DEFINITION:-

A person who works in a hospital and is responsible for offering counselling to patients and their families, and ensures the discharge of patients to the family or society.

MEANING:-

It is a branch of social work done by a social worker with the help of a nursing facility in a hospital to patients and their families in need of psychosocial assistance.

NATURE:-

• It is a type of social worker which is done in the hospital.
• The social worker works in a hospital, clinic, nursing home community health center, etc.
• They work with patients and their families in need of psychosocial help.
• They work to support society.
• They work as a counselor in the emotional distress period.
• They help the patient to help society.
• The main role of a social worker is to maintain balance in an individual’s personal, family, and social life.
• This type of social work is connected with different deft life- medicine, nursing, psychology, pathology.

SCOPE:-

• This isn’t just a helping profession; it’s much more.
• This is a self-contained profession with strong moral standards.
• They work at the hospital to improve patient behavior.
• They work to increase social well-being.
• They also work in a psychiatric clinic to help the patient improve their mental health.

ROLE OF A MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER:-

• Being a social worker is a difficult but rewarding profession.
• They are in charge of assisting individuals, families, or groups of people who are experiencing difficulties.
• They assist them in bettering the patients’ lives and experiences.
• Many social workers provide direct therapy to the patient and his or her family.
• They serve as a link between patients and other medical professionals in order to improve the patient’s health.
• They also assist with hearings and deal with legal difficulties.
• They also worked on studies, plans, and policies to improve social services.
• They also keep track of a patient’s case history.
• It’s difficult work that necessitates a lot of overtime and long hours.

ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKER IN HOSPITAL SETTING:-

• Doctors and nurses are mainly concerned with the physical well-being of their patients, and they are not trained to deal with other difficulties.
• So, a social worker is needed to handle the different situation.
• Every patient has different needs.
• They assist a different mode of treatment and different type of psychological assistance.
• In other cases, the patient may have a history of problems such as drug addiction.
• They provide a proper psychological support to every patient who visits the hospital.
• A social worker receives a reference for social work services from a doctor or nurse.
• Some patients require aid in their community, such as homeless shelter, drug addiction treatment, and support, while others may require assistance in their health condition while in the hospital.
• The role of the social worker in educating patients after discharge treatment procedure is also very important.

ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKER IN COMMUNITY HEALTH:

• A community social worker aids in the development of the community.
• Some social workers work with individuals on a one-on-one basis. Some workers, on the other hand, assist in community development.
• Working collaboratively with doctors, patients, and relatives is the key approach to this endeavor.
• They have a lot of potential to improve their own circumstances because they know what’s going on and what needs to be done to make things better.

COMMUNICATION TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES:-

Tools:

Community social workers use a variety of tools, including community awareness, leadership development, adult and child education, and community integration.

Techniques:-

• They deal with the housing of the homeless.
• They assist in the development of community improvement programs, projects, and research.
• They bring about long-term transformation from one generation to the next.
• Finally, they play an important role in rising social, economic, and awareness about health.

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE SERVICES:-

• Essential health care is referred to as primary health care.
• This is based on technology and methods that are socially acceptable.
• It is open to all individuals and families in the community.
• People are also involved in the healthcare setting.
• The cost of living along the coast should be affordable to everyone.
• Primary health care encompasses all aspects of health, the environment, and lifestyle.
• Sometimes refers to all as public health center.
• These are essentially single-physician clinic with minor surgery capabilities.
• They are the part of the government funded public health system in India.

PRIMARY HELATH ORGANIZATION (P.H.O):-

• Primary health organizations guarantee that critical primary health care services are provided mostly by general practices to the people who are enrolled with the P.H.O.
• They are funded by district health board.

FUNCTIONS

Apart from routine medical treatment, PHCs in India have a number of unique duties and tasks, including:

1. Infant immunization program – Immunization for new born babies is provided by P.H.C (Primary Health Center) as part of the national immunization program; this program is completely voluntary.
2. Anti-epidemic program: – The PHCs is rural India’s primary epidemic diagnostic and control center .When a local epidemic occurs, doctors are on the lookout for treatment options.
3. Birth control program:- PHCs is in charge of the national birth control program’s services. It is also fully subsidised.
4. Maternity and related health care system: – In rural India, the PHC system focuses on providing medical care for pregnancy and childbirth.
5. Health care in rural and urban areas in Odisha: – 1. Health is the most crucial factor to consider when trying living a happy life. 2. Healthy individuals make healthy society. So it is wise to say health is wealth.

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE IN CARE RURAL ODISHA;-

• Odisha is a state with a population of 40 million people, divided into four districts.
• Previously there was no wealth equity and easily assessable health care system available.
• Gradually health status is improved due to several factors.

CAUSES OF OBSTRACLES IN HEALTH PRACTICES:-

• There are numerous roadblocks in the way of improving rural health care facilities. These are: 1.accessbility of health services based on geography.
• Cultural barriers which prevents the acceptance of health care.
• Poor quality of services.
• Heavy dependence on informal health providers.
• Lack of education
• Lack of awareness

HEALTHCARE IN RURAL AREAS:-

• Odisha has a substantially higher mortality rate, hence life expectancy is lower. Because, the infant mortality rate is greater in this state, the national health mission has developed a comprehensive child assistance strategy.
• The goal is to lower the maternal mortality rate.
• PHC has implemented a polio eradication vaccine program.
• It has also raised HIV and AIDS awareness.
• There was also programs lunch for leprosy eradication.
• With the new CHC, new PHCs are being developed on a daily basis.

NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION (NRHM):-

• This was created to meet the health needs of rural communities.
• Dr. Manmohan Singh, the prime minister at the time, introduced it in April 2005.
• Initially, it was developed for 18 states under the NRHM, with a special focus on Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.

NRHM in Odisha:-

• NRHM includes topics such as – Reproductive health, maternal health, Child health, New-born health, Child health and Idolatry health.
• NRHM plays a significant role in improving health care services in Odisha.

PROBLEMS IN RURAL HEALTH CARE:-

• The health of the rural population is slightly lower than that of the urban population.
• People in rural adolescents are more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses.
• Adolescents in rural areas are more likely to engage in risk health behaviors.
• People in rural areas are less interested in being tested for chronic diseases.
• In rural locations, health insurance and policies are less common.
• In rural locations, there are few hospitals and health care providers.

HEALTH CARE IN URBAN AREA:-

• India is growing increasingly urbanized.
• There are superior health facilities in metropolitan regions than in rural places.
• The places are easily accessible, so people can get hospital treatment immediately.
• People are in decent financial shape, but there is a shortage of goods.
• Hospitals are also more modern institutions for diagnosing (identity) disorders.
• Many doctor’s want to practice in cities so that patients can conveniently consult them.

PROBLEMS IN URBAN AREA RELATED TO:-

• Oily, spicy food leads to an ulceration of stomach, gastric problems increase cholesterol label.
• Different type of population leads to development of different types of diseases.
• The construction work leads to development of mental irritation.
• Loud noise also leads to development of your problem.

BY – RASHMIREKHA DAS

Masters in Social Work, 1^st Division

N.C. Autonomous College, Jajpur

REFERENCES

https://www.slideshare.net/Rajendranvrmsw/role-of-medical-social-worker-in-hospital

https://college.mayo.edu/academics/explore-health-care-careers/careers-a-z/medical-social-worker/