Abstract
As a profession, social work seeks to help and empower vulnerable individuals, families and groups in society. It thus concerns itself with the welfare of persons who have difficulty functioning fully in society due to conditions, such as illness. In view of the fact that medical social work is one of the major areas of social work practice, this chapter discusses the role of social workers in healthcare delivery in Africa. The chapter commences with introduction of social work as a profession and its history in Africa. In addition, the chapter emphasises the roles of social workers in the healthcare system. Furthermore, drawing on two case studies, challenges encountered by medical social workers in healthcare settings are highlighted. Moreover, ethical issues that core healthcare practitioners and medical social workers in Africa need to be acquainted with as they collaborate to meet patients’ needs are discussed. Given the importance of multi-professional teams in the administration of healthcare, suggestions are made regarding how medical social workers could be professionally aligned with core healthcare practitioners to provide effective and efficient healthcare in Africa. This would offer medical social workers the opportunity to enhance their productivity, recognition and image within African healthcare settings.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Apt, N.A., and E.Q. Blavo. 1997. Ghana. In International handbook on social work theory and practice, ed. S. Nazneen, D.E. Mayadas, and T.D. Watts. London: Greenwood Press.
Baffoe, M., and M. Dako-Gyeke. 2014. Social work practice in Ghana: Changing dynamics, challenges and opportunities. In Changing perspectives on the social sciences in Ghana, ed. S. Agyei-Mensah, J.A. Ayee, and A.D. Oduro, 13–134. New York: Springer.
Brown, L., and T. Walter. 2014. Towards a social model of end-of-life care. British Journal of Social Work 44: 2375–2390.
Chitereka, C. 2009. Social work practice in a developing continent: The case of Africa. Advances in Social Work 10 (2): 144–156.
———. 2010. Hospital social work practice in Zimbabwe. Social Work in Health Care 49 (9): 769–782.
Dako-Gyeke, M., and H. Kofie. 2017. Improving mental healthcare in Ghana: The role of social work practice. In Handbook of social work and social development in Africa, ed. M. Gray, 181–189. London: Routledge.
Davis, C., B. Milosevic, E. Baldry, and A. Walsh. 2005. Defining the role of the hospital social worker in Australia. International Social Work 48 (3): 289–299.
Dennis, M.K., K.T. Washington, and T.L. Koenig. 2014. Ethical dilemmas faced by hospice social workers. Social Work in Health Care 53 (10): 950–968.
Gray, M., L. Kreitzer, and R. Mupedziswa. 2014. The enduring relevance of indigenisation in African social work: A critical reflection on ASWEA’s legacy. Ethics and Social Welfare 8 (2): 101–116.
Holland, T.P., and A.C. Kilpatrick. 1991. Ethical issues in social work: Toward a grounded theory of professional ethics. Social Work 36 (2): 38–44.
Jansson, B.S., and S.J. Dodd. 2002. Ethical activism. Social Work in Health Care 36 (1): 11–28.
Kiyange, F. 2010. Social work in palliative care in Africa. Progress in Palliative Care 18 (4): 244–246.
Landau, R. 2001. Ethical dilemmas in general hospitals. Social Work in Health Care 32 (2): 75–92.
Maramaldi, P., A. Sobran, L. Scheck, N. Cusato, I. Lee, E. White, and T.J. Cadet. 2014. Interdisciplinary medical social work: A working taxonomy. Social Work in Health Care 53 (6): 532–551.
McCormick, A.J., P. Stowell-Weiss, J. Carson, G. Tebo, I. Hanson, and B. Quesada. 2014. Continuing education in ethical decision making using case studies from medical social work. Social Work in Health Care 53 (4): 344–363.
Midgley, J. 1997. Social welfare in a global context. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Mupedziswa, R. 2005. Challenges and prospects of social work services in Africa. In The social sciences and socio-economic transformation in Africa, ed. J.C. Akeibunor and E.E. Anugwom, 271–317. Nsukka: Great AP Express Publishing.
Mwansa, L.K. 2012. Social work in Africa. In Handbook of international social work: Human rights, development, and the global profession, ed. M.L. Healy and R.J. Link, 365–371. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
NASW (National Association of Social Workers). 2016. NASW standards for social work practice in health care settings. Retrieved on May 13, 2017 from https://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWHealthCareStandards.pdf
O’Donnell, P., A. Farrar, K. Brintzenhofeszoc, A.P. Conrad, M. Danis, C. Grady, C. Taylor, and C.M. Ulrich. 2008. Predictors of ethical stress, moral action and job satisfaction in health care social workers. Social Work in Health Care 46 (3): 29–51.
OASW (Ontario Association of Social Workers). 2016. Social work in hospital-based health care. Retrieved on February 22, 2017 from http://www.wrh.on.ca/Site_Published/wrh_internet/DocumentRender.aspx?Body.IdType=5&Body.Id=22232&Body.GenericField
Parast, S.M., and B. Allaii. 2014. The role of social work in health care system. Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications 2 (2): 59–68.
Powell, R.E., A. Doty, R.J. Casten, B.W. Rovener, and K.L. Rising. 2016. A qualitative analysis of interprofessional healthcare team members’ perceptions of patient barriers to healthcare engagement. BMC Health Services Research 16 (493): 1–10.
Pugh, G.L. 2015. Perceptions of the hospital ethical environment among hospital social workers in the United States. Social Work in Health Care 54 (3): 252–268.
Rwomire, A., and L. Raditlhokwa. 1996. Social work in Africa: Issues and challenges. Journal of Social Development in Africa II 2: 5–19.
Soni, P. 2009. Emergence of social work education in Africa: A historical perspective. Retrieved on January 17, 2017 from https://ssrn.com/abstract=1509847
Sottie, C.A., and A. Boateng. 2014. Development of the social work profession. In Social work in a changing world: Issues and prospects, ed. C. Sottie, M. Dako-Gyeke, and R.J. Walls, 1–10. Accra: Woeli Publishers.
Further Reading
Allen, K.M., and W.J. Spitzer. 2016. Social work practice in healthcare: Advanced approaches and emerging trends. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ambrose-Miller, W., and R. Ashcroft. 2016. Challenges faced by social workers as members of inter-professional collaborative health care teams. Health & Social Work 41 (2): 101–109.
Beder, J. 2006. Hospital social work: The interface of medicine and caring. New York: Routledge.
Chitereka, C. 2010. Hospital social work practice in Zimbabwe. Social Work in Health Care 49 (9): 769–782.
Gehlert, S., and T. Browne, eds. 2012. Handbook of health social work. Hoboken: Wiley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dako-Gyeke, M., Boateng, D.A., Mills, A.A. (2018). The Role of Social Work in the Provision of Healthcare in Africa. In: Nortjé, N., De Jongh, JC., Hoffmann, W. (eds) African Perspectives on Ethics for Healthcare Professionals. Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93230-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93230-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93229-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93230-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)