ROLE OF MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKERS IN ENSURING COMMUNITY HEALTH
March 3, 2022 | Grassroots India |

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, 1st Division

N.C. Autonomous College, Jajpur

REFERENCES

https://onlineprograms.ollusa.edu/resources/infographic/medical-social-work/

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/

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