MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

PROMPT • Medical social work, a powerful

weapon to realize comprehensive and qualitative health care is used only in a few limited fields and less used.

• It needs boosting up and revitalization, particularly among the medical students, doctors and health planners.

• This thought prompted me for the development of this lecture

Learning objectives• What is medical social work?

• What are its guiding principles?

• What are its working principles and methods?

• Its usage in India?

Performance objectives

• Learner should be able to

Practice Direct and Indirect assistance methods of Medical social work to realize qualitative and comprehensive health care .

Definition

• It is the application and adoption of the method and philosophy of social work in the field of health and medical care.

Definitions• Branch of social work and deals

with the social, physical and psychological aspects of patient.

• Social work in medical setting

• Using relevant social skills and knowledge to help the patients

History and background• 1880-1900 In England, after the mental

patients were discharged, visitors and nurses were asked to give advices to them .

• Dr. Charles Emerson , USA opined that medical science should also include the study of emotional and social problems.

• He suggested that medical students should work as volunteers under the charities and agencies.

History and background • Year 1905: Boston medical

institutions appointed MSW (medical social worker) for the first time

• In India, Tata Institute of social sciences had taken up the lead medial social work.

Fink ,the Sociologist• “Life is a series of interruption and

recoveries.”• Man is a unity of mind and body and

medicine must consider this unity.• Physiology, chemistry and biology

cannot alone or together explain all intricacies of illness.

• The disturbances of mind and body cannot be dealt with separately. They form the two phases of a single problem.

Nature and Scope

• Medical social work is based on the assumption of the individual’s dignity

• Guided and inspired by basic values social work

Nature& Scope

According to medical social work--

• health refers to that state or condition, in which an individual is capable to utilize all the capacities of his social living.

Nature and scope Medical social work considers

human health with a broad perspective.

• The treatment is not the final solution for illness in medical social work.

• Disease and diseased person are different from each other.

Nature and scope• Medical science gives emphasis

on the disease but ignores the importance of the diseased person.

• But the medical social work studies the diseased person viz. the social aspect of the disease.

Nature and ScopeMedical social work deals with • the prevention of disease,• after care of the patients and • social rehabilitation of

patients, --and not just limited to the

treatment of disease.

Uses

1. To discover the social and psychological background of a patient

2. To make the patient free from his psychological tensions

3. To discover the psychosocial factors of the illness

Working concept• Medical social work deals with the

those problems of the patient which are related to the physical and psychological environment

• It is oriented towards the assistance of those people, who during their treatment, face social, physical ,economic and psychological problems.

Working principles mainly social techniques and mostly

humanitarian in nature.

1. By enabling the patient for solving his problems (building up his capacities)

2. By determining the social and psychological influence.

3. By developing the willpower and determination of the patient

Working principles4)By enabling the patient to

adjust with his problems.

5)By developing proper environment

Working methods•Case study method,

•Direct method of assistance

• Indirect method of assistance

Case study method

• By, case study method, MSW collects information with regard to the specific needs of the patient and works towards their fulfillment in accordance with the available means

Direct methods of assistance

• MSW is directly involved in the assistance.

• Social case work- Assistance is provided to the individual patient with the aim of developing his inherent capacity

Direct assistance•Social group work-• Medical social worker tries

at strengthening the social relations of the patient and works towards the development of a healthy social environment

Indirect methods of assistance

1. Community organization

2. Social administration

3. Social insurance and social security

4. Social action

5. Social work research

Indirect assistance1. Community organization = organization

of community resources with regard to health problem by MSW

2. Social administration= MSW guides the public opinion for enactment of new social legislations or any amendment in prevailing legislations

3. Social security& insurance= enabling the patient to utilize the facilities under social security and insurance by MSW

Indirect assistance4)Social action= MSW participates in the

movements of social action at the national (national health programme involvement) and international levels( world health days)

5)Social work research= MSW inspires surveys and investigations regarding the social ,economic and psychological problems of the patient

Medico social work in India• Less importance was given to this

important branch of health promotion

• Tata institute of Social Sciences is only pioneering and struggling in this field

• Less awareness and practice of this very useful extension of health care delivery in India

• most of the national health programmes are running at a snail pace due to non- use of this field of medicine.

Medico social work in India

• Medical social work is limited to few areas of health care in India ---

• Department of Sexually transmitted diseases

• Department of pediatrics

• Department of community medicine

• Department of obstetrics

Summary• Medical social work is a very powerful

and essential branch of medicine for realizing a comprehensive and qualitative health care.

• As long as it is considered as an offshoot of social work, it draws little attention by the medical personnel and health planners. This is the problem in India.

• Time has come to consider it as a part and parcel of medical and health care.