What Ethical Dilemmas Do Social Workers Face in the Healthcare Area in Spain?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the article is to identify the types of ethical dilemmas that Spanish social workers face in the healthcare arena (health centers, hospitals and mental health). A quantitative methodology was chosen using the questionnaire prepared by Eileen J. Ain. The questionnaire has been translated and adapted for Social Work in Spain. The statistical analysis shows the correlation between the different areas of intervention in Social Work and the most significant ethical dilemmas that such professionals have to solve (autonomy, confidentiality and informed consent). This article is an essential study on Social Work at the national level that emphasizes the importance of the ethics of Social Work in the Healthcare area.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethics
• social work
• ethical dilemmas
• healthcare
• Spain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España [FFI2013-46530-P]. Study funded by the project FFI2013-46530-P, “Ethical decision making in Professional Social Work,” of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of the Government of Spain.