Skip to main content
Article
Physician and Nurse Practitioner Perceptions of Social Worker and Community Health Worker Roles in Primary Care Practices Caring for Frail Elders: Insights for Social Work
Social Work in Health Care
  • Julie Berrett-Abebe, Fairfield University
  • Karen Donelan
  • Barbara Berkman
  • David Auerbach
  • Peter Maramaldi
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-29-2019
Disciplines
Abstract

Social workers (SW) and community health workers (CHW) have emerged as key workforce personnel in efforts to care for elders in the U.S. However, little is known about the presence and roles of SW and CHW in primary care practices. This paper presents findings from a nationally representative survey of geriatrics and primary care practices. Physician and nurse practitioner clinicians were randomly selected within practices, stratifying by practice staffing and presence/absence of geriatric clinicians; our final sample for this analysis included 341 practices. Key findings include: reported challenges in meeting the social service needs of elders, underutilization of SW, and fuller utilization of social work competencies in practices in which both SW and CHW were present. These findings offer a unique perspective of SW on interprofessional teams and have implications for the future of the profession.

Comments

© 2019 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

A link to full text has been provided for authorized subscribers.

Published Citation
Berrett-Abebe, J., Maramaldi, P., Berkman, B., Auerbach, D. & Donelan, K. (2020). Physician and nurse practitioner perceptions of social worker and community health worker roles in primary care practices caring for frail elders: Insights for social work. Social Work in Health Care, 59(1), 46-60. DOI: 10.1080/00981389.2019.1695703
DOI
10.1080/00981389.2019.1695703
None
Peer Reviewed
Citation Information
Julie Berrett-Abebe, Karen Donelan, Barbara Berkman, David Auerbach, et al.. "Physician and Nurse Practitioner Perceptions of Social Worker and Community Health Worker Roles in Primary Care Practices Caring for Frail Elders: Insights for Social Work" Social Work in Health Care Vol. 59 Iss. 1 (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/julie-berrett-abebe/3/