Health social work in Canada: Five trends worth noting

Published In

Social Work in Health Care

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

Highlighting a strong human rights and social justice orientation underlying health social work in Canada, this paper describes recent contributions of Canadian health social work practitioners and scholars to five areas identified by Auslander (2001) in a delphi study of health social work in its first century. Five current ‘trends’ are discussed which correspond with Auslander's themes of professional legitimacy and scope, social causation, dissemination of knowledge, interventions, and cultural appropriateness. These trends are: 1) defining the scope of health social work practice; 2) addressing the social determinants of health; 3) promoting evidence-based practice in health social work; 4) delivering client and family-centered care; and 5) implementing cultural safety and trauma-informed practice. Suggestions are made to further strengthen the position of health social work in Canada.

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2018.1474161

DOI

10.1080/00981389.2018.1474161

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27113

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