MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK AND INDIA
AUTHOR
Dr .A. K. AVASARALA
MBBS,M.D.
PROFESSOR &HEAD,
DEPT OF COMMUNITY
MEDICINE & EPIDEMIOLOGY
PRATHIMA INSTITUTE OF
MEDICAL SCIENCES,
KARIMNAGAR,A.P..
INDIA : +91505417
avasarala@yahoo.com
PROMPT
• Medical social work, a powerful
weapon to realize comprehensive and
qualitative health care is used only in
a few limited fields and less used.
• It needs boosting up and revitalization,
particularly among the medical
students, doctors and health planners.
• This thought prompted me for the
development of this lecture
Learning objectives
• What is medical social work?
• What are its guiding
principles?
• What are its working
principles and methods?
• Its usage in India?
Performance objectives
• Learner should be able to
Practice Direct and Indirect
assistance methods of
Medical social work to
realize qualitative and
comprehensive health care .
Definition
• It is the application and
adoption of the method
and philosophy of social
work in the field of health
and medical care.
Definitions
• Branch of social work and deals
with the social, physical and
psychological aspects of patient.
• Social work in medical setting
• Using relevant social skills and
knowledge to help the patients
History and background
• 1880-1900 In England, after the mental
patients were discharged, visitors and
nurses were asked to give advices to them
.
• Dr. Charles Emerson , USA opined that
medical science should also include the
study of emotional and social problems.
• He suggested that medical students
should work as volunteers under the
charities and agencies.
History and background
• Year 1905: Boston medical
institutions appointed MSW
(medical social worker) for the
first time
• In India, Tata Institute of social
sciences had taken up the lead
medial social work.
Fink ,the Sociologist
• “Life
is a series of interruption and
recoveries.”
• Man is a unity of mind and body and
medicine must consider this unity.
• Physiology, chemistry and biology
cannot alone or together explain all
intricacies of illness.
• The disturbances of mind and body
cannot be dealt with separately. They
form the two phases of a single
problem.
Nature and Scope
• Medical social work is
based on the assumption
of the individual’s dignity
• Guided and inspired by
basic values social work
Nature& Scope
According to medical social
work-• health refers to that state or
condition, in which an
individual is capable to utilize
all the capacities of his social
living.
Nature and scope
Medical social work considers
human health with a broad
perspective.
• The treatment is not the final
solution for illness in medical
social work.
• Disease and diseased person
are different from each other.
Nature and scope
• Medical science gives emphasis
on the disease but ignores the
importance of the diseased
person.
• But the medical social work
studies the diseased person viz.
the social aspect of the disease.
Nature and Scope
Medical social work deals with
• the prevention of disease,
• after care of the patients and
• social rehabilitation of
patients,
--and not just limited to the
treatment of disease.
Uses
1. To discover the social and
psychological background
of a patient
2. To make the patient free from
his psychological tensions
3. To discover the psychosocial
factors of the illness
Working concept
• Medical social work deals with the
those problems of the patient
which are related to the physical
and psychological environment
• It is oriented towards the
assistance of those people, who
during their treatment, face social,
physical ,economic and
psychological problems.
Working principles
mainly social techniques and mostly
humanitarian in nature.
1. By enabling the patient for solving his
problems (building up his capacities)
2. By determining the social and
psychological influence.
3. By developing the willpower and
determination of the patient
Working principles
4)By enabling the patient to
adjust with his problems.
5)By developing proper
environment
Working methods
•Case study method,
•Direct method of
assistance
•Indirect method of
assistance
Case study method
• By, case study method,
MSW collects information
with regard to the specific
needs of the patient and
works towards their
fulfillment in accordance
with the available means
Direct methods of assistance
• MSW is directly involved
in the assistance.
• Social case workAssistance is provided to
the individual patient with
the aim of developing his
inherent capacity
Direct assistance
•Social group work• Medical social worker tries
at strengthening the social
relations of the patient and
works towards the
development of a healthy
social environment
Indirect methods of
assistance
1. Community organization
2. Social administration
3. Social insurance and social
security
4. Social action
5. Social work research
Indirect assistance
1. Community organization = organization
of community resources with regard to
health problem by MSW
2. Social administration= MSW guides the
public opinion for enactment of new
social legislations or any amendment in
prevailing legislations
3. Social security& insurance= enabling the
patient to utilize the facilities under social
security and insurance by MSW
Indirect assistance
4)Social action= MSW participates in the
movements of social action at the national
(national health programme involvement)
and international levels( world health
days)
5)Social work research= MSW inspires
surveys and investigations regarding the
social ,economic and psychological
problems of the patient
Medico social work in India
• Less importance was given to this
important branch of health promotion
• Tata institute of Social Sciences is only
pioneering and struggling in this field
• Less awareness and practice of this very
useful extension of health care delivery in
India
• most of the national health programmes
are running at a snail pace due to non- use
of this field of medicine.
Medico social work in India
• Medical social work is limited to
few areas of health care in India --• Department of Sexually transmitted
diseases
• Department of pediatrics
• Department of community
medicine
• Department of obstetrics
Summary
• Medical social work is a very powerful
and essential branch of medicine for
realizing a comprehensive and qualitative
health care.
• As long as it is considered as an offshoot
of social work, it draws little attention by
the medical personnel and health
planners. This is the problem in India.
• Time has come to consider it as a part
and parcel of medical and health care.
References.
• Paul Chowdhary, “Introduction to social
Work” third revised edition, Atmaram &
sons, Delhi, Lucknow