ABSTRACT
Purpose: Social work (SW) is a profession that fulfills important roles on integrated health teams, yet there remains a lack of clarity on SW’s functions. The current study sought to identify typologies of SW’s roles on integrated care teams using latent class analysis (LCA).
Method: An electronic survey was developed, piloted, and administered to Masters level SW students and practitioners in integrated health care settings (N = 395) regarding weekly use of interventions. LCA was conducted to estimate latent sub-groups of respondents.
Results: Respondents reported an average of 14.6 (SD = 4.7) interventions. Five classes of SW roles were identified and varied by setting and focus. One class (13%) completed a hybrid function providing behavioral health and social care interventions.
Conclusions: Classes of SW roles on teams may reflect varying models of integrated care. A flexible SW on the team may adapt to patient and clinic needs, but increases the opportunity for role confusion.
Acknowledgments
We would also like to acknowledge Brian Perron, PhD at the University of Michigan School of Social Work for his consultation during study design.
Conflicts of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.