Socialno delo, Vol. 38 (1999), Part 2
Abstracts
Editor's Notes
In Slovenia, HIV infection and aids do not (yet?) have the prevalence observed in more threatened countries, but neither are they wholly absent. Thus, the basic instructions for counselling presented in Miran olinc's contribution can perform even two functions at once: beside the immediate benefit for work with users - for some incidence does exist - it is also a piece of information social workers must be acquainted with - and not only about how it is done in countries with more experiences but also for a reconsideration of alternative forms of counselling enticed by its specific uses, i. e., its use in specific cases for which it does not suffice to simply apply some 'general' technique.
The old question of the double role of social workers is most interestingly dealt with in the paper by Jasna Cajnko. Even though it is known elsewhere as well, she points out that in Slovenia, it is enhanced in part, perhaps, by our historical heritage, but in part certainly also by still unsettled boundaries of the field, resulting in contradictory practice.
Miran Šolinc
Counselling about HIV Infection and AIDS
The paper gives basic but useful information on the epidemic, the epidemiological patterns and the ways of transmission of HIV infection. This is followed by the presentation of counselling, starting with the list of groups for whom counselling about HIV infection and AIDS is designed and who need it. The paper describes the ways of counselling before and after taking a test and in the cases when the result is either negative, equivocal or positive. Special attention is drawn to specific target groups such as infants, school children, seropositive children with haemophilia, and pregnant women. A separate section discusses the counselling of 'worried well'. Up-to-date information about HIV infection and AIDS cases in Slovenia are shown in conclusion. In appendices, (1) guidelines for the use of condoms, (2) general recommendations for individuals, persons with aids and their relatives, as well as professionals dealing with aids, and (3) further information for seropositive people are given.
Keywords: counselling, HIV virus, AIDS, testing, risk behaviour, 'worried well', prevention.
Miran Šolinc is a social worker, specialised for work with the people with aids.
Jasna Cajnko
The Provisions of Centres of Social Work under Close Scrutiny
The author presents her view of social policy in the frame of social care, as she experiences it at her work place. She scrutinizes the antagonism between what is 'professionally bound and ethical' versus 'involvement in the system and social control'. In this respect she observes the reactions of the public to the provisions entrusted to public institutes by public authorization, and looks for the reasons of the users' varying attitudes towards social work. She points out the double role of professionals at centres of social work who are educated in the humanities but must perform the tasks of other expertise, such as criminal and procedural law, and further, the fact that the work of professional social workers is often evaluated from the point of view of other professions, in particular those with longer traditions in this country.
Keywords: social policy, centres of social work, social control, autonomy of social- work.
Social pedagogue Jasna Cajnko is the director of the Centre of Social Work Ruše.