Social work in integrated care

Abstract

In the first of three articles we shared our understanding of integrated care and traced the evolution of interprofessional learning from organic to strategic and systemic, prepared to play its part in the implementation of integrated care. In this third article, joined by Lee-Ann Fenge, we focus on the role of the social worker in integrating care and clarifying their roles in collaboration with other professions. We distinguish between social work as a profession and social care as a field of practice, which includes many professions as well as other occupations. We share the literature on where social work plays a role in integrated care and ask questions about the lack of interprofessional education involving social workers and without whom integrated care cannot succeed.

Keywords: Integrated care; navigating care; social work, interprofessional learning, collaborative practice.