Xuan Liu Case Study

Yu (not her real name), from Nanjing, China. The client has been living in Melbourne for over 20 years with her son and daughter. The daughter is a real estate property manager and lives in Melbourne while her son currently lives in Adelaide now. The client was diagnosed with brain cancer in October of 2016. According to her husband, she fell down on the street. 1 Lack of Social Support Since the client’s son lives in Adelaide, it is difficult for him to frequently visit. On the other hand, the daughter’s work is a property manager is too engaging for her to find time to take care of the client even after work. Although the client did not complain to her family members about the lack of social support, I personally felt that she needed support from her children because the husband could not provide the required emotional and social support.

Considering my client’s situation, it is difficult for her to move around in the nursing home and make new friends resulting in poor social support to the patient. This is another case of social division due to disability on the part of my client. The lack of entertainment is a risk factor to my client because it limits her knowledge of the outside world and may result in loss of interest in life. Consequently, my client experiences ethical social division because she cannot understand English. 4 Lack of exercise Considering my client’s medical condition, she is not able to move her body parts except her right arm. Nevertheless, she needs to exercise with the help of a physical therapist. The physical therapist on the other hand, does not report regularly for the exercise sessions but only gave the family the various exercise procedures my client is supposed to undergo.

We visit her regularly one hour per week sometime one hour per 14 days). During this visits, my client always said she is good or rather ok. Her husband is a very talkative person and during the first-time visit, he talked a lot. I observed that sometimes my client wants to talk but she cannot find the right time to join the conversation and therefore she just listens. This is an oppression based on disability and power. This is the typical oppression for my client when I helped them as a social worker. 2 Social workers do not aware of Oppression One afternoon, I asked my client whether she felt hungry because she does not take any meals if her husband does not bring them.

My client said no, and therefore I peeled an orange and fed her without asking if she needed it. Dominelli (2002) defines Oppression as, ‘relations that divide people into dominant or superior groups and subordinate or inferior ones. ’ These relations of domination consist of the systematic devaluing of the attributes and contributions of those deemed inferior, and their exclusion from the social resources available to those in the dominant group (Dominelli, 1998). It is a risk factor for the client because she may not able to express her needs or communicate with the nurse. 0 Recommendations It is dangerous factor when social workers do not recognize the oppressions that clients may experience. Personal biographies are placed within a wider social context and the individual’s life situation is viewed in relation to social systems such as the family, peer groups, organizations and communities.