How The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is Relevant to Human Services Professionals - Essay Example

Human service 6-11 al Affiliation Assignment #6: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Explain How The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Udhr) is Relevant To Human Services Professionals Caring for Persons with Addiction One of the highly regarded elements of the United Nations is the protection and the promotion of human rights (Ife, 2012). Human rights and human dignity are deemed to be the basis for justice, peace and freedom in the world. Human rights education shares objectives and methodology with areas of education both formal and informal. This introduction of human rights is crucial given that it is a common point of intersection in a variety of trends in courses such as conflict resolution, peace education, multicultural education, and law-based education (Centre for Human Rights, 1994). Conversely, human services profession involves meeting human needs through a multidisciplinary approach with the aim of prevention and remediation of social issues. In addition, the profession aims at sustaining commitment to elevating the quality of life for the populations being served (Ife, 2012). For my final project, the area of consideration is managing people with addictions to substances and drugs such that they can manage to live independent and productive lives (Ife, 2012). This goal is achievable through involvement in planning, application, evaluation, and modification of preventative social services to individuals, groups, and communities. I have to intervene, use methodological approaches, work in a wide organizational framework, and provide social services to numerous sections of the population at macro, micro, meso, and macro levels. In their professional practice, human services professionals are expected to adhere to uphold human rights subject to geographical, socio-economic, spiritual, political, and cultural contexts. Geographical context represents the area of practice as defined by the boundaries of a nation, state, an agency, or a region, while the political context represents the political systems present in the country of practice and that sets the mode of practice, and whether the system is liberal or repressive, or social democratic or capitalist. When caring for persons with addiction, human service professionals have to consider aspects such as socio-economic context, culture, and spiritual lives of the society. When dealing with people, it is necessary to consider the social economic factors contributing to and reducing their addiction. For instance, it is essential to understand the extent of social cohesion of the affected group and how available resources are shared. In situations of unequal distribution, people tend to turn to drugs and other substances to handle stressful situations (Centre for Human Rights, 1994). A human service professional must also understand the culture of the individual, family, group, society, or nation they are dealing with and seek to obey them. For instance, marijuana is culturally accepted amongst Indians and so avoid prejudice seek for solutions to certain practices and beliefs of the affected group. Respect for any culture eliminates any form of discriminatory acts that may destroy their helping relationships. Finally, the social worker must understand that no society is value-free, thus necessitating the need to pay attention to the standards, the philosophies, the confidences, the morals, and the ideals of those they work with while adhering to their own social values (Centre for Human Rights, 1994). Explain Changes That These Human Service Professionals Might Need To Make To Ensure Compliance with the UDHR Since human rights are inseparable from human service practice, ethics, values, and theory, the human service professional must uphold and foster rights that correspond to the needs of the addicts. The UDHR reveals that humans are always striving for justice, freedom, and social justice as well as a world where people live in harmony. While in their work human services professionals must understand that conflicts are part of their strive to develop helping relationships and so must be resolved peacefully and in a constructive way other than through violent and destructive ways. In addition, a human service professional must seek to promote constructive and peaceful approaches towards conflict resolution for arising intergroup or interpersonal relations. They must make the people understand that hatred and vengeance breed hatred and vengeance respectively, while resistance achieves profitable results, especially when irrevocable differences are overcome using arbitration or conciliation. This means that besides assisting addicts, human service professionals are expected to assist the society to overcome social injustices against addicts and in turn assist them. For instance, human service professionals must ensure that the society quit from using any degrading or inhuman treatment against addicts. This way, the human service professionals will not just function as helpers, but also controllers with the duty to protect the addicts’ interests and that the society demands of competence and effectiveness (Centre for Human Rights, 1994). Reference Centre for Human Rights. (1994). Human Rights and Social Work: A Manual for Schools Of Social Work and the Social Work Profession. New York: United Nations. Ife, J. (2012). Human rights and social work : towards rights-based practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Discussion #6: Ethical Conflicts Brief Description of An Ethical Conflict Faced by the Professional in the Media Presentation The human service professional believes that the domestic violence issue between John and Chadana is a threat to his children and should be resolved (National Organization for Human Services, n.d). She is sympathetic to John since he has had no history of conflict with the law or violence and always loved his children. The HSP believes Chahana should accept she was angered John for being in bed with his cousin. Explain Why it is An Ethical Conflict and How You Would Address It Barbara suspects that the family will be in danger of breaking apart at the expense of their children if Barbara and John do not agree to resolve their problems (National Organization for Human Services, n.d). I would seek for the consent of Barbara and his wife to enlighten them on conflict resolution strategies that would work for them. Then, Support Your Post By Identifying A Code Of Ethics That Justifies Your Position My responsibility as a human service provisional to the clients must be issued in the context of informed consent. This means that through a clearly and well understood language, I should inform John and his wife the purpose of reasonable alternatives and offer them the opportunity to ask questions. Respond To Two Of Your Colleagues In One Or More Of The Following Ways What can human service professionals do individually and collectively to promote ethical services? Commitment to clients is viewed as promoting the well-being of clients and involves understanding the interests of the clients and the advising them accordingly to eliminate imminent and foreseeable risks that may hinder such commitment. Though HSPs are expected to respect and promote the self-determination rights of clients, they should avoid actions that pose serious and imminent risks for the clients and themselves. References National Organization for Human Services,. (n.d). Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=90 Discussion #7: Integrated Services An Explanation Of Why Integrated Services And Inter-Professional Collaboration Are Important Integrated services and inter-professional collaboration will enable John and Chahana to move easily through levels of care through only one contact person. This means that they will receive multi-professional assistance that will translate to more needs-oriented and person-centered service. For the human service (Laureate Education, Integrated Family Court: Chapter 5, 2014d) professional collaboration refers to working together where members of the human service profession work with members of other disciplines to guarantee high quality services. In addition, inter-professional collaboration promotes learning together to facilitate collaborative practice. Action plan for Chahana and John Action steps By whom By when Resources and support available/ needed Potential resistance or barriers Communication plan for implementation Have Chadana seek for forgiveness and John forgive her Family therapist Within a week The therapist identified Financial John is very angry an might resist The court should be informed and so are the police who arrested John To determine if the assistance recommended to the patient will be possible through insurance cover or whether additional costs are needed Human service professional Within a week Insurance cover Financial None The court must be informed To check the patients’ vitals and speak with the patient and the patient’s condition and provide education Nurse Within the first visit Insurance cover Financial None The court and the arresting police Respond To Two Of Your Colleagues’ By Suggesting Ways To Enhance Their Action Plans In order to enhance one’s action plan, it is crucial to understand that the plan involves multiple professionals who collaborate together for unified patient treatment. In this case, the roles and responsibilities of all relevant professionals must be clearly and concisely defined. Reference Laureate Education (Director). (2014d). Integrated Family Court: Chapter 5. Discussion #8: Understanding Ethnicity Brief Definition Of Ethnicity Based On The Presentation Of Ethnicity In The Learning Resources Although ethnicity has no agreed upon definition, in the United States uses the term to refer to immigrants or descendants and members of a minority immigrant group with customs, language, and religion that are not characteristic of the mainstream citizens (DePoy & Gilson, 2007). However, this definition is vague as it includes behavior and beliefs that set a group apart from other groups within the same population. To reinforce it, my preference is to include the elements of sharing unique culture, assignment of ethnic identity by others, or the assumption of an ethnic identity for self (DePoy & Gilson, 2007). Implication of Ethnicity on Care for addicts According to Ryn & Fu (2003), extensive evidence reveals ethnic disparity in the reception of numerous social and healthcare services. When caring for addicts, human service professionals must understand that people of color account for a significant amount of U.S. population and have high stakes in state decisions to implement especially the implementation of coverage among communities of color. A patient’s ethnicity, race, or language should not be used to influence the quality of care provided to addicts when in a helping relationship to recovery. Respond To Two Of Your Colleagues’ By Sharing Alternative Perspectives In most cases, human service professionals working with multi-ethnic groups tend to work with groups of people living in low status cities or regions, these people live under less favorable health and living conditions. Consequently, human service professionals must avoid falling into the pitfalls that could lead to false or biased conclusions especially arising from language or cultural differences. References DePoy, E., & Gilson, S. F. (2007). The human experience : description, explanation, and judgment. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Ryn, M., & Fu, S. (2003). Paved With Good Intentions: Do Public Health and Human Service Providers Contribute to Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health? American Journal of Public Health, 93(2), 248-255. Discussion #9: Policy Advocacy A Brief Description Of Two Different Human Services Organizations The two organizations are West Michigan Cancer Centre and ministry with the community. West Michigan Cancer Centre focuses on cancer patients with needs in treatment and family, work, and everyday life (Laureate Education, 2010). Ministry with community serves anyone within any kind of community with no requirements or referrals, hence deals with the broader population, including those who have lost their jobs and whose assistance involved job applications to regain hope and self-dignity. Explain How The Organizations You Selected Are Involved In Policy Advocacy Compassion is the driving force for the comprehensive cancer care provided by WMCC with the aim of treating the entire person through a patient-centered approach. Ministry with community begins with identification of needs or services, and then works together with the clients to assist them gain the right jobs as individuals or families. From Each Organization’s Perspective, Explain One Benefit And One Limitation Of Engaging In Policy Advocacy WMCC caters for people incapacitated to pay for cancer management services (Laureate Education, 2010). The major challenge is having patients come to terms with their situations and funding. Ministry with Community assists family recover from economic hard times through the provision of jobs. The major challenge is seeking funding as this requires partnerships with housing agencies to assist families get homes, donors and partners in the faith community, business community and foundations. Expand On The Postings Of Two Colleagues’ Postings By Sharing Additional Benefits With the Lifeline Initiative, Michigan has more economically stable citizens as they can afford to work and fed for their families. In addition, this program has greatly contributed to better lives for individuals and families since jobs have made it possible to deal with insecurity, unemployment and loss of housing. References Laureate Education (Director). (2010). History and Development of Human Services. Discussion # 10: Self-Care for Active Professionals Three Strategies I Plan To For Own Self-Care My self-care strategies include getting enough sleep, discover how, why, when, and where I feel deprived, and establish a personal routine and rhythm. For a great emotional and physical well-being, I plan to always seek for sufficient sleeping hours as a way or minimizing stress and proper functioning, especially since I have to be in class and work for most days of the week (Woodside & Mclam, 2014). Given that different patients present different situations, I believe it is crucial to be on the lookout to identify the situations that make me feel deprived and seek for the best approaches to deal with them. For instance, identify situations that make me feel deprived of a reading a good novel or taking a warm shower. Finally, I need a routine for my activities each day in order to make my life more stable, serene, and safe and secure. Respond To Two Of Your Colleagues’ By Sharing Additional Insights Or Alternative Perspectives I a colleague who wants to believe that saying ‘No’ is OK. Since human services require much collaboration and cooperation, this does not mean that one should commit self to each request even if they feel so burnout to participate. However, learning to say no frees ones inner strength and ignites confidence. Another colleague supports working handling bad moods and treating self with kindness and lots of understanding as well as finding distraction activities such as chatting with friends and not seeking for sympathy or making them feel bad too. References Woodside, M., & Mclam, T. (2014). An Introduction to the Human Services. United States: Cengage Learning. Discussion #11a: Technology With Human Services A Brief Description Of The Internet For a human service professional, the internet is a crucial communication tool, but if could result to the misinformation of the patients. When in helping relationships with drug addicts, technology will be useful for communication through emails. In addition, it will be a great source of useful information, reading materials, and testimonials that can be used by addicts to understand they are on a journey that other people before they have taken and recovered from addiction. In addition, the internet provides a link for networking where addicts can share their testimonies with other addicts or experts who will assist them on their way to the recovery (Laureate Education, 2010). Expansion Of A Colleague’s Idea I support that cell phones are crucial communication tools between patients and health care providers, and among health care providers (Laureate Education, 2010). However, most addicts, especially from low socioeconomic status backgrounds would not own a cell phone. In this case, communication will be cut short. Furthermore, using public telephones would require them to have money that may not easily be available. Pose A Question Relating To Using Technology Should cost be chosen over efficiency when keeping up technology in human services? In most cases, technology is embraced for its cost efficiency, especially when used personal benefits. However, in human service, efficiency would be the most preferred aspect because besides supporting personal needs, technology is embraced to promote the lives of the clients. References Laureate Education (Director). (2010). History of Development of Human Services. Discussion # 11B: Personal Challenges A Brief Description Of My Greatest Challenge The main challenge for me is the fact that patients come for care when bombarded with lots of invalid information. This means translates to lots of tension between the me and my patients as they have to compare the kind of treatment they receive from me to that explained in the internet. Some patients will also come with the kind of medication or care they believe will be best for them (Laureate Education, 2010). Two Strategies To Address The Challenge Using Examples The first strategy of dealing with this issue is calming the pre-informed patients and educating them on the importance of satisfaction with the care provided to them compared to the simple act of prescribing drugs to them (Laureate Education 2010). This will involve explaining to the patient the implications arising from the accessible medical information from the internet compared to seeking counselling from health providers, especially since the providers are not anonymous like the internet, hence promoting accountability(Laureate Education 2010). Secondly, I will not discourage the use of the internet for medical information and I will offer guidance to the client on how to evaluate quality information and offer suggestions of reliable resources. Response To At Least One Colleague Who Selected Different Challenges Than You Did My colleague conquered that the implementation of time-constrained interventions are the greatest challenge, particularly where the patient already has knowledge from the internet regarding what treatment works best for their body Laureate Education 2010). Such patients results in tension in client relationships and this affects the quality of care provided. References Laureate Education (Director). (2010). History of Development of Human Services. Read More