What it means
In health care, social workers help with discharge planning, finding home care or nursing homes, insurance and money problems, housing, community resources, counseling, abuse and neglect cases, and advance directives. They are key members of hospice and palliative care teams.
For the nurse
Refer to the social worker when a client has trouble paying for medicines, has no safe place to go home to, may be suffering abuse, or needs long-term care arrangements.
At a glance
| Spanish | trabajador social |
|---|---|
| Also written | social workers |
Related terms
referral
Sending a client to another professional, service or agency for care or help that they need.
hospice
Care for people expected to live about six months or less, focused on comfort and quality of life rather than cure.
social determinant of health
A condition of the places where people are born, live, learn, work and age that affects their health, such as income, housing and education.