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Research and Evaluation Methods in Social Work Module (SWK 752)
Title of study
'The Hospital Social Work Role:
evaluating social workers'
perceptions of the impact of an early
intervention pilot within an acute
hospital.'
Abstract
Context
Policy drivers over the last decade have seen a move towards a focus on
community care and a growing pressure on cost effectiveness. This has seen
changes in practice within the hospital setting, raising some concerns within
current literature that these changes are set to undermine a person-centred
approach.
The hospital social work role has been described as the 'Glue' bringing
together information from all professionals involved, to support patients and
families in discharge planning and decision making. The literature has found,
the strong communication skills and the ability to apply ecological approaches
were key skills of the hospital social worker and emphasises the opportunity
that hospital social workers possess in improving the patient journey.
Reoccurring throughout the literature is that no matter the target of assessment
or intervention, the social work role itself proved as a key component in
meeting complex needs and adapting to on-going changes experienced by
patients in the discharge process.
Methodology and Methods
The study was set to apply a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured
interviews, to explore social workers' perceptions of the impact of an early
intervention pilot on working practices and patient outcomes. The study would
have used a thematic data collection process from the 12-15 planned interviews.
As the study is concerned with a relatively small population i.e. all hospital social
workers within one specific acute hospital, it has the scope to apply whole
population sampling. The whole population will be included and invited to
interview, with no exclusion criteria applied. As the study was designed to look at
hospital social workers experiences of using a new assessment tool, it is