By Diana Ling, MA, Program Manager and Leslie Sirrianni, LCSW, Senior Research Project and Training Coordinator; Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin A troubling trend has taken hold over the past two decades: drinking patterns among men and women have converged – and in some cases, young women ... Read More »
We want to know what you know—and wish you knew—about client alcohol use. Eight minutes is all it takes to help us better train and educate social workers who serve women, families, and others who may be at risk for alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorders and alcohol-exposed pregnancies. Your responses will be completely anonymous. NASW, along with other leading medical groups, ... Read More »
Alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs) are more common than you might think: according to a new study, an estimated 54 percent of children in the United States are exposed to alcohol before they’re born. The high prevalence of AEPs surprised even the study’s authors, who looked for what might be driving the trend. The answer? Unintended pregnancies—from when women drank without knowing ... Read More »
More than a year into the pandemic, the research is in: COVID-19 has taken a toll on women’s health, including increased levels of risky drinking. According to a study in JAMA Network Open, the number of days when women drank heavily – having four or more drinks in a couple of hours – increased by 41 percent compared to a ... Read More »
By Diana Ling, MA, Outreach Program Coordinator, Health Behavior Research and Training Institute, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, and Takia Richardson, LICSW, LCSW, NASW Senior Practice Associate, Behavioral Health National Women’s Health Week, May 10 through May 16, is an opportunity for all women to take five steps to better health: Eat healthy; exercise; ... Read More »
National Women’s Health Week—May 12-18—is a reminder for all women to take care of themselves and to make their personal health a priority. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health created National Women’s Health Week, now in its 20th year, to encourage women to build positive health habits. The recommendations—familiar but often overlooked in our stressful, ... Read More »
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a partner with the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) on a campaign to raise awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and reduce incidences of children being exposed to alcohol while in the womb. Please read this press release from NOFAS on results of a study on the prevalence of fetal alcohol ... Read More »
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Month is in September. Alcohol use during pregnancy is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities. FASD—the general term that encompasses the range of life-long adverse cognitive, behavioral and physical effects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure—affects up to one in 20 children in the United States, and ... Read More »
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