Child protection assessment practices in Estonia
After the Soviet Union era and decades of forced interruption, the social work profession development started again in Estonia in 1991. Social work in re-independent Estonia has not had a long tradition, therefore there is a strong need to develop an effective child protection system that responds to adequate satisfaction of children’s needs. The author of this article sought to understand how Estonian child protection workers assess cases where child protection concerns have been identified. The article is based on the case vignette findings from twenty child protection workers from different regions in Estonia. The study indicated that child protection workers’ level of skills and/or commitment to engaging families constructively in the assessment process differs. The assessment practices indicate that assessments are done for the client rather than with the client .
Graduate Social Work Students’ Approaches and Ways of Thinking in Child Protection Assessment: Case Vignette Reflections from Estonia
This article examines Estonian graduate social work students’ (MSW, n = 41) assessment approaches (deficit-based versus strengths-based) in the context of a child protection assessment through a case vignette format. The study found that students tend to focus more on a traditional deficit-based approach in their responses to a presented case, and less on capabilities and resources. The study indicates the need to find ways to promote more client-friendly approaches (for a shift in the way of thinking) in social work education to empower families through developing a respectful and effective helping relationship that promotes comprehensive assessment guided by social work values. Practice implications are discussed and recommendations for future research are outlined.
Stereoselective interaction between the R enantiomer of warfarin and cimetidine.
The stereoselectivity of the pharmacokinetic interaction between warfarin and cimetidine was investigated in eight healthy volunteers. The warfarin enantiomers were given separately as single doses (15 mg) alone and during chronic administration of cimetidine (1 g day-1). Cimetidine did not interact with S warfarin but there was an interaction with the R enantiomer of warfarin. Cimetidine caused a significant increase in the mean plasma half-life of R warfarin (from 47.8 h to 57.8 h) and a significant decrease in its mean plasma clearance (from 2.3 to 1.7 ml h-1 kg-1) (P less than 0.02). Administration of a pharmacological dose of vitamin K1 together with the enantiomers of warfarin was necessary clinically and resulted in elevation of vitamin K1 2,3-epoxide concentrations, which were similar in each case.