"We're kind of on the back burner": Psychological distress and coping among medical social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soc Work Health Care
; 62(6-7): 243-262, 2023.
Artículo
en Inglés
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20238580
ABSTRACT
Medical social workers are essential members of healthcare teams, especially during a pandemic. Their scope of practice includes conducting psychological assessments, coordinating social services, connecting patients to resources that address social determinants of health, discharge planning, and patient advocacy. Social workers' experiences of psychological distress were unique even before the COVID-19 pandemic; their work demands a high amount of emotional investment as they frequently witness others' pain and suffering and navigate various daily challenges and crises. This study explores psychological distress experienced by medical social workers and the coping strategies used by these professionals during the pandemic prior to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Faced with conflicting information from state and federal agencies, social workers dealt with resource shortages, took on additional roles and responsibilities, and contended with regular value conflicts and ethical dilemmas. Our findings indicate that medical social workers are not sufficiently protected or prioritized in their workplaces and that infrastructure to support social workers' emotional wellbeing is lacking. Distinct themes that emerged from the data under the umbrella of psychological distress include feeling unprotected, overburdened, and undervalued. We discuss a need for targeted policy and sustainability-oriented solutions to improve coping and resilience, mitigate psychological distress, and prevent burnout among medical social workers.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
Disponible
Colección:
Bases de datos internacionales
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Distrés Psicológico
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudio:
Investigación cualitativa
Tópicos:
Vacunas
Límite:
Humanos
Idioma:
Inglés
Revista:
Soc Work Health Care
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Artículo
País de afiliación:
00981389.2023.2221718
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