The past century recognized an increased community census of people with disabilities. Shifts in philosophy and technological developments contributed to changes in morbidity and mortality. Despite these changes, inequities in health care and in health outcomes exist for people with disabilities. This paper discusses strategies for social work curriculum building, which will begin to address these issues. A virtual survey was emailed to all accredited Schools of Social Work in the United States and Canada during the fall of 1999. Email or hard copy responses were requested. The objectives of the study were: to determine if the current status of disability content in the social work educational experience; to identify training and supplemental educational needs for programs to be in compliance with accreditation standards. The survey also sets the stage for the development of supplemental materials/resources, which can be used by faculty in all sequences. Findings indicate a relative dearth of content related to advocacy, health care, and disability. Few differences across program levels (i.e. BSW, MSW, and Ph.D.) were found despite degrees of programs. Findings indicate advocacy and empowerment for people with disabilities will result from trained social work professionals and lead to more equitable morbidity and mortality outcomes for people with disabilities.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Recognize the limitations of social work curricula, which addresses disability content and public health social work practice. 2. Identify at least two educational strategies that can be used to building core components of social work curricula for public health social work
Keywords: Curricula, Social Work
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.