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Abstract
The Affordable Care Act and budget cuts have changed the role of hospital social workers by placing pressure on them to conduct speedy discharges and decrease readmission rates. This qualitative study aimed to assess if hospital social work is meeting the needs of clients in the hospital and postdischarge. Semistructured interviews with 10 clients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and 11 caregivers were conducted. Participants reported that social work services were not meeting their needs. Clients with ICH and their caregivers expressed needs from social workers that surpassed their roles as discharge planners, including counseling, help with finances and insurance, and advocacy. Participants wanted social work services to begin early in acute treatment with continuity postdischarge. Social workers should conduct ethical social work by meeting clients where they are, addressing needs as prioritized by the client, and advocating individually and organizationally for clients.
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge The Queen's Medical Center's Native Hawaiian Health Program for supporting this study and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20MD000173 for supporting this study.