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Evidence that supports the value of social work in hospitals
- Authors:
- AUERBACH Charles, MASON Susan E., LAPORTE Heidi H.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 44(4), 2007, pp.17-32.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In the US context, there can be a divergence of views on the value of hospital social workers. On the one hand, they are seen as essential to ensuring speedy discharge with appropriate social care support while, on the other, hospital administrators may see them as an unnecessary luxury in face of pressure to contain costs. This paper reports on a study of 64,722 patients admitted to a medical-surgical unit between 2002 and 2004, of whom 10,156 (15.7%) received social work services. Sixty per cent of this sub-group were aged 70 or over, compared to a mean age for the sample of 56.2 years, and their mean length of stay was 11.4 days, compared to 4.3 days for non-social work patients. This difference is statistically significant and the authors attribute it to the fact that social workers dealt with older and more difficult to place patients. The data for the study were derived from the hospital’s patient discharge tracking system, and the authors argue that such a tracking system can help provide objective evidence of the value of social work services in acute care hospitals. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).