Weekly reflection # 4

Hospital social work is growing and a lot of people are employed at public/private hospitals, and health care fields.   Many hospitals become the place of medical practice, and medical practice began a transition from social medicine to the medical model, and from caring to curing (Cowles, 2003).  As a result, the U. S. government can cut the use of hospitals and medical specialists.  This way, the government controls the health care inflation rate continually. 

Before, social workers largely depended on physicians and nurses’ referrals for identification of patients needing social work services.  Nowadays, hospitals identify and automatically refer the patients to hospital social work if they have some of the characters which indicate the social high risks.  If a patient who age is 65 or over is having a terminal or chronic illness and living alone, this patient will be referred to hospital social work.   

Social workers sometimes face a lot of challenges on discharge planning.  Even though some patients are ready to be discharged, social workers have to think whether or not discharging is a good idea for these patients.  In some cases, the patient has been advised not to climb stairs, yet lives in a second floor apartment without elevator access.  Another important thing that social workers need to pay attention is human diversity variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and social class.  Social workers need to be aware of their clients’ belief.  For example, traditionally African-American people may believe in the conceptualization of health problems associated with natural, occult, and spiritual, whereas Hispanic-American may think of the health problem as God’s willing, and therefore, practicing unnatural ones would be evil.  

                                                       Reference

Cowles, L. A. F. (Ed.). (2003). Social work in the health field: A care perspective. (2nd ed.) Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Ch. 3 Reflection

Social workers in primary care may be found in a few different settings. Hospitals, outpatient clinics, HMOs, neighborhood health center clinics, and group medical practices are a few examples. "Primary care is the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community (Fort Cowles, p. 92). There are five characteristics of primary care: 1. Professions that provide primary medical care such as family practice, pediatrics, nurse practitioner, etc, 2. The setting of primary medical care practice, including individual and group practices of any of the previous professions, outpatient clinics located in hospitals, etc, 3. The field of public health, 4. Primary prevention, that is, efforts to prevent the occurrence of health problems, 5. Health promotion programs. These characteristics include a few of the fields and main idea of the work force for primary medical care. The interaction of physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning of a person are recognized by primary health care as well.

                Primary health care was adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), for the foundation for the most effective delivery of health care services. It is a philosophy guiding health policy that is population alert, an approach for organizing health services that are incorporated and needs based, a stage of care/invention which is delivered by a team, a set of actions which include health promotion, avoidance, early intervention, treatment, and follow-up. Social work is a very assorted profession. They work in health and social settings which are included in a primary care atmosphere. They work with the families, patients/clients, and the community. In the primary health care setting a social worker can be play an abundant of roles, but a few include; advocate, advisory, facilitator, planner, etc. A social worker is very active in a primary health care setting and help out a lot throughout situations.

Resources:

Fort Cowles, L. A. (2003). Social Work in the Health Field: A Care Perspective ( 2nd Ed.) Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Social Work and Primary Health Care. http://www.casw-acts.ca/en/social-work-primary-health-care

Chapter 3 Social Work in primary care settings

The IMO acknowledges that access is a key requirement of primary care.financial and geographic ability to obtain primary health care there is no way to fulfill the objectives of prevention and early intervention ( Donaldson et al., 1996:113). The five main attributes of high quality primary care,biomedical and social sciences,occasional diagnostic ambiguity. Primary care also considers physical and mental health together. Primary care provides opportunities to promote health and prevent disease. Primary health utilize computerized information systems to facilitate quality practice in multiple ways (Donaldson et al.,1996:80-81,88).

People with mental health problems tend to avoid the fact that they have mental issues, o they sick help from a primary care physician,more then from a mental health specialist.(page 103).
For some group of people seeking help psychological distress from a mental health professional is unacceptable.Therefore a problem arises when the client doesn't receive the proper care. This my lead to depression.(Katon and Schulberg,1992). Mechanic (1994) has made a strong case for integrating mental health care into primary medical care. A special version of the DSM- IV has been adapted for primary care( American Psychiatric Association, 1995) and provides a kind of algorithm or path system for simplifying.

Ch. 3 Weekly Blog Reflection

Chapter three discussed the history of social work in the primary care setting beginning in the early 1900s, as a widely accepted attempt to understand the conditions a patient was living in and dealing with, that could be valuable to not only to the patient's recovery, but also to the root of the illness. Medical, nursing, and social work staff supported and worked with one another and were provided funding to offer optimum primary care for their patients, as well as, the publics overall health. Many developmental programs were on the rise and created numerous opportunities for prevention and early intervention of mass public health and patient issues. Over the years the split between private interest and public interest have dropped the support that social work had and have taken a toll on the present day "primary care." Presently, a rise has become evident in the need and importance of social workers in the primary care setting because of greater socioeconomic inequalities in the United States and all over the world (Cowles, L.A.F. 2003) and the effects that it has had on the public's and individual's health.
 The chapter also list the settings in which social workers can provide services in the primary health care field such as: primary medical care, primary prevention, and health promotion. In order to practice in such settings a social worker must obtain a certain degree of required knowledge and be trained to view a patient, the organization, the community, and the environment through a holistic perspective. Taking in to consideration the biological, psychological, and social factors that make up anywhere from an individual patients health all the way to the social epidemiology's that  are occurring.
 This chapter was very insightful and I found it surprising and continue to find it surprising how the need and importance for empowering and educating of others seems to provide higher rates of prevention and intervention, but we are still fighting to get all professionals to understand and fully incorporate social workers special knowledge and training into the primary care setting. This information will be helpful in my future as a social worker to recognize what has been done in the past and to continue to add to the foundation that others have built before me for the ultimate goal of empowering others to be able to receive optimum health care.

References:
Cowles, L.A.F. (2003). Social work in the health field. A care perspective. Routledge.

Chapter three

Chapter three talks about social work in the primary care setting. The chapter talks about three primary health care concepts that really broaden my horizons. The three concepts are professions providing primary medical care, settings of primary health care practice, the field of public health and primary prevention. The book says that “It appears that the main difference between public health and primary care is that primary prevention is a goal of public health, which is focused on the community more than on the individual, which is the focus in primary care” (Fort Cowles, 2003). You can find social workers in many different job fields like hospital outpatient clinics, neighborhood health center clinics and group medical practices. Chapter three talks about how social workers try to prevent people from engaging in health behaviors that lead to chronic disease. This chapter also talks about the model curriculum. This is where students that want to become social workers are trained in all different areas of social work. This was very interesting to me because this is a great idea. It helps future social workers to get as much knowledge that they can so when they go into the line of business then they are prepared as much as possible. They will know more when they actually go into line of work but this will help them. This chapter has really made me understand social work and how it is difficult but yet rewarding it is to be in the field.

 

Fort Cowles, L.A. (2003). Social Work in the Health Field: A Care Perspective (2nd ed.) Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Reflection for Chapter 3

Chapter 3 entitled, " ", is a wealth of information regarding social work in the Primary Care Health field and what in entails. Esmeralda Stanfill is the author of the reflection for this chapter and will be referred to as such. Esmeralda found this chapter to be a road map or blueprint for how care is distributed, recognized and understood. She learned of the complexity of health, health care, prevention and how it varies for individuals, social status, communities and even a nation. Primary health care can not be accomplished solely by a health care provider. Many factors contribute to providing health care and the saying "it takes a village" comes to her mind when determining how to care for, educate, intervene, treat and promote health care for individuals as well as communities. While genetics can be a predictor of an individuals health, so does culture, socialeconomic status, social support, environment and the psyche of how one deals with all of these issues. Esmeralda learned that it is not only a health related issue and how to treat it benefits an individual but how and why it was caused and those factors are so important to understand so that intervention and health promotion can be determined in order to make changes to benefit others and future others. Social status not only effects the ability to pay for health care, it effects access to health care and resources and how it effects the individuals mentally and emotionally. These issues directly effect a persons health in the way of stress, vulnerability, self esteem and well being. One person or profession can not provide for all of these areas in a single individual therefore it is essential to collaborate with several disciplines in order to best serve the client. Esmeralda learned that social support and client empowerment are extremely valuable when treating a client. She realizes that the values we have as a nation directly effect our population and not necessarily in a positive way. The majority of the poor in our nation is women and children. (Cowles, A.L.F., 2013) they have no power politically so this effects the resources that are allocated for them. It's really a vicious cycle. Esmeralda was surprised to learn that Hispanic girls are twice as likely to attempt suicide as their white or black counterparts. She did however understand the reasons given such as strict parenting, overdependence on the daughter from the mother, differences from her parents culturally on where they were raised and reluctance for outside help from the parents. Esmeralda equates this chapter of information as having a bucket full of coins and dumping it into a change sorter. One knows what they have and how valuable it is and what they want to do with it. She sees a social worker as a coin sorting machine; seeing each coin as valuable and helping it get to its destination, brokering and coordinating the process, making sure each coin goes where it should and ultimately benefiting the client and bettering their lives. Ideally, they will have learned the benefit and save a little more next time and even better, teach their children what they learned.

Weekly Reflection #3

The third chapter of this book primarily discusses the need for primary prevention and talks about social work in primary care settings. Primary care intervention is the idea that society must try to prevent people from habitually engaging in health behaviors that tend to contribute to chronic diseases. “Primary prevention implies the elimination of the sources of distress and “disease” in our social structures, such as poverty, racism, pollution, poor education, and the general lack of a nurturing environment” ( Fort Cowles, 2003, p. 77). Major settings of social work in primary prevention include public schools, workplaces, recreational settings, social agencies that provide social support and skills training and education, and health settings. Social work practice in primary care in the health field requires knowledge of health behavior, illness behavior, social aspects of illness, generalist social work practice, medicine, psychopathology, organizational theory, epidemiology, the etiology of illness, psychosocial dysfunction, the sociology of medicine, the WHO concept of health, empowerment and the strengths perspective, individual and environmental research methods, and the biopsychosocial model of health care. A health care social worker requires specific knowledge in many different areas in order to be successful. The model curriculum for social work in primary care is recommended by the Michigan Prevention Training and Curriculum Development Project. This curriculum provides a student of social work to be trained in all the different areas needed. I found an article that discusses that the social work program at Columbia University is run by ex-cons who served time for murder, attempted murder, and robbery and assault. I found this article to be very interesting as it relates to the social work curriculum: Columbia's Cons: Ivy League social work program run by team of former prisoners

References:

Fort Cowles, L.A. (2003). Social Work in the Health Field: A Care Perspective (2nd ed.) Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Weekly Reflection #3

As I read this chapter, the best way I could find to describe it was say it explained exactly what needs to happen and how the best way for social workers to complete their jobs. For example; different teamwork perspectives, interdisciplinary situations, and organizational considerations that should take place in the social work field. Chapter three puts social work into perspective for each situation that may arise such as holistic, sensitivity, and/or mental health.

            Instead of trying to explain this chapter in definitions and situations, I would rather just talk about what I learned from it. I really enjoyed broadening my mind to the understanding of what needs to take place in secondary and graduate level program in order to prepare social workers for everything they may run into our there in the real world. I really thought about how holistic perspectives need to take place in the social work field but actually they need to take place everywhere. Being able to think holistically with patients, friends, family, etc. will ultimately help anyone with allowing them to see the entire picture before trying to help or intervene with a situation. Teaching social workers all behaviors and understanding before they are put in front of patient is in the best interest of all social workers. The chapter tells us that there are five components in order to provide the ultimate social support; 1) felling care about, 2) feeling valued and respected, 3) having a sense of belonging, companionship, and communication with others, 4) having access to informational support, advice, & guidance, 5) having access to material and physical assistance (Cowles, 2003, p. 120). These five things make understanding what a social worker needs very easy to understand and simplistic.

Cowles, L. A. Fort (2003). Social Work in Primary Care Settings. Social work in the health field: a care perspective (2nd ed., pp. 84-130). New York: Haworth Social Work Practice Press.

Model Curriculum The model curriculum in Primary Health Care for Social Workers is the core curriculum required by universities for social workers to obtain a social work degree. These courses include Social Welfare Policy, Social Services, Field Practicum, Social Work Practices, Social Work Research and Methods, and Human Behavior and Social Environment (HBSE). This requires a very broad knowledge base at many levels and is deeply steeped in the bio-psycho-social perspective with a holistic view.(Cowles, L.A.F. 2013) A social worker must be prepared to work competently in all of these areas in a macro, mezzo and macro level. As the bio-psych-social perspective maintains that the physical, mental and social aspects of an individual affect the other, so do the macro, mezzo and macro levels. A social worker must be able to maneuver within these areas but also within the systems and even other professions. While other professions rely on the social workers expertise in dealing with their patience, there is still much resistance to elevate the social work profession as an equal. This is largely based in the fact that social workers do not have a body of knowledge therefore are not truly recognized as a profession in that aspect. Social workers highly value prevention in Primary Health Care and this also requires the ability to work with individuals, communities and systems of policy. In order for prevention to work for an individual, it must work for a community and even a nation. For example, wearing a seatbelt increases an individuals chances of survival in the instance of a car wreck. In order for all people to better their chances of survival all people must wear seatbelts when in a car. First, research must be done to prove the validity of the statement. After concrete and empirical evidence is published, then public officials have to be convinced of the advantage so that a law can be enacted to require not only the public but to require the auto makers to make seatbelts a mandatory requirement in all cars sold in this country. A social worker can have an active part in any or all of these areas. The requirements for the education of a social worker make them a highly competent and educated disipline.

Weekly Reflection #3

Primary medical care, primary prevention, and health promotion are the three main settings of social work in primary health care (Cowles, 2003).  Primary care emphasizes on the patient’s first entry into the health care system. We can find social workers in primary care in hospital outpatient clinics, HMOs, neighborhood health center clinics, and group medical practices (Miller, 1987).  Primary Prevention takes an effort to prevent the occurrence of health problems as well as very early identification and intervention.  Education, social change in the community or society, promotion of competency, promotion of natural care-giving, and consultation and collaboration are five major areas used to determine the health of a society for primary prevention.  Health promotion supports people and their communities to improve their health.  All these three settings, primary prevention, health promotion, and primary health care are based on an epidemiological perspective so that social workers can map out the cause or source of the health problems.  Social workers also lighten the social stress related with having health problems and utilization of social supports to enhance well-being and health protection. They make sure at-risk persons to have access to health care and social services in outreach area.  In order to look after their societies, social workers should have the ability to participate the interdisciplinary teamwork, and have to have knowledge on various areas.  It is interesting to learn that according to epidemiology, the victim is called the ‘host’, the causal factor is termed as ‘agent’, and the context in which these two come across each other is named the ‘environment’.

References

Cowles, L. A. F. (Ed.). (2003). Social work in the health field: A care perspective. (2nd ed.) Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.

Miller, I. (1987). Primary health care. Encyclopedia of social work. (8^th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Ch. 3 D.Q. #1

  The holistic perspective can be identified as the examination and treatment of all aspects that make up a whole person (Cowles, L.A.F. 2003). Meaning that in order to ensure an individual is truly healthy, you must consider that individual's biological, psychological, and social environments to be functioning to their full potential. You must also take into consideration the things that are important to that individual, the values and beliefs that they hold to be true, and the cultural lifestyle that the individual is accustom to (Cowles, L.A.F. 2003). This examination and treatment can only be maximized by a combination of all factors and one single examination and treatment cannot fix all ailments to produce a healthy individual. It must also be considered that, each factor can have an effect on another factor, thus restating the need to consider all three. 
 Social workers are trained to assess a person with in a holistic perspective in mind in order to accurately be effective when working with the individual. Without considering, assessing, and creating an intervention with all factors, a social worker could not truly be offering the maximum services or meet the standards of ethical guidelines when working with a client.
  I do agree with the holistic perspective and agree that it is the best way to understand a patient, client, or individual so that you can proceed with the helping process. In addition, I believe that in order for an individual to receive the best service, each factor in the holistic perspective's administrator (social worker, physician, psychiatrist) must be willing to work with the other. is  For example, if a woman was admitted to the hospital suffering from a serious addiction to drugs, in order for the woman to truly receive excellent services and have the tools to become healthy, a physician must address her physical issues and she must also be seen and referred to other services such as counseling, therapy, or a psychiatrist. It may be determined elsewhere that the patient needed psychiatric drugs to cope with an unattended mental disorder that were causing her to feel the need to use/abuse drugs.

Reference:
Cowles, L.A.F. (2003). Social Work in the Health Field: A care perspective. Routledge.