Social Work in Health Care

This study examined retention and its relationship to mental health, substance use, and social determinants of health in a randomized clinical trial of a behavioral HIV/sexually transmitted infection prevention intervention with drug-involved Black women ( N  = 348) under community supervision programs in New York City. Using secondary analysis, we used logistic models to test the association between factors related to mental health, substance use, and social determinants of health and follow-up assessment completion (three, six, and 12 months)...

Value-based payment models may improve patient health by targeting quality of care over quantity of health services. Social workers in primary care settings are well-positioned to improve the quality of health services for vulnerable patients by identifying and addressing patients' social determinants of health. This case study describes a Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) quality improvement approach implemented and refined by social workers to proactively address clinical quality gaps in one family medicine practice...

Social workers play an important role in assessing social determinants of health (SDH) and providing behavioral health services in integrated care settings. Evidence suggests that integrated care interventions improve quality of life and other patient outcomes. However, the ambiguous role of social workers on the interdisciplinary team, the lack of protocol in SDH screening and intervention, and restrictions due to healthcare reimbursement limit social workers' ability to intervene. Future directions include standardizing integrated care models, evaluating integrated care's efficacy to address SDH, incorporating SDH into interprofessional training including role clarification and reimbursing for SDH assessment and intervention...

Babies whose families possess multiple marginalized identities are at-risk for being late or lost to follow-up although there is a universal effort to screen and treat hearing loss in babies as part of state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. Lack of timely follow-up puts young children at risk for delays in language acquisition, social skills, cognitive development, and school success. This qualitative study explored barriers to follow-up audiological care in at-risk families in New Jersey...

Failure to thrive (FTT) is a DSM-5/ICD-10 diagnosis which describes infants and children who fail to grow within expected norms. The causes for poor growth are multifactorial and often include psychosocial factors. Social workers are important players in an interdisciplinary team approach to this diagnosis. This research and manuscript focus on the use of an integrated infant mental health pediatric model of practice, and outcomes for one case study. The article will review the social worker's role in the treatment of FTT, effective social work services provided in an integrated behavioral health approach, and a review of a cost-benefit analysis of treatment of FTT in a Primary Care Facility verses a hospital setting...

In this article, a communication framework of Connection First is presented to close the empathy gap in mainstream health care, including palliative and end-of-life care. Expanding beyond biomedicine, Connection First involves rethinking and restructuring business-as-usual in health care. It shifts the typical transactional process during the initial intake session into one that is transformational. Connection First is a structural intervention and skillset comprised the following elements: disrupting diagnosis, humanizing history, and repairing ruptures...

Black Alaskans face serious barriers to health care. This paper reports on qualitative results of a health needs assessment to understand the health challenges facing Black Alaskans. Utilizing exploratory thematic analysis, the findings indicate that Black Alaskans experience barriers such as high cost of care, underinsurance, lack of information and education, a shortage of BIPOC health providers, stigma, negative perceptions by health-care providers, and racism both in the community and in the health-care system...

Social workers have emerged as leaders within Addiction Consult Services (ACS) due to their ability to provide a wide range of services, from crisis work and brief therapeutic interventions to connecting patients to community resources. Many hospitals have implemented ACS to address the overdose crisis and the sharp rise in drug use-related infections, including skin and soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis, and endocarditis; a result of unaddressed systemic social determinants of health (SDOH). Yet, despite social workers being at the forefront of inpatient substance use work, little guidance exists regarding social work's role in leading person-centered addiction care and addressing SDOH in the hospital setting...

Quality of life (QoL) is a widely recognized and valuable social outcome measure in drug treatment and rehabilitation services, but the discrepancies in QoL perceptions between service users and providers remain under-explored. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with service users ( n  = 22) and providers ( n  = 29) to capture their perceptions of QoL and explore the similarities and discrepancies between their views. A thematic analysis and contrast exploration revealed a shared understanding of QoL that extends beyond health to six dimensions and prioritizes empowerment and connection...

Breast cancer rates among Asian American women are increasing. Despite this, there are limited studies on help-seeking among this population. Through a qualitative exploration, this paper examines the help-seeking experiences of Asian American breast cancer survivors. Asian American women ( n  = 52) with early-stage breast cancer were interviewed. Findings illustrate a continuum of experiences including: keeping diagnosis personal and not asking for help, keeping diagnosis personal but asking for limited help, and sharing diagnosis and seeking support...

Youth in the U.S. experience a high rate of assault-related injuries resulting in physical, psychological and social sequelae that require a wide range of services after discharge from the hospital. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIP's) have been developed to engage youth in services designed to reduce the incidence of violent injury in young people. HVIP's combine the efforts of medical staff with community-based partners to provide trauma-informed care to violently-injured people and have been found to be a cost-effective means to reduce re-injury rates and improve social and behavioral health outcomes...

Individuals within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community who are diagnosed with cancer experience inequitable treatment in healthcare systems worldwide, resulting in dissatisfaction, communication challenges with healthcare providers, and a deep sense of disappointment. Stigma, discrimination, and perceived homophobia further heighten the risk of psychological and attitudinal disorders, including depression and suicidal tendencies, among LGBTQ cancer patients. To comprehensively assess the discrimination faced by LGBTQ cancer patients and gain deeper insights into their needs and experiences, we conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines...

Developmental Clinical Social Work (DCSW) involves the integration of social development approaches to the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological, behavioral, emotional, and medical disorders through social work methods. In doing so, it also covers the predispositions that occur over time in one's life course. Utilising the thinking of Developmental Clinical Social Work, the paper explores the effects of substance use disorders from a human rights perspective. The human rights to health, adequate housing, food and nutrition, development, clean and healthy environment, occupational health and safety, education, parental and children rights have been discussed considering the effects of substance use disorders...

As part of a larger survey, we asked social workers whether they had been involved in medical assistance in dying (MAID) so far. Of the 367 survey participants, 141 reported that they had. These were invited to describe their roles, needs, and sense of competence, focusing on their last MAID experience. Roles were diversified, beginning before and extending beyond the provision of MAID. Nearly 60% needed training on MAID. Perceived competence was lower among those lacking training. Findings point to educational needs that must be addressed to ensure the quality of end-of-life care and the well-being of social workers who engage in MAID...

Social workers involved in interdisciplinary orthopedic trauma care can benefit from the knowledge of providers' perspectives on healthcare disparities in this field. Using qualitative data from focus groups conducted on 79 orthopedic care providers at three Level 1 trauma centers, we assessed their perspectives on orthopedic trauma healthcare disparities and discussed potential solutions. Focus groups originally aimed to detect barriers and facilitators of the implementation of a trial of a live video mind-body intervention to aid in recovery in orthopedic trauma care settings (Toolkit for Optimal Recovery-TOR)...

Nursing homes contend with high staff turnover. Resources invested in employees are lost when an employee leaves. However, if employees are thriving in their job, turnover is less a concern. How can employers promote thriving in employees? Using an adaptation of Spreitzer et al. (2005)'s Social Embeddedness Model of Thriving at Work as a conceptual framework, we performed a logistic regression on the responses of 836 nursing home social service directors in the 2019 National Nursing Home Social Service Director Survey to determine factors that contribute to thriving...

Health literacy has been identified as a significant predictor of healthcare utilization among refugee and immigrant communities. Considering its potential impact on their health outcomes, accurately measuring levels of health literacy among limited English proficiency (LEP) populations is an important area of investigation. This study examined the psychometric properties of a modified version of the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale (AAHLS), based on Nutbeam's model of health literacy, using an exploratory factor (EFA) and confirmatory factor (CFA) analysis among a sample of Karen refugees, an ethnic minority group from Burma...

Research on quality of life (QOL) factors important for younger adults (ages 18-45 years old) with osteoarthritis (OA) is limited. This study utilizes an online survey method to conduct an expert panel review of QOL domains for this population. Health provider and young adult perspectives of living with OA were captured and compared. Results indicate that providers are underestimating the impact OA is having on a variety of QOL factors for younger adults. Overall, these results reveal critical QOL domains to consider during assessment and when considering intervention strategies aimed at improving the lives of younger adults with this chronic disease...

There are currently no national data regarding U.S. Primary Care Physicians' (PCPs') suicide screening practices. This study surveyed 302 U.S. PCPs about their current suicide screening practices to identify service gaps and intervention points for social workers. Although one-third of PCPs reported providing screening and safety planning, few were using evidence-based tools. Factors that increased the likelihood of routine screening were belief in the importance of screening ( p  < ...

Our cross-sectional study seeks to understand how COVID-19 stigma, race/ethnicity [Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, white] and residency [New York City (NYC) resident vs. non-NYC resident] associated with depression. Our sample includes 568 participants: 260 (45.77%) were NYC residents and 308 (54.3%) were non-NYC residents. A series of multiple linear regression were run to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity, COVID-19 stigma, and depressive symptoms. Irrespective of residency, older age and ever being diagnosed with COVID-19 were negatively associated with depressive symptoms...