3rd Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable

The 3^rd Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable

CSU, Sacramento – Alumni Center

Friday, October 3, 2013

9:00am to 3:30pm

Tracy Kent, EdD, MSW; and Emily Bruce, PhD, LCSW

The third consecutive Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable will be held at the Sacramento State Alumni Center on October 3, 2014. The mission and development of this “practice-research roundtable” is critical within the profession of social work because of its unique focus on the synergy between practice and research.

Over the past two years, the roundtables have focused on direct engagement between practitioners and researchersfor optimal outcomes in the social work field, as well as focused on the translation of information from practice to research and from research to practice. A significant objective of the Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable is to provide practitioners with the most up-to-date information available from the research. What is remarkable about this effort, in particular, is that it addresses not only how research informs practice, but equally important, the questions practitioners need answered; or how practice can inform research. The unique focus of this roundtable encompasses simultaneous information processes at work: Practitioners have the opportunity to inform researchers about the areas of concern in their specific area of practice, and researchers can respond, in turn, by engaging the practitioners in the development of the research effort in a joint attempt to address these issues. The product resulting from this exchange provides scientifically rigorous research that has practical application for the practitioner.

At the first roundtable Dr. Lawrence Palinkas (Brekke, Elle, & Palinkas, 2007) outlined key issues in the development of networks in terms of how information was shared. One key component of his presentation was the role of critical communication between researchers and practitioners. Not only did practitioners have to maintain fidelity to the research in order to see the outcomes that were promised; researchers had to hear the concerns of the community practitioners, and address those concerns. The elements that were involved in producing the information necessary for the practitioner to realize an effective client service included determining the level of analysis, and measuring the degree of success. Cultural brokers were identified as key to this process. Often the language of practitioners and researchers is somewhat different from each other. The cultural brokers are those individuals who are able to surpass boundaries that often exist between practitioners and researchers to help them understand each other.

The second yearof the Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable included a keynote by Haluk Soydan, PhD, Research Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean, Hamonvitch Research Center, USC. In his keynote address, Dr. Soydan discussed implementing research into social work practice. The process involved the cultural exchange, not only of knowledge, but the exchange of attitudes and practices, when different individuals and groups representing diverse cultural systems interact and engage in a process of debate and compromise (Translational Roundtable 2013, as cited in Palinkas & Soydan 2012, pp. 9-10, 175). Following the Keynote address, the afternoon session by Lynne Marsenich, LCSW, also presented about the process of implementing research efforts in the community setting; helping practitioners and those receiving services to successfully participate in research efforts to document when and how efforts led to the promised conclusions.

In this third Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable, the keynote address will be given by Dr. Jeffrey Edleson, Dean of the UC, Berkeley – School of Social Welfare. His topic will be: Collaboration for Change: Three Decades of Practitioner-Researcher Partnerships to Reduce Violence Against Women.

The afternoon session will feature aPanel Presentation by foster youth, foster agency administrators and the project researcher. They will discuss their experiences in outlining the role of research from their various perspectives and how this information came directly from the front line up to managerial level. This is essential when answering questions which are directly relevant to practitioners who utilize data from the analysis and research. Represented in both of these presentations will be 1) the collaboration between research and practice and 2) the response to questions that arise from the practice environment. These two areas have been a primary concern of the Translational Social Work Practice-Research Roundtable since its inception.

The success of narrowing the gap between research and practice will also require a change in our self-concept as social workers. Not only do we provide services in a variety of practice settings, but also at the various levels of intervention with a range of modalities.

Most important is how we define ourselves in the role of social worker.

If we think of ourselves as two separate entities, as social work practitioners and social work researchers, that perpetuates the gap. Instead we need to conceptualize ourselves as social work practitioner-researchers or conversely social work researcher-practitioners. Our role as social workers encompasses both (S. Gilson, personal communication October 24, 2013).

The translation and exchange of information within practice and research is instrumental in aiding prevention of problems and improvement of individual as well as within the profession of social work.

References

Brekke, J. S., Ell, K., & Palinkas, L. A. (2007). Translational science and the National Institute of Health: Can social work take its rightful place? Research on Social Work Practice, 17(1), 123-133.

Marsenich, L. (2013). The process of implementing research efforts in the community setting; helping practitioners and those receiving services to successfully participate in research efforts to document when and how efforts led to the promised conclusions. Presentation: Translational Social Work Roundtable.

Palinkas, L. A., & Soydan, H. (2012). New horizons of translational research and research translation in social work. Research on Social Work Practice, 22(1), 85-92. doi: 10.1177/1049731511408738.