Social work in health care
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Soc Work Health Care · Oct 2014
Clinical social work practice and technology: personal, practical, regulatory, and ethical considerations for the twenty-first century.
The world that social work exists in is no longer defined by traditional physical settings and boundaries, such as schools, agencies, or even offices. With the advent of the Internet and digital communications, social work now exists in a far more complex reality, with clients and social workers engaging across multiple platforms, and sometimes even unintentionally and without one another's awareness. The implications of this can be ethical, practical, regulatory, and personal. This article explores these areas of concern and suggests strategies professionals can use to navigate these complex issues related to technology and clinical practice.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2014
Spiritual assessment: a patient-centered approach to oncology social work practice.
Spirituality is central to many people's lives, yet social workers often defer discussing the topic with patients. Their avoidance can be linked to the lack of training on how to speak with patients about spiritual matters (Lemmer, 2010) With further education, clinical social workers are empowered to assess this significant aspect of the patient's cancer experience as they progress along the illness continuum. The social worker's comfort and familiarity with spiritual assessment, spiritual language, and various forms of religious and/or spiritual practices will improve their clinical work with patients who have chronic cancer by providing insight to guide appropriate social work interventions designed to enhance spiritual well-being.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2013
ReviewPerson-centeredness in home- and community-based long-term care: current challenges and new directions.
Person-centered care (PCC) has demonstrated to be a viable and preferred model of providing health and institutionalized long-term care services. However, the concept of PCC has not been fully extended to home- and community-based long-term care services (HCBS) for older adults with chronic conditions. This review highlights the need for PCC in HCBS and suggests that social workers may play a role in overcoming cultural and structural barriers to extending PCC to HCBS that include: the fragmentation of the industry, financial structures, regulation of services, and paternalism in policy and practice. Recommendations for practice, policy, and research are provided.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2013
Professional competencies and training needs of professional social workers in integrated behavioral health in primary care.
The Affordable Care Act has led to a widespread movement to integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings. Integrated behavioral health (IBH) holds promise for treating mild to moderate psychiatric disorders in a manner that more fully addresses the biopsychosocial spectrum of needs of individuals and families in primary care, and for reducing disparities in accessing behavioral health care. For behavioral health practitioners, IBH requires a shift to a brief, outcome-driven, and team-based model of care. ⋯ Online snowball sampling methods were used over a period of 1 month. Results indicate that social workers feel prepared for general practice in IBH settings, but would benefit from additional training in IBH-specific competency areas identified in the survey. Findings can help guide social work training to improve workforce preparedness for practice in IBH settings in the wake of health care reform.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2013
Birth cohort testing for hepatitis C virus: implications for clinical social workers in health care settings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends one-time hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing for baby boomers born between 1945-1965 in the United States. This public health initiative is known as birth cohort (baby boomer) testing for HCV. ⋯ The purpose of this article is to inform clinical social workers in health care settings of HCV, the standard of care and treatment for HCV, and clinical dilemmas associated with HCV patient care. Epidemiology and natural history of HCV, the standard of care and treatment for HCV, and etiology and management of neuropsychiatric adverse effects associated with patient care are discussed.