Challenges and opportunities of social workers in public hospitals: the case of Tikur Anbessa and Menilik II hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction-One of the institutions where social workers practice is health care settings. Even though most of the time they do not have a well-defined role, social workers contribute for better health outcomes in health care settings. Objective- this study is intended to explore the challenges and opportunities of social workers in health settings. So, this study focused on assessing the application of general standards in social work practice, services social workers provide in hospital as well as challenges they face while practicing social works in hospitals. Methodology- A qualitative approach, particularly a case study research design was deployed in this study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the hospitals where the study was conducted. In general, 8 social workers and 8 other informants participated in this study. The total sample size was 16. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers and other informants and observations were used to collect data for the study. Collected data were analyzed using MS-Excel. Finding- The findings of the study show that social workers practicing in the selected hospitals could not apply and even do not know most of the standards stated on the NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Health Care setting (2016).Also, the finding from this study shows that social workers in these selected hospitals provide various services not only as per their job descriptions but also works outside their job descriptions. Moreover, social workers face different challenges ranging from poor perception from other professionals of the importance of works of social workers to lack of facility to deliver the quality service. The root cause for these challenges is lack of awareness among other health professionals about social workers' roles in the hospitals they are working in. In relation to this, the study findings also show that social workers make more efforts to overcome the challenges they are facing today. The study also presents social work implications on the areas of policy, practice, research, and education.