International activities and developments
Visiting Professors
Professor Suzanne Leveille
We look forward to the return visit of Professor Suzanne Leveille from Harvard Medical School in October 2009. Professor Leveille is the world expert on the link between falls and chronic pain in older people. Her epidemiological work has established that pain is a strong, independent risk factor in falls. She was last here in 2008. Suzanne will work with colleagues in the Health and Social Care Institute (HSCI) who are involved in research into older people, pain and falls. She will also deliver seminars and master classes, and continue her work in advising us on our research student work.
Professor Carl Paternite Economic and Social Research Council Seminar Series
Professor Janet Shucksmith, Assistant Dean (Research), recently played host to the final seminar of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) series which focused on the School’s role in improving and treating young people’s mental health. The keynote speaker was Carl Paternite, Professor of Psychology at Miami University in Ohio, USA. Carl is the director of the Centre for School based Mental Health Programs and is involved regionally and nationally in efforts to promote evidence based, school based mental health programming. He also directs the Ohio Mental Health Network for School Success. He has a particular interest in approaches to involve educators more fully in school based mental health efforts, and is well known for his research on external validation of diagnostic models for childhood, adolescent and young adult ADHD and disruptive disorders, as well as on social contextual factors which contribute to the development of behaviour problems. Janet noted that the ESRC series has been a great success, forging new national and international research partnerships, and developing theoretical and practical understanding of the part schools have to play in this very important issue.
Professor Peter Simbi
The School and the team welcomed Peter Simbi, Professor of Social Work at Stephen F Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, USA. He teaches at bachelor’s and master’s degree levels and serves as Director of Degree Programmes. Originally from Uganda, Peter’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration from Makerere University, Uganda, and master’s and PhD degrees in social work from the University of Minnesota. When Peter joined the School on his sabbatical leave he said, ‘As well as teaching I will visit social service agencies, particularly those serving rural areas, to learn how these agencies collaborate to provide services. I will also be exploring opportunities for collaboration between Teesside University and Stephen F Austin State University, particularly exploring faculty exchange opportunities, research and possible student exchanges.’ Such international links demonstrate the University’s growing prestige.
International events
Public Health and Palliative Care: The view from the UK
Dr Steve Conway of Teesside University was invited to present his paper on public health and palliative care: The view from the UK at the first international conference on Public Health and Palliative Care, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. The conference brought together practitioners, academics and policy makers interested in public health approaches in palliative care, often referred to as ‘health promoting palliative care’, with delegates from countries including Ecuador, Canada, America, India, Bangladesh, UK and Eire, and Australia. Plenaries, research papers and posters were presented on the history and current state of public health approaches with specific practice examples.
Activities around the conference included visiting schools and the University of Koyilandy Palliative Care Campus Unit, which is involved in the local Neighbourhood Network in Palliative Care. A number of research and knowledge sharing opportunities at the conference led to further developments and activities for those concerned. These include an edited collection by Steve, Governing Death and Loss (Oxford University Press), and a proposal for an edited book by the organisers. Research links are developing with St Joseph’s Hospice, London, and St Therese’s Hospice, Darlington. Proposals for information sharing between colleagues in the School interested in community organised palliative care were made with Dr Helen-Anne Manion, Order of Australia Medal (2002), and Dr Kerrie Noonan from Home Hospice, Australia. It is good to see the advancement of knowledge and skills through the international dissemination of expert knowledge in the field of public health and palliative care.
Invitation from the President
Dr Terry Murphy from the social work team was invited by the President of Uzbekistan to present as a keynote speaker at a recent international conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The conference considered the modernisation of national Social Work and educational services to children in a regional and international context. Terry presented at a ministerial forum hosted by the prime minister on the adaptation of western practice models to the developing world context, and in a number of practitioner seminars.
Uzbekistan has a population of 28 million, about half that of the United Kingdom, and forms part of the central Asian region of independent countries which were until relatively recently part of the Soviet Union. The social work team have been involved in modernising the services to children and families as part of an agreement between the School and the United Nations children’s organisation UNICEF and the development charity Every Child. As part of their work they have been involved in modernising the national social work curricula and introducing modern education methods such as problem based learning and the production of video training material in Russian and Uzbek. Terry says: 'I would really recommend any social worker who has the opportunity to take some time out of their UK practice to offer some consultancy to a developing country; it’s certainly one of the most fascinating opportunities available to experience practice in a totally different context or culture.'
Those interested in developing international practice are encouraged to look at the websites of these international bodies:
Working in central Asia
The social work team negotiated a contract with UNICEF/Every Child to work in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, developing social work programmes. Several members of the team have been involved in this, including Terry Murphy, Helen Woolley, Alison McInnes and Maggie Jackson. Maggie Jackson reflected:
'I have been working, along with Alison McInnes, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, doing some work with a UNICEF/Every Child project that Teesside University is involved with, setting up a social work course at the university there. We were there to develop materials for this course and to do some teaching in the university. Our work is to help develop the skills and theoretical understanding needed to do social work in the modern – if not post-modern – world.'
