Roles of health care social workers in a multi-professional team: A qualitative study in the context of China

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Using qualitative methods, this study explores the roles of social workers in a healthcare team in the context of China. It reveals that, like their international counterparts, Chinese social workers also adopt a client-centered approach. However, they usually utilize such an approach at the family level rather than the individual level. In order to fulfill professional responsibilities, Chinese social workers need to adjust their roles to take on some nonprofessional tasks within the bureaucratic systems, which would help them further embed their roles into the teams. Strategies for maximizing the professional roles of social work in multi-professional teams are also discussed.