The social worker. A member of the primary care team?
The primary health care team at present does not include social workers as routine members. If however, we, accept the World Health Organization definition of health, which includes social well being, then it follows that the social worker should be considered as a member of the health team to attend to this aspect of health in the service delivery mix. This paper presents the experience of a social worker assigned to the August Town/Hermitage Type III health centre during the period March 1995 to February 1996 and her contribution to patient welfare. The expected roles of the social worker and his or her contribution to the health team are outlined.
Falloon
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Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003376:Counseling; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005378:Financial Support; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007563:Jamaica; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012931:Social Environment; D012947:Social Work; D014944:World Health Organization