Clients' evaluation of medical social services

Abstract

Deborah Deixel Blumberg, MS, is Psy chiatric Social Worker, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston. Audrey Rosen Ely, MS, is Clinical Staff Social Worker, Medfield State Hospital, Med field, Massachusetts. Anita Kerbeshian, MS, is a Psychiatric Social Worker, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Brighton, Massa chusetts. This study was completed un der the auspices of Simmons Colfege School of Social Work, Boston, Massa chusetts. For the social worker in a pediatric view. The social worker, however, does hospital, the primary professional emnot necessarily limit himself to the phasis is on meeting the needs of sick specific request indicated by the per children and their parents. It is unson making the referral or by the cli derstood that children frequently need ent. In each instance, when interview help in adapting to their hospitalizaing the client, the social worker must tion as well as to an illness that may reevaluate the situation for himself involve lifelong physical limitations, and render the services he believes are The child's parents too may find that actually needed.5 the world of the large medical instiHow the client—who is, after all, tution is a bewildering experience and the consumer of social services—views that they require emotional support the help he receives forms an integral to enable them to deal with their reacpart in evaluating the social services tions to the child's illness. Because the department.6 For this reason, it was physical management of the child's important to find out whether the cli life is controlled by physicians and ent who comes to the social worker nurses, the parents are left with feelwith a specific request can perceive the ings of helplessness and powerlesssocial worker's intervention as help ness. Such a change in their role can ful if emotional problems are also dis cause overwhelming anxiety and fear cussed. The study on which this article in parents. During this stressful time, is based investigated the question from the social worker can help the parent the following four points of view: (1) with specific problems of a medical, the client's perception of his own so financial, vocational, or psychological cial needs during the child's illness, nature. (2) the client's initial expectations of the social worker, (3) the services the