Cover Page

HANDBOOK OF HEALTH SOCIAL WORK


THIRD EDITION



Edited by

SARAH GEHLERT and TERI BROWNE






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Foreword

Significant issues such as poverty, environmental sustainability, income inequality, and health equity plague our communities and our world. People in urban and rural areas struggle to access the basic services and health care that they need, and many face structural barriers to health and well‐being. These barriers, largely driven by power and resource disparities, have left many without meaningful access to essential services. The truth is that where we live dramatically affects our ability to live a healthy life. Average lifespans differ wildly, not just broadly by country, but locally, by postal code or city block. These challenges are in the context of larger trends such as demographic changes due to globalization, population aging, and the increase in frequency and severity of harmful natural disasters that bring displacement, disease, and political unrest.

Within this context, the role of social work is more vital than ever, and there are many reasons to have hope. Transdisciplinary researchers work diligently to find ways to reduce rates of cancer and cognitive decline and to prevent violence in impoverished communities. Broad coalitions are spreading best practices for integrating mental health services into health care and identifying adverse childhood experiences and trauma exposure. Technological advances such as smart phones and ride sharing offer potential for interventions to support behavior change and decrease social isolation. There is increasing acknowledgment of the social determinants of health and the role of social work in addressing them.

Social work is uniquely poised to navigate the many barriers and opportunities that influence the health of individuals, families, and communities. As a profession, social work has long understood the complex dynamics and systems that affect health and well‐being across the lifespan. Indeed, the profession has built its practice on a person‐in‐environment perspective that allows us to see the individual in both a local and global context. Social work is guided by an evidence base informed by research in a variety of community and health system settings as well as a long history of defining best practices. Social workers act as a bridge between medical and social services, and they are at the forefront of promoting team care. They are equipped with a variety of highly specialized clinical skills that can be used to improve quality of life, support behavior change, and address the social determinants of health. Additionally, social workers are prepared to engage in mezzo‐ and macrolevel practice, informing institutional practices and government policy.

As healthcare professionals, and delivery and finance systems, strive to deliver care that is rooted in the community, is patient‐ and family ‐focused, and aware of and responsive to social and economic factors that influence health, the contributions of social work become increasingly important. Because social workers are trained to think systemically, we are poised to lead the way. Social workers are active participants in efforts to develop care models that adequately address the psychosocial, economic, and environmental factors that influence health outcomes. These are issues that healthcare systems have long struggled to address.

As social workers become more fully integrated into healthcare teams, it becomes increasingly critical that we define our roles and our unique contributions. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 and other recent changes to healthcare policy have provided a historic opportunity to transform a fragmented and inadequate healthcare delivery system by incentivizing mental health integration and exploring alternative payment models. However, with the future of this legislation in doubt, social workers must fully embrace one of their other roles: policy advocate. It is social work's responsibility to help amplify the voices of our most vulnerable patients, families, and communities in order to advocate for policies that promote a just, equal, and rational healthcare delivery system. As a global community of social workers, we must learn from each other by analyzing policy efforts around the world. We must also advocate a social work perspective in global bodies such as the United Nations.

In a time of political uncertainty in the United States and abroad, the role of social work is more vital than ever. Our ethics, values, and skills compel us to advocate for and stand with those individuals and communities most marginalized by regressive social policy. The profession's roots are in working with vulnerable populations—such as those who are un‐ or underinsured, who lack housing and other basic services, or who have limited contact with the health system. We are value‐driven professionals who strive for social justice and health equity, both locally and globally.

The Handbook of Health Social Work is a definitive and actionable resource for social workers around the world. Increasing recognition of the social determinants of health and developing models of integrated services provide increased opportunity for social work leadership in health care. Social work has a vital role to play in achieving better health outcomes and addressing major barriers to health equity around the globe.

Robyn Golden

Acknowledgments

The preparation of the third edition of this Handbook involved the efforts of several people. Two were Nora Malone, a very talented young woman whom I met when she was an editor of Social Service Review at the University of Chicago and I was on faculty there, and Brooke Chehoski, a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina. Both helped us organize and edit the Handbook. We could not have done it without their assistance. Rachel Livsey and her successor Dominic Bibby of John Wiley & Sons were very supportive throughout the process. We also would like to thank the reviewers of our third edition for their helpful comments. The 54 contributors to the Handbook, some of whom were friends and others known to us only by reputation prior to the collaboration, worked hard and were patient with this revision. Finally, we would like to thank our spouses, Roy Wilson and Lyle Browne, who were always willing to listen to our ideas, and provide feedback, support, and humor.

About the Editors

Sarah Gehlert, PhD, is the dean and University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Distinguished Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina and the E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity Emerita in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the Department of Surgery at Washington University, where she taught until July 2017. Dr. Gehlert has many years of experience in health and healthcare research and in social work and transdisciplinary education. She was the core leader of the Education and Training Core of the NCI‐funded Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities at Washington University, and co‐principal investigator of the NCI‐funded Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer Center. Dr. Gehlert directed the University of Chicago's Maternal and Child Health Training Program from 1992 to 1998 and was principal investigator on a NIMH‐funded community‐based study of rural and urban women's health and mental health from 1997 to 2001. She was the principal investigator and director of the University of Chicago's NIH‐funded Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research and project leader of one of its four interdependent research projects from 2003 to 2010. Dr. Gehlert was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health from 2010 to 2016 and is a frequent participant in scientific reviews at the National Institutes of Health. She serves on the Council of External Grants at the American Cancer Society and the steering committee of the California Breast Cancer Research Program. Gehlert is president of the American Academy of Social Work and a member of the Steering C and Executive Committees of the Grand Challenges for Social Work. She also is past president of the Society of Social Work and Research. She is on the editorial boards of several social work journals and a managing editor of the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science. She has published over 150 articles and chapters and four books. Dr. Gehlert worked for 8 years as a health social worker.

Teri Browne, PhD, is an associate professor and associate dean for Faculty and Research at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work. Dr. Browne has many years of experience in health and healthcare research and in social work and interprofessional education. She is the co‐director for Interprofessional Education in the health sciences at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Browne is a board member of the American Association of Kidney patients and is the past national chairperson of the National Kidney Foundation's Council of Nephrology Social Workers Executive Committee. Dr. Browne is the editor of the Journal of Nephrology Social Work and on the editorial boards for several journals. Dr. Browne is an international expert in nephrology social work and worked as a dialysis social worker for more than a decade.

List of Contributors

Heidi L. Allen, PhD
Columbia University
New York, New York

Terry Altilio, MSW
Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, New York

Wendy Auslander, PhD
Washington University
St. Louis, Missouri

Shantha Balaswamy, PhD
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio

Penny B. Block, PhD
Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care
Evanston, Illinois

Rebecca Brashler, MSW
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois

Teri Browne, PhD
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

Seul Ki Choi, PhD
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

Yvette Colón, PhD
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

Gracelyn Cruden, MA
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Julie S. Darnell, PhD
Loyola University
Chicago, Illinois

Sadhna Diwan, PhD
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

Maya H. Doyle, PhD
Quinnipiac University
Hamden, Connecticut

Iris Cohen Fineberg, PhD
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York

Stacey Freedenthal, PhD
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado

Daniela B. Friedman, PhD
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

Sarah Gehlert, PhD
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

Donald Gerke, MSW
Washington University
St. Louis, Missouri

Robyn Golden, MSW
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois

Lexie R. Grove, MSPH
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Susan Hedlund, MSW
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon

Katie Holland, MSW
Fresenius Medical Care
Plymouth, North Carolina

Barbara L. Jones, PhD
University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Karen Kayser, PhD
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky

Hee Yun Lee, PhD
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL

Mi Hwa Lee, PhD
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina

Sang E. Lee, PhD
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

Brianna M. Lombardi, MSW
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jamie Marshall, MSW, MPH
The Group for Public Health Social Work Initiatives
Boston, Massachusetts

Christopher Masi, MD, PhD
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

Sapna J. Mendon, MSW
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Joseph R. Merighi, PhD
University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Shana Merrill, MS, LCGC
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Teresa Moro, PhD
Rush University Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois

Shirley Otis‐Green, MSW
Coalition for Compassionate Care of California
Sacramento, California

Lawrence A. Palinkas, PhD
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Sheila V. Patel, BSPH
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Panagiotis Pentaris, PhD
University of Greenwich
Eltham, London

Fayra Phillips, PhD
University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Byron J. Powell, PhD
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Sarah Kye Price, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia

John S. Rolland, MD
Chicago Center for Family Health
Chicago, Illinois

Betty Ruth, MSW, MPH
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts

Tamara Savage, PhD
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Pembroke, North Carolina

Lisa de Saxe Zerden, PhD
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Cassidy Shaver, MSW
Lankenau Medical Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Han Song, PhD
Yonsei University
Seoul, South Korea

Varda Soskolne, PhD
Bar‐Ilan University
Jerusalem, Israel

Kimberly Strom‐Gottfried, PhD
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Madi Knight Wachman, MSW, MPH
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts

Stephanie Wladkowski, PhD
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI

Casey Walsh, MSW
University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Trina Salm Ward, PhD
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Tiffany Washington, PhD
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

Allison Werner‐Lin, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Stephanie P. Wladkowski, PhD
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

Johnston Wong, PhD
Beijing Normal University‐Hong Kong Baptist
University United International College
Guangdong Province, China

Zhang Zuojian, PhD
Jindong Public Welfare Center
Chengdu, China

About the Companion Website

The Handbook of Health Social Work 3rd Edition’s companion website www.wiley.com/go/gehlert3e contains instructor materials including chapter learning exercises, additional chapter resources and chapter power point presentations.

Introduction

In a faculty meeting many years ago, a colleague from another profession referred to the “lower level skills” of social workers in health care. She distinguished these skills from the “higher level skills” of social workers in traditional mental health settings. I addressed her comment by citing the broad array of information that social workers in health care must possess and be able to access quickly to assess client situations and devise optimal plans in the limited time available to them in healthcare settings. I characterized the process as highly challenging, requiring skills at least as well developed as those of social workers in other arenas. This exchange between my colleague and me made me realize two things. First, health social work is not well understood by those working in other subfields of social work and other disciplines. Second, it would behoove health social work scholars to better define and represent the subfield. Teri Browne and I continue to work toward increasing public understanding of health social work and helping to articulate its functions. Since the last edition of our Handbook, we have been joined by a wonderful group of colleagues on a new initiative of the Grand Challenges for Social Work entitled, “Strengthening Healthcare Systems: Better Health Across America.” A few members of that group have joined us as authors of the third edition of this Handbook.

We alluded to the complexity of roles that health social workers play in health care in the last edition of the Handbook. These roles have grown in number and become more nuanced in the years since the second edition, moving the bar for educating students even higher than in the past. In addition, increasing awareness of the role of social factors in health and healthcare outcomes has opened a door for better defining health social work's contribution to health care. This increased awareness occurred in part from knowledge gained through the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 and the knowledge that medical treatment alone would not eliminate health disparities in the United States. The complex biological, behavioral, and social interactions that underlie conditions like HIV/AIDS and cancer argue strongly for simultaneous attention to factors operating at the social, psychological, and biological levels (see, e.g., Warnecke et al., 2008). As members of healthcare teams that take these approaches, social workers must possess sufficient knowledge at the social, psychological, and biological levels to converse productively with other members of the teams and work in concert with them constructively. In addition, to be effective, social workers must be aware of how these factors operate with individuals, families, groups, communities, as well as societies. This awareness is best done by engaging community stakeholders at many levels in research.

The Handbook of Health Social Work was developed to prepare students to work in the current healthcare environment in which providers from a number of disciplines work more closely together than was ever the case in the past. Health care in the United States has moved from being multidisciplinary to being interdisciplinary, with the ultimate goal of being transdisciplinary. In multidisciplinary environments, professionals from different disciplines work on the same projects but speak their own languages, view health care through their own disciplinary lens and often share knowledge with one another after the fact. Interdisciplinary teams interact more closely, but each discipline continues to operate within its own boundaries. Because an interdisciplinary approach almost never provides a broad enough view of healthcare conditions to capture their inherent complexities, transdisciplinary teamwork has become the exemplar. Here, healthcare professionals work so closely together that they must develop a shared language and pool the best of their separate disciplinary theories. Absent of this new, more interdependent approach, the team is reminiscent of the old cartoon of a roomful of blindfolded people touching different parts of an elephant, with each describing the beast based only on the part that she is touching. One might base his description on the trunk, another on the ears, and a third on the tail. To effectively address complex health conditions we must recognize the elephant in the room.

In 2016, my co‐editor Teri Browne and I were asked by John Wiley & Sons if we would be interested in revising the Handbook a second time. That edition was translated into Mandarin Chinese and Korean, which increased the Handbook's visibility and use. A good deal has changed on both the national and international fronts in the decade since the first edition was published. The mapping of the human genome in 2004 continues to change how we view and approach the treatment of disease, as has new technologies for repairing damage at the levels of the molecule and gene. Our ability to treat some disorders has increased markedly, with exciting new treatments that draw on the body's own immune response and ability to heal. Yet, all are not privy to these diagnostic techniques and treatments. Over that same decade between the first and third edition of our Handbook, the number of persons who lost and gained healthcare coverage fluctuated. Although promised healthcare reform still holds the potential to ensure that citizens have coverage, this is not true for vulnerable populations, and exactly how reform will impact the nation's steadily increasing health disparities continues to be a question.

These changes will continue and require a great deal of flexibility on the part of health social workers. As was the case with the first and second editions of the Handbook of Health Social Work, the third edition considers social workers in health care to be active problem solvers who must draw from a variety of germane bodies of information to address the issues and problems faced by individuals, families, groups, communities, and societies. We believe that this approach allows flexibility, and thus positions health social workers to deal optimally with a changing healthcare environment. The authors and layout of the third edition reflect this approach. The book's chapters are introduced by a Foreword by master practitioner Robyn Golden, who continues to break ground as a social work leader in health care practice and research and who has done much to raise the profile of the profession.

The third edition has benefited greatly from formal reviews solicited by John Wiley & Sons and feedback from our colleagues, many of whom teach health social work and related courses. Every chapter in this edition has been entirely revised. We have added chapters on global health social work (Chapter 4), integrated behavioral health (Chapter 9), and evidence‐based practice (Chapter 11). Based in part on my professional visits to China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, Israel, and Germany, and Teri Browne's visit to India, we have come to realize that many issues like immigration and refugee status, exposure to violence, group differences in health, and the influence of policies are shared by health social workers across the globe. We have attempted to incorporate this reality into the third edition.

The book is divided into three sections. Part I, “The Foundations of Social Work in Health Care,” provides information that we consider basic and central to the operations of social workers in health care. In Chapter 1, “The Conceptual Underpinnings of Social Work in Health Care,” Sarah Gehlert again discusses the principles that underlie the development of social work in health care and follows its course through time to determine any changes in principles and activities that may have occurred. Chapter 2, “Social Work Roles and Healthcare Settings” by Teri Browne, carefully outlines the wide array of roles performed by social workers in healthcare settings today. Chapter 3, “Ethics in Health Care” by Kimberly Strom‐Gottfried, provides a framework for ethical decision making, and then considers some key issues confronting social workers in health care in a variety of arenas, from practice with individuals to policy development. All three chapters take into account the unique challenges facing health care in the United States and in other parts of the globe.

Public health social work continues to receive attention, and training programs that combine the two continue to grow. In this edition of the book, we have added a new Chapter 4, “Global Health Social Work” by In Han Song, Varda Soskolne, Zhang Zuojian, Teri Browne, and Johnston Wong, that examines health social work around the world. Chapter 5, “Public Health Social Work,” remains an essential component of the Handbook to orient readers to the public health perspective. Betty Ruth of Boston University, who leads the longest‐standing program in public health social work, led the revision of this chapter with her colleagues Madi Knight Wachman and Jamie Marshall. The chapter introduces readers to the concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary health care and considers health from a wider lens than is often used to view health care, including global patterns of health and disease. Chapter 6, “Health Policy and Social Work” by Julie S. Darnell and Heidi L. Allen, is almost totally revised from the first and second editions. It continues to present basic information on the interplay among clinical, administrative, and policy issues in health care. Although it is beyond the scope of this book to cover all possible health policies and considerations, an overview of the most pertinent policies and issues is provided. The authors address the likely sequelae of healthcare reform. Chapter 7, “Theories of Health Behavior” by Sarah Gehlert and Trina Salm Ward, outlines key theories and methods that can help guide social work practice and research in health care. Empirical evidence for their use in certain situations is provided.

Part II is titled “Health Social Work Practice: A Spectrum of Critical Considerations.” Although cases and questions confronted by social workers in health care vary widely, certain critical issues should always be considered. The eight chapters in this part represent critical issues that should be considered in approaching cases or pursuing the answers to healthcare questions, even though they may not prove in time to be germane to those cases or questions. Failing to consider issues such as religion, sexuality, or substance use may lead to incomplete understandings of cases or consideration of healthcare questions. It was only after considering health beliefs, for instance, that Matsunaga et al. (1996) were able to understand why native Hawaiian women did not participate in breast cancer screening despite their high rates of breast cancer.

Because individuals and families do not operate independently, but rather as parts of communities, an overview of the relationships between health and community factors is included in Part II. In Chapter 8, “Community and Health,” Sarah Kye Price and Christopher Masi review significant evidence‐based information and provide information about how knowledge of community factors can be accessed and included in social work activities in health care. Chapter 9, “The Implementation of Integrated Behavioral Health Models” by Lisa de Saxe Zerden, Gracelyn Cruden, Brianna M. Lombardi, Lexie R. Grove, Sheila V. Patel, and Byron J. Powell pays needed attention to this important practice area.

In Chapter 10, “Social Work Practice and Disability Issues,” Teresa Moro and Rebecca Brashler carefully frame social work practice with individuals and groups with disabilities and provide a number of suggestions for practice. Lawrence A. Palinkas and Sapna J. Mendon discuss critical issues of evidence‐based practice in their new Chapter 11 of this book. Because communication is central to the effective provision of heath care as it changes through time, Chapter 12, titled “Communication in Health Care,” is included in Part II of this Handbook. The twice‐revised chapter, by Sarah Gehlert, Seul Ki Choi, and Daniela B. Freidman of the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, provides a basic framework for understanding the dynamics of healthcare communication; reviews interventions for improving communication; considers the effect of culture, gender, race, and other salient factors on patient and provider communication; and provides guidelines for the use of interpreters. It also addresses the dynamics of healthcare teams and social workers' position on teams.

Chapter 13, “Religion, Belief and Spirituality in Health Care” by international author Panagiotis Pentaris, who is new to the Handbook, distinguishes religion and spirituality and reviews the ways in which religion and spirituality affect health and individual and group responses to health care. Ways of incorporating religious and spiritual considerations into practice and policy are reviewed. Complementary and alternative treatments are reviewed in Chapter 14, “Developing a Shared Understanding: When Medical Patients Use Complementary and Alternative Approaches and Seek Integrative Systems.” The author, Penny B. Block, provides updated information on the extent of alternative and complementary treatments in the United States and reasons for their use. She reviews a range of treatments and their histories, and addresses the importance for social workers of being familiar with complementary and alternative techniques. Chapter 15, “Families, Health, and Illness,” again written by John S. Rolland, presents a valuable framework for understanding the interplay among family structure and dynamics and health and addresses its implications for social work practice and policy in health care.

Part III, titled “Health Social Work: Selected Areas of Practice,” contains eight chapters by social workers with extensive practice and academic experience. Selecting the areas to include was difficult, and the list is not meant to be exhaustive. Our aim was to present a range of examples of good social work practice in sufficient detail to provide a reasonable overview of social work practice in health care. One chapter is again devoted to health social work practice with young patients, Chapter 16, “Social Work With Children and Adolescents With Medical Conditions” by expert authors Barbara L. Jones, Casey Walsh, and Fayra Phillips. Chapter 17, “Social Work With Older Adults in Healthcare Settings” by Shantha Balaswamy, Sang E. Lee, and Sadhna Diwan, again outlines the issues central to practice with older adults and challenges faced by social workers.

After providing background on end‐stage renal disease and its psychosocial sequelae, in Chapter 18, “Nephrology Social Work,” Teri Browne, Joseph R. Merighi, Tiffany Washington, Tamara Savage, Cassidy Shaver, and Katie Holland review evidence‐based social work interventions, policies, and programs, and resources and organizations available to nephrology social workers. Chapter 19, “Oncology Social Work” by Hee Yun Lee, Mi Hwa Lee, and Karen Kayser, reviews psychosocial issues faced by patients with cancer and their families. Practice considerations are outlined and suggestions for interventions provided.

Issues of chronic illness management are addressed by Wendy Auslander, Donald Gerke, and Stacey Freedenthal in Chapter 20, revised and retitled “Chronic Disease and Social Work: Diabetes, Heart Disease, and HIV/AIDS.” Chronic conditions present a number of unique challenges to social workers, such as how to help patients and families live with and manage the demands of chronic conditions. The authors outline these challenges and make suggestions for practice.

Chapter 21, “Social Work and Genetics,” is fully revised by Allison Werner‐Lin, Maya H. Doyle, Shana Merrill, and Sarah Gehlert, and includes current information for health social workers relevant for this innovative new practice area. The chapter, after examining the history of social work in genetics, charts a new course for the profession in the new genetic and genomic testing and treatment.

The management of pain in acute and chronic illness continues to be the domain of social workers in health care. Chapter 22, “Pain Management and Palliative Care” has been extensively revised. The chapter orients readers to the effect of pain on behavior and functioning and reviews roles for social workers in pain management and palliative care teams. Terry Altilio, Shirley Otis‐Green, Susan Hedlund, and Iris Cohen Fineberg continue as authors of the chapter. Finally, Chapter 23, “End‐of‐Life Care” by Yvette Colón and Stephanie P. Wladkowski, discusses how social workers can assist patients and families in dealing with these end‐of‐life issues effectively.

Our aim in preparing successive editions of the Handbook of Health Social Work has been to provide a source of information for social workers that would help them to be active problem solvers rather than followers of routines and existing protocols. The book allows social work students to learn the foundations of practice and policy in health care (Part I), critical considerations in implementing practice and policy (Part II), and the ways in which social work is practiced in a number of arenas and with a number of health conditions (Part III).

We hope that the book will continue to be useful in professional education, allowing those already in practice to learn about issues that they might not have been exposed to while in school or had the opportunity to learn after graduation. It also is a valuable source of information on evidence‐based practice in a variety of areas of health care.

Social workers in health care today face a number of challenges, some new and some that have always been with the profession. We hope that readers will use the 23 chapters of the third edition of the Handbook of Health Social Work as a set of tools to help them better address the healthcare needs of the individuals, families, groups, communities, and societies with whom they work.

REFERENCES

  1. Matsunaga, D. S., Enos, R., Gotay, C. C., Banner, R. O., DeCambra, H., Hammond, O. W., et al. (1996). Participatory research in a native Hawaiian community: The Wai'anae Cancer Research Project. Cancer, 78, 1582–1586.
  2. Warnecke, R. B., Oh, A., Breen, N., Gehlert, S., Lurie, N., Rebbeck, T., … Patmios, G. (2008). Approaching health disparities from a population perspective: The NIH Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1608–1615. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2006.102525

PART I
The Foundations of Social Work in Health Care