Addressing Heart Failure Challenges through Illness-Informed Social Work

This article describes the role of social workers in addressing the needs of people with heart failure. Although previous studies have explored the role of social workers in health care settings, few studies have addressed the challenges of specific chronic diseases such as heart failure. To address...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health & social work 2015-08, Vol.40 (3), p.201-208
Main Authors: Hopp, Faith Pratt, Camp, Jessica K., Perry, Tam E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chronic Disease
Female
Health Care Services
Health Services Accessibility
Health Services Needs and Demand
Heart Diseases
Heart failure
Heart Failure - psychology
Heart Failure - therapy
Humans
Illness
Interviews as Topic
Knowledge
Male
Occupational Roles
Professional Role
Roles
Social Work
Social Workers
Terminal Care
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Summary:This article describes the role of social workers in addressing the needs of people with heart failure. Although previous studies have explored the role of social workers in health care settings, few studies have addressed the challenges of specific chronic diseases such as heart failure. To address this gap in the literature, this study used qualitative interviews with health care social workers (n = 8) to obtain in-depth information about activities and challenges related to heart failure care. Findings suggest that health care social workers perceive heart failure as characterized by an uncertain illness trajectory, frequent hospitalizations, and difficulties accessing formal and informal care. These findings suggest the importance of what we term illness-informed social work, a practice that combines heart failure knowledge with social work competencies to address the complex psychosocial issues in heart failure care.
ISSN:0360-7283
1545-6854
DOI:10.1093/hsw/hlv036