Exploring the Efficacy of Social Work Interventions in Hospital Settings: A Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

Social workers play an integral role in hospitals, particularly as it relates to improving patient outcomes. This scoping review was conducted to explore the impact of social work interventions in hospital settings on healthcare utilization. Research literature was identified using the following search engines: PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, SocINDEX & MEDLINE. The initial search was conducted in May 2019, and an updated search was conducted in April 2021. Search results identified 2633 references and 110 articles met criteria for full-text review. Eighteen articles were included in the final review. Social work interventions include transitional care (56%), care coordination (22%), behavioral health (17%) and case management (5%). Significant improvements to readmission, mortality and utilizations rates are reported in over 80% of the studies, however the vast majority are non-randomized quantitative studies. More rigorous studies are needed to expand the literature and further evaluate the effectiveness of social work interventions in hospital settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• patient readmission
• healthcare utilization
• mortality
• social determinants of health

Disclosure statement

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

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2022.2104415

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.