The social work profession is one of a kind whose reputation is second to none in this world. While a counselor might offer support and guide individuals through personal struggles. However, a social worker views even beyond this and takes into account various factors. These professionals focus on family structure, environment, relationships, and policies.
The overriding objective of this profession is to lend assistance to people and encourage values such as self-determination, justice, dignity, and equality. Social workers generally work on cases based on substance abuse, social injustice, isolation, violence, and much more. The ability to bring a real difference in the lives of people they touch makes social work a meaningful and immensely gratifying career.
What challenges do social workers face?
Since our society has been evolving expeditiously, social workers have tried their utmost for the best possible services. With proper skillset, experience, and optimistic mindset, professionals all over the globe have come up with strategies to face the current changing priorities. However, despite all the endeavors, unfortunately, social workers today encounter a series of challenges. And while it’s crucial to promote these challenges. It’s equally important, if not more, to address such issues and provide solutions.
The American Academy of Social Work and Welfare in fall 2016 published Grand Challenges for Social Work (GCSW). The initiative combines social work values with science to form a unified society by nurturing innovative ways to tackle these issues. GCSW model provides opportunities for its professionals to spread awareness about how social workers shed light on essential social matters. Not only this, but it also allows to broaden the people’s understanding of diverse social workers’ roles.
Moreover, the initiative conveys to all aspiring professionals that social work is the right profession to make a real difference in people’s lives. And if you are already a part of this career, enroll in masters of social work online degree programs to promote this dynamic-social agenda. With a curriculum centered on scientific research and core competencies, individuals can learn to deal with the complex growing social issues. Plus, the online degree programs eliminate the need to attend on-campus classes and the daily commute, making it easier to attain an excellent work-life balance.
Ahead are some of the grand challenges that social workers will probably continue to face in the next year:
- Ensure healthy development for youth
Thousands of people across the globe seek treatment for their mental, behavioral, and emotional health problems. Yet, the percentage of people worldwide that suffer from depression is 3.4%.
With family-centric interventions in place, social workers can support families and assist them in better mental health and child development. In addition, sound knowledge of psychopharmacology, psychopathology, and adolescent-focused social work is the best way to avoid behavioral problems before they arise.
Besides, social workers can ensure healthy development for youth by launching training programs for parents who adopt disturbed foster kids. Also, they can spread awareness to overcome the prevalence and incidence rate of behavioral problems.
- Bridge the health gap
No matter the technological evolutions, many people globally still lack access to primary healthcare facilities. Even more unfortunate is that this population also experiences poverty, discrimination, prejudice, and lives in unsafe environments. And thus, the whole situation soars the illness rate upwards.
Therefore, social work professionals should develop evidence-based strategies to improve healthcare and propose practical solutions for people in need. Moreover, they must recognize the impediments that stop people from getting the optimum treatment and help underserved and vulnerable communities.
One more practical solution is to create an infrastructure that shares data between health and social care. That way, social workers can incorporate social care in healthcare delivery.
- Establish healthy relationships to avoid violence
Regrettably, violence among family members, specifically intimate partners, and children are still common in this world. Now and then, this violence even leads to injuries and deaths in a few cases. And the violence not only poses severe threats to the physical and emotional well-being of people. It also costs a great deal of money for criminal justice.
To mitigate any chances of assaults, social workers need to have extensive knowledge in conflict mediation, maltreatment, and trauma. Also, it’s imperative to study the inner and outer dynamics of family systems.
Furthermore, interventions can help identify abuse sooner, break up various cycles of violence, and dissuade abuse. Also, it is advisable to determine the gaps between early intervention programs and child welfare research.
- Advance long and productive lives
As per the US Census Bureau, the 65 and above population has grown tremendously since 2010. One of the main reasons for this exponential growth is the aging of baby boomers – those born between the years 1946 and 1964. The fact is, this population increased by 3.2% between 2018 and 2019.
Since the rate is most likely to grow in the upcoming years; thus, this will raise concerns for health-related issues. And therefore, it becomes incredibly challenging for healthcare and social workers to ensure the well-being of the older population.
Not to mention how urban development and climate change raise a big question mark on the prosperity of individuals and society. To cope with this issue, policymakers, aging, and gerontology experts should remain at the forefront and determine ways to lessen the profound risks.
- Eliminate social isolation
Social isolation is much similar to a stealthy assassin. Most people often neglect this issue; however, its effects are as precarious as smoking. It can imbalance the hormones and even cause physical pain in the long run.
Now, especially with the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020, the physical distancing has spiked social isolation. When people feel alone and forsaken, it gives birth to unseen and ubiquitous hazards.
Social workers need to effectively raise awareness about the health risks that social isolation pose. Also, it’s pivotal to figure out new and creative ways to develop social connections between individuals of all ages and society. That way, these professionals can contribute their part in enhancing emotional, physical, and spiritual health.
Final Words
The field of social work has increasingly been witnessing extreme pressures on the job in recent times. The exquisitely sensitive and delicate cases that social workers work on pose unique and unexpected challenges. And the scope of these challenges is quite large.
Therefore, to mitigate the growing challenges, it’s indispensable for social workers to reinforce their careers in social welfare practices, policies, and programs. Not only this but a solid legal and ethical background in human services can help to tackle such challenges head-on.
However, on a large scale, educators, researchers, and practitioners of this field should contribute their part to promote these challenges. For instance, social work schools should emphasize GCSW modules in their BSW, MSW, and Ph.D. curriculum. In addition, national research associations should highlight such issues in national and regional conferences. Thus, the success of GCSW principally depends on the combined efforts of this profession’s members and the concerned authorities.
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