Complex families, the social determinants of health and psychosocial interventions: Deconstruction of a day in the life of hospital social workers. (14th September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Muskat, Barbara; Craig, Shelley L.; Mathai, Biju
• Is Part Of: Social work in health care. Volume 56:Number 8(2017)
• Page Start: 765
• Page End: 778
• Publication Date: 2017-09-14
• Subjects: Hospital social work -- pediatric patient complexity -- social determinants of health; Medical social work -- Periodicals; 362.10425
• DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2017.1339761
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0098-1389

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The roles of hospital social workers are delineated in the literature; however, their daily interventions have only been described anecdotally. This study analyzes the daily work of social workers in a pediatric hospital through a survey completed which examined factors related to interventions utilized and time spent per case over a 1-day period. Length and types of interventions were associated with the social determinants of health, time since diagnosis, biopsychosocial issues, and perception of complexity. The study offers a snapshot of the personalized expertise, provided by social workers that addresses complex contextual and biopsychosocial concerns of patient and families