Project Brief Archive - School of Social Work

Equity at the Workplace

Work Equity partnered with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley to conduct the Boston Workplace Equity Study. The mission of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley is “… to create positive, lasting change for people in need.”

The Youth Readiness Intervention

The Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) is a promising approach for addressing mental health problems among at-risk youth in low resource settings. The YRI uses a structured, manual curriculum divided into 12 modules, with sequential 90-minute group sessions designed to be delivered by non-specialists. It integrates six empirically-supported practice elements shown to have trans-diagnostic efficacy across symptom dimensions of mental health disorders, ranging from major depressive disorder and anxiety to conduct problems. The YRI has three phases which are delivered in a sequential fashion: stabilization, integration, and connection. The YRI is designed to be integrated into education or livelihood programs and has been successfully implemented in Sierra Leone, Kenya, Columbia, and South Sudan.

Understanding Afghan Families Needs and Strengths During Resettlement and Refining Mental Health Measures for Afghan Youth

Through partnership with the International Rescue Committee's Switchboard Program, the RPCA is working to develop, refine, and optimize a mental health screening toolkit with psychometric properties and instrument functioning of mental health screening toolkits to provide refugee service agencies with a culturally relevant and statistically validated toolkit to use with Afghan children and youth. This research is currently being conducted to support new arrivals from Afghanistan so resettlement agencies and affiliates, state agencies, community-based organizations, and other Office of Refugee Resettlement funded organizations providing services to refugees can understand how to best work with vulnerable populations.

Family Strengthening Intervention for Early Childhood Development and Violence Reduction

The family strengthening intervention for early childhood development and violence reduction (FSI-ECD+VP) has been refined and developed over decades of work in post-genocide settings in Rwanda. Informed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Care for Child Development package the intervention (a) builds parenting skills and improves knowledge of ECD to create a safe, stimulating, and nourishing environment for the growth of young children with a focus on nutrition, health, and hygiene promotion; (b) coaches parents of young children in “serve and return” interactions and playful parenting; (c) develops a “family narrative” to build hope and highlight sources of resilience for addressing challenges and reducing the risk of violence; (d) strengthens problem-solving skills as well as the navigation of formal and informal community resources; and, (e) builds skills in parental emotion regulation and alternatives to harsh punishment. The FSI-ECD+VP integrates these core components into 12 modules and two booster/follow-up sessions through a home-visiting model and active coaching. Currently, the FSI-ECD+VP is being implemented in Rwanda, with a digital component to test effectiveness, as well as in Sierra Leone and Colombia.

Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees

The Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R) was developed and tested culturally and linguistically tailored in partnership with immigrant and refugee communities. The FSI-R is developed using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and is adapted for multiple cultures using the ADAPT-ITT framework. The FSI-R is designed to be delivered by non-specialists who are from the community they are serving in a home-visiting 10-12 module approach focused on building and supporting the whole-family during resettlement. Currently, the FSI-R is being implemented with Afghan resettled families.

Intergenerational/Longitudinal Study of War-Affected Youth and Families in Sierra Leone

The RPCA has pioneered the Longitudinal/Intergenerational Study of War that began in 2002 at the end of Sierra Leone’s civil war. We are investigating how toxic stress 'gets under the skin' and transfers over generations. This research is the first known effort in Sub-Saharan Africa to examine modifiable risk and protective biobehavioral mechanisms driving the intergenerational effects of war on the mental health of offspring.

The National Study of Workplace Equity Report

One of the first of its kind, the National Study of Workplace Equity aimed to understand the state of equity in U.S. workplaces using a nationally representative sample of 1,062 workplaces in the United States.

Inclusion and Well-being of Children with Special Needs in Kakuma Refugee Camp

Children in refugee camps, and particularly children with disabilities, face unique challenges to accessing education and are at high risk of being marginalized. This project combines Community Based System Dynamics with longitudinal survey data to provide recommendations for inclusive education in refugee camps, and to measure the effects of these strategies over time on children's well-being.

Boston Hospital Workers Health Study

The Boston Hospital Workers Health Study is a study of more than 22,000 workers at two large hospitals within Mass General Brigham. The goal of the newly funded phase of this study is to improve the health of the entire hospital workforce—not just bedside patient care providers—and reduce within-workforce disparities by identifying the roots of those disparities in working conditions.

Longitudinal follow-up of brief parenting interventions to reduce risk of child physical maltreatment

This project is designed to test the sustained effects of two brief parenting programs, Brief Primary Care Triple P (Level 2) and Play Nicely, and to examine the influence of social contexts on their efficacy and adoption. The main outcomes being assessed are attitudes toward and use of physical punishment, use of positive parenting practices, and child emotional and behavioral adjustment.

Targeting Health Disparities through Housing Redevelopment: A Natural Experiment of Housing Quality, Stability, and Economic Integration

This project seeks to exploit a novel, multi-arm natural experiment of public housing redevelopment, in which subsets of public housing residents will be displaced and assigned to different environments versus remaining in place. Using a rigorous mixed-methods design to fill critical holes in the knowledge base, we will address whether improving housing quality, limiting external displacement, and creating mixed-income communities improve the physical, mental, and behavioral health of public housing residents.

Social-ecological approach to livelihoods in rural India

In collaboration with Foundation for Ecological Security, community-based system dynamics was used to understand the interconnections between social, ecological, and economic systems to design more effective programs for sustainable livelihoods in rural India.

Integrating Systems Science Approach to Enhance Adoption and Sustained Use of Cleaner Stoves in Kigeme Refugee Camp

This project aims to examine factors that impact the adoption and use of cleaner cooking systems in a humanitarian setting in Rwanda through systematic research and system science approaches.

Maternal Depression and Childhood Obesity

This project focuses on understanding the links between maternal mental health and the development of childhood obesity, while also investigating racial/ethnic disparities in childhood obesity to identify the best intervention approaches.

Global Program on Migration, Refugees, & Humanitarian Assistance

A working group that brings together students, faculty, and staff working on areas of common interest including: migration, refugees, humanitarian assistance, and international development. The initiative fosters collaborative research opportunities among faculty; engages doctoral students in transdisciplinary research and implementation science; and provides opportunities for master’s and undergraduate students to engage in community-driven research projects.

Work Equity

Work Equity advances efforts by employers to address the racial and gender workplace inequities revealed by COVID-19, utilizing insights gained from conversations with leaders of state and regional Chambers of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management Initiative, SHRM (the Society of Human Resource Management), the United Way, and other key stakeholders in issues related to quality of employment.

Fathers & Families

This cohort study involving over 1,200 biological, adoptive, and social fathers of preschool-aged children and their co-parents comprehensively examines the role of fathers in childhood obesity prevention.

MI VACUNA explores vaccination rates in Latinx adults with mental illness

In partnership with NeighborHealth, behavioral health clinicians are trained to use motivational interviewing to engage Latinx patients missing a COVID or influenza vaccine in a guided conversation about vaccination.

Mary Ellen McCormack Public Housing Redevelopment Project

Located in South Boston, Mary Ellen McCormack (MEM) is an 80-year-old deteriorated public housing development that is home to more than 1,000 racially and ethnically diverse low-income families. Starting in 2022, MEM will undergo a $1.6 billion redevelopment to be converted into a mixed-income, mixed-use community where deeply affordable units for current MEM residents will be mixed with market-rate units. BCSSW is a core member of a multi-sector partnership to create an evidence-based integrated social service model for the redeveloped community.

Exploring Solar Implementation Dynamics and Entrepreneurship in Rural India

We used system dynamics modeling to develop an initial conceptual model exploring drivers and barriers to adoption and sustained use of solar energy technology to address energy poverty in rural communities in India. We built on this formative model by using a community-based system dynamics approach to engage communities in the process of sharing their perspective of solar technology implementation dynamics and entrepreneurship development. Undergraduate students were also involved through two interdisciplinary courses on social entrepreneurship that culminated with field work throughout India.

Solar Energy Implementation and Entrepreneurship Promotion in Energy Poor Communities of Rural India

Approximately one billion people in the world have no access to electricity. 244 million of these people live in India. This project aims to build entrepreneurial capacity and render training to rural poor households, particularly women, on assembly, distribution, maintenance, and manufacturing of solar products. In addition, it provides school children in rural, poor households with off-grid solar lamps.

The Impact of Upstream Prevention of Homelessness on Youth Educational and Developmental Outcomes

Boston College School of Social Work and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley are collaborating to respond to family homelessness in Massachusetts and its negative impact on youth outcomes. The goal is to improve outcomes for families experiencing housing instability through a coordinated approach to research and the translation of findings for use by practitioners and policymakers.

The Health and Wellbeing of Venezuelan Families in Diaspora

We are conducting a longitudinal study, in partnership with Corporación Nuevos Rumbos, with Venezuelan families who have migrated to Colombia.

News & Events

2024

2023

Master of Social Work Program

Initiatives