Social Workers and Functions in Hospital
The profession of social work is an academic and practice-based discipline that advances social change, people and community empowerment and the understanding and acceptance of diverse populations. In hospital settings, social workers develop, design or sustain programs. As representatives of planned change, they understand the essence of well-being to community health (O’Hare, 2020). Evidence-based practice, the diligent decision to apply the best available evidence to make decisions concerning individual care, is a significant trend in social service and healthcare programs.
Evidence-Based Practice and Social Work
Both social work and evidence-based practice emphasize on the essence of understanding the methodological and epistemological research consistencies prior to deciding on ways of selecting the best evidence to solve patient problems (Drisko & Grady, 2019). While evidence-based practice provides interventions upon identifying a problem, social work utilizes a broader systems perspective. Hospital Social workers strive to differentiate between EBP as a decision-making exercise and evidence-supported treatments or evidence-informed interventions, which are careful approaches, programs or interventions assessed through research and demonstrated to be efficacious for specified symptoms in a group of patients.
In the healthcare settings, social workers first carry out research findings
review and assess appropriates to their practice. Secondly, the workers apply or integrate research findings into their practice interventions (Beckett & Horner, 2015). The social workers then gather outcome data following the introduction of a new intervention. They perform data evaluation to establish factors that affect desired outcomes. The social workers then redesign practice-based assessment findings. Finally, they institute the modified practice while collecting outcome data and adjusting practice accordingly.
Challenges of EBP and Hospital Social Work
From the perspective of hospital social work, evidence-based research models are basically tailored to be rigid and constrictive. Subsequently, they invalidate vital social theories associated with marginalization. Thus it may not be possible for EBP to be adaptive when dealing with complicated social problems (Adams, Dominelli & Payne, 2017). The social work practice places less emphasize on symptoms but patients occupation, community, family, culture and developmental background (Bogo, 2015). Even though hospital social work increasingly focuses on EBP, many social workers are unable to transcribe the empirical research interventions into clinical practice appropriately. A medical model shaped for precise result measurements, organizational accountability, and efficiency drive EBP. Conversely, hospital social work practice is guided by a therapeutic framework that focuses more on the general holistic health of the patient (Browne, 2019). Most social workers are not aware of the ethical responsibility of informing patients of possible limitations related to research works that guide their recommendations or interventions.
Enhancing Integration of EBP in Hospital Social Practice
The government has initiated new cost measures for hospitals that require social workers to implement the directive and standardized approaches in service delivery and apply empirical research-based interventions. Use of clinical practice guidelines or critical pathways centred on empirical evidence is also an important approach (Wike et al., 2014). The standardized treatment protocols are, in most cases, applied as a tool for complex, chronic or high-cost disease. Social workers should participate in the critical pathways, for example, when continuity of care, psychosocial, or mental health issues affect the patient (Epstein, 2014). Social workers must endeavour to improve their skills in diagnosis and patient assessment to ensure the interventions selected is in accordance with the identified problem. There is a need for social workers interventions knowledge to be broader; hence should be exposed to appropriate evidence-based therapies. Hospital Social worker model should adapt and personalize evidence-based treatments for individuals based on their circumstances, interests, and culture.
References
O’Hare, T. (2020). Evidence-based practices for social workers: An interdisciplinary approach. Oxford University Press, USA.
Epstein, N. E. (2014). Multidisciplinary in-hospital teams improve patient outcomes: A review. Surgical neurology international, 5(Suppl 7), S295.
Drisko, J. W., & Grady, M. D. (2019). Evidence-based practice in clinical social work. Springer.
Bogo, M. (2015). Field education for clinical social work practice: Best practices and contemporary challenges. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(3), 317-324.
Browne, T. (2019). Social Work Roles and Healthcare Settings. Handbook of health social work, 21-37.
Beckett, C., & Horner, N. (2015). Essential theory for social work practice. Sage.
Adams, R., Dominelli, L., & Payne, M. (Eds.). (2017). Social work: Themes, issues and critical debates. Palgrave Macmillan.
Wike, T. L., Bledsoe, S. E., Manuel, J. I., Despard, M., Johnson, L. V., Bellamy, J. L., & Killian-Farrell, C. (2014). Evidence-based practice in social work: Challenges and opportunities for clinicians and organizations. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42(2), 161-170.