Leveraging COVID-19 Experiences to Prepare for the Future: A Pilot Study with Hospital Social Workers.

Social workers in hospital settings often experience frustration working in the host setting of a hospital. Some hospital social workers may consider a move to a private primary health care setting to gain more autonomy on the job and the opportunity to provide more direct clinical services and less task-oriented ones. In this article, the authors report a study that compared the autonomy and professional activities of social workers in hospital settings and private primary care settings. It was found that social workers in the two settings do not differ in their level of perceived autonomy and that those in private primary care provide more therapy and counseling. The implications of these and other findings are discussed.

Since its inception in the 1900s, hospital social work has been impacted by the ever changing hospital environment. The institution of Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs), the era of reengineering, and the constant struggle toward health care reform make it necessary to evaluate and substantiate the value and efficacy of social workers in hospital settings. This study identifies current roles and activities carried out by social workers in acute hospital settings from across the nation in the aftermath of reengineering. Findings suggest the primary role of respondents in this study to be discharge planning with little to no involvement in practice research or income-generating activities.

This study describes the conditions under which Israeli social workers in hospital settings operated s during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assesses their perceived support (informal and organizational support) and preparedness for the next pandemic. It further assesses correlates for perceived support and associations between perceived support and preparedness. The participants were 163 social workers from four hospitals who completed an on-line survey. The findings revealed that the level of exposure to COVID-19 and fear of contracting COVID-19 were unrelated to perceived informal and organizational support. Age and having children who are minors living at home moderated the relationship between fear of contracting COVID-19 and both types of perceived support. Each type of perceived support was significantly associated with preparedness beyond age, having minors at home, exposure to COVID-19, and fear of contracting COVID-19. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

This article examines the potential impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 on the practice of hospital social work in the United States and its implications for social work education and training. It briefly traces the history of hospital social work, outlines some contemporary issues in the health care field, particularly those that create persistent health disparities, summarizes the major provisions of the Act that have implications for social work practice, and discusses how social workers in hospital settings might respond effectively to the changes produced by the legislation.

Healthcare settings are often one of the primary touch points for sex workers connecting with social services. This places social workers in hospital settings in an important role, using their clinical and social work training and education to make case recommendations based on the immediate needs of sex workers in their care. This qualitative study uses interviews to examine the decision-making processes of social workers in a hospital setting when making case recommendations for sex workers, as well as their attitudes towards sex work as a profession. Findings reveal how social workers, through their navigation of complex institutional networks, often employ decision-making tactics that reflect carceral social work logics and gatekeeping. We also find how other important factors, such as a social workers own professional experience, play an important role in these decision-making processes. We conclude by discussing how social work practitioners can critically interrogate their role within oppressive and carceral state structures to promote an anticarceral social work field that reflects the needs of sex workers in their care.

SUMMARY The study compared perceptions of several organizational variables among medical and family service social workers in Israel. Three types of variables were examined; role characteristics (e.g., role ambiguity); job conditions (e.g., promotional opportunities); and career outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction). Among two groups of social workers, which operate in distinct practice settings and organizational cultures, significant differences were found in several of the variables measured. The medical social workers had a smaller caseload and more intensive contacts with clients than the family service workers. At the same time, the family service workers reported a much higher level of role ambiguity than their counterparts in the medical services. With regard to job conditions, the medical social workers reported less predictability and a higher degree of mastery than the family service workers. They also perceived themselves as having fewer promotional opportunities and financial rewards than their counterparts in the family services. Finally, the medical social workers scored higher in the area of service effectiveness and reported less burnout than the family service workers.

In a Master of Social Work study, looking at Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for social workers, it was found that the profession's status and image are linked to the status of continuing professional education. Other major findings were that the schools of social work have not inculcated the concept of CPE into undergraduates as a norm, and that until the recent establishment of the National Continuing Professional Education and Practice Standards Project, the profession itself had not accorded CPE a high status. Such long-term neglect has impacted on the position of social work in organisations and on the professional identity of workers. The study was undertaken from a qualitative perspective, with the data arising from the field. Interviews were held in focus groups which consisted of social workers in teaching hospitals at various levels: new graduates of less than two years experience, experienced workers of more than five years experience and co-ordinators of CPE programs. The interviews were guided by an inquiry instrument, and conducted at six metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne with fifty social workers participating.

The perceptions of ten social workers regarding their practice within the organisational context of Saudi hospitals were examined using semi‐structured interviews. A qualitative analysis employing a thematic approach informed by grounded theory was undertaken and produced the two broad interrelated themes – organisational structure and management processes – which highlighted an overarching concern of an ‘us and them’ division between social workers and management. The discussion shows how solutions to the perceived difficulties of social workers in hospital settings require a consideration of how partnership between practitioners and management personnel may be enhanced.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Social Work in Public Health and Hospitals explores a variety of issues related to social work in hospital settings as well as the public policy concerns that guide them. Topics discussed include hospital stays for the elderly, identifying postnatal depression during well-child visits, breast-fee

Social work in hospitals around the world has a history of over 100 years. However, systematic social work in hospitals in Vietnam has only been conducted for the past 10 years. The development of social work in general and hospital social work in particular depends on various factors, resulting in differences in the roles of social work in practice among different types of hospitals and between countries with different socioeconomic contexts. This qualitative study examines the structure, functions and actual roles of social work in public hospitals in Vietnam in comparison with other countries. This study was conducted in 2021, 44 in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders who develop and implement social work activities in 07 hospitals in Vietnam. The research focus on analysing the administrative structure and the functions/roles of hospital social workers, finding out barriers that undermine the development of hospital social work in Vietnam. The research outline and tools were approved by a professional evaluation board of Vietnam National University (VNU Hanoi). We conducted a defense to attain an official permission from the Ethical Research Council in National Children’s hospital, one of the main research sites and obtained certificate 393/BVNTW-VNCSKTE dated March 02, 2021. With its centralized model, hospital social work conducts three groups of functions, including: Supporting function, Cooperation function and other independent functions. It is interesting that while social work often incurs costs on hospital operations in other countries, it generates financial resources for hospitals in Vietnam. This is also the reason for the rapid development of hospital social work in Vietnam over the past 10 years.

Abstract: In 2020, the project “Development of social work as a profession in Vietnam for the 2010-2020 period” was considered the official beginning of social work profession in Vietnam. Then, the Ministry of Health developed social work models in hospitals based on the project “Development of social work as a profession in the health sector for the 2011-2020 period” according to Decision 2514/QD-BYT of the Ministry of Health dated July 15th, 2011. This is a new development in healthcare in Vietnam. To accompany the regular goal of improving the quality of medical services at health facilities of the health sector, social work in hospitals needs some changes for comprehensive development. The development of social work in hospitals, foremost, needs a system of professional social workers, both in quantity and quality, and appropriate policies which facilitate the implementation of social work models. The article described the current situation of social work development policies in general and social work in hospitals in particular, via analysis of policies on organizational structure, training and recruitment of social workers using survey data from two hospitals. From that, the paper identified obstacles in human resource development for social work in hospitals and proposed solutions to improve professional social work models at hospitals
 Keywords
 Social work, social work in hospitals, social work policy, human resource in social work.

Medical social workers are essential members of healthcare teams, especially during a pandemic. Their scope of practice includes conducting psychological assessments, coordinating social services, connecting patients to resources that address social determinants of health, discharge planning, and patient advocacy. Social workers’ experiences of psychological distress were unique even before the COVID-19 pandemic; their work demands a high amount of emotional investment as they frequently witness others’ pain and suffering and navigate various daily challenges and crises. This study explores psychological distress experienced by medical social workers and the coping strategies used by these professionals during the pandemic prior to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Faced with conflicting information from state and federal agencies, social workers dealt with resource shortages, took on additional roles and responsibilities, and contended with regular value conflicts and ethical dilemmas. Our findings indicate that medical social workers are not sufficiently protected or prioritized in their workplaces and that infrastructure to support social workers’ emotional wellbeing is lacking. Distinct themes that emerged from the data under the umbrella of psychological distress include feeling unprotected, overburdened, and undervalued. We discuss a need for targeted policy and sustainability-oriented solutions to improve coping and resilience, mitigate psychological distress, and prevent burnout among medical social workers.

India has a long history of delivering a western model of social work despite being challenged by unique structural challenges, as well as demographic and social changes impacting the types of presentations to hospitals. This paper reports on a project that explored the professional roles of Indian social workers in hospital settings, and documented some of the critical factors that impede capacity to meet the demands of a changing health care system. Extracted themes from participants identified a lack of role descriptions, professional supervision, and national standards as contributing to a lack of confidence in asserting strong professional identity and contribution to patient care.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous public health protocols were instituted by government agencies to safeguard individuals with dementia, their family caregivers, and formal care providers. While these preventive measures were implemented with good intentions, they inadvertently imposed significant challenges on medical social workers in Nigeria. This paper explored the experiences of medical social workers caring for people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Twenty-six medical social workers from 6 government hospitals in Southwestern Nigeria participated in an in-depth interview. The research reveals 3 pivotal aspects: Firstly, the escalating demands within the work environment, where medical social workers grapple with the intricate task of conveying sensitive information about dementia diagnosis and COVID-19 prevention protocol, managing expectations regarding dementia diagnoses, and navigating resource constraints for individuals with dementia during the pandemic. Secondly, discernible impacts on the work climate and interprofessional relationships shed light on the challenges these professionals face in collaborating with other healthcare providers. Lastly, the reverberations on social workers' personal lives underscore the pandemic's toll on their well-being. Thus, the findings underscore the need for proactive measures to equip medical social workers to face the distinctive challenges in dementia care during future pandemics. Recognizing the potential resurgence of global health crises, the research highlights the need for strategic preparedness to mitigate the impact of future pandemics on the well-being of individuals with dementia and the professionals dedicated to their care.

Background: Social workers play a vital role in hospitals by providing psychosocial support, facilitating multidisciplinary collaboration, and linking patients with community resources. However, their professional performance often remains constrained by traditional practices and limited integration with modern theoretical models. This study aims to propose a framework for activating the professional performance of social workers in hospitals through the Bridge Model, emphasizing its application at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital. Methods: The research adopted an analytical and descriptive approach, combining theoretical review of professional performance concepts and the Bridge Model with structured observation of social work practices in the hospital setting. Key elements such as professional knowledge, skills, ethics, and institutional support were examined, alongside challenges affecting social workers’ ability to meet patients’ complex needs. Results: Findings revealed a gap between theoretical knowledge and applied practice, with social workers facing barriers including administrative overload, limited training opportunities, and weak institutional-community integration. The proposed framework highlights four components: the coordinating role of social workers, the use of bridging tools (digital files and referral systems), professional training and development, and systematic monitoring and evaluation. Implementation requires multi-level interventions—organizational, professional, and community-based—supported by policies, training programs, and partnerships with civil society. Conclusion: Activating the Bridge Model in hospital settings can enhance the professional performance of social workers by ensuring holistic, continuous, and integrated care. The framework strengthens their role as mediators between healthcare institutions and community resources, thereby improving the quality of life of vulnerable patients—particularly children with cancer and chronic illnesses.