Social work in health care
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Social work practitioners must act every working day in the face of uncertainty. This uncertainty arises in part because knowledge is often difficult to locate or sometimes lacking regarding: the systems context the population being served; the particular client system; the set of problems the client system is experiencing; as well as the various interventions that could be selected. It seems reasonable to explore ways to reduce the experience of uncertainty, and narrow, if not eliminate, the knowledge gaps that arise in such situations. ⋯ First, it will briefly and selectively review attempts to make social work practice more evidence based. Second, it will describe one stage in the evolution of a Web-based service (information for practice [IP]). IP is a long-term project with the mission of keeping practitioners informed about news and new scholarship in the field, so that they can more easily make their practice more evidenced based.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2012
Everyone's business: developing an integrated model of care to respond to child abuse in a pediatric hospital setting.
In pediatric hospitals, social work plays a central role in the prevention, identification, and management of child abuse. Children who are suspected of having been abused or neglected require an evaluation of their psychosocial situation. As an integral member of the health care team, the social worker is well placed to undertake comprehensive psychosocial assessments including information on the child's development, parental capacity, family, and community supports. ⋯ The management approach included consultation with staff, building commitment to the need for change, addressing staff concerns, and providing a vision of enhanced client outcomes as a result of the change process. This article provides a candid overview of challenges and barriers to change. Change strategies described are easily transferable to other social work settings.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2011
Practical considerations for addressing substance use disorders in veterans and service members.
Support and treatment for military veterans and active duty service members is a national priority. Furthermore, there is increased need for professionals with experience and interest in working with these brave individuals. Veterans and service members face significant challenges both during their service and after transitioning back to civilian settings. ⋯ It also reviews practical information about assessment, treatment, and general clinical issues from the authors' clinical experience that is relevant to providers working with veterans and service members with substance use disorders. This information may be of particular interest to professionals with an interest in helping veterans, those who have limited experience working with veterans, or those who may work outside of standard military or Department of Veterans Affairs settings. Finally, future directions in this important area are discussed.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2011
ReviewThe role of the social worker in the adult critical care unit: a systematic review of the literature.
Social workers provide care to patients and families in the adult critical care unit. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to more clearly identify the role of the social worker practicing in the intensive care unit. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature using the Pubmed, Embase, ISI, Scopus, and Social Work Abstracts databases using the terms "intensive care," "critical care," and "social work." Articles were selected for review if they met the following criteria: formal studies or opinion papers whose primary focus was the role or scope of practice of the social worker in the adult critical care unit. ⋯ There is little empiric data describing the role of the critical care social worker. Consistent themes from the articles identified include the role of social workers as counseling professionals, facilitators of communication, and resource agents. Further research to identify formal assessment tools and outcome studies of specific counseling techniques will provide important information for best practice guidelines in this area.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 2011
What's in a story? A text analysis of burn survivors' web-posted narratives.
Story-telling has been found to be beneficial following trauma, suggesting a potential intervention for burn survivors who frequently make use of? telling their story? as part of their recovery. This study is the first to examine the word content of burn survivors' Web-posted narratives to explore their perceptions of the event, supportive resources, their post-burn well-being, and re-integration using a comparison group and a text data analysis software developed by the widely recognized James Pennebaker. Suggestions for using expressive writing or story-telling as a guided psychosocial intervention with burn survivors are made.