. One that demonstrates an evidence base and outcomes. Social work is equipped to take this from all angles especially developing policies that can move this forward.

So if you are a social worker that has not heard of population health, glad I could introduce you. More importantly if you are a facility working on population health, make sure you have a social worker on your side. Our training and core values prepares us well to move this mission forward.