The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #34852

Theora Evans, PhD, MSW, MPH, College of Social Work, University of Tennessee, 822 Beale Street, Room 220, Memphis, TN 38163, (901) 448-5680, tevans4@utk.edu

For students considering social work careers, the field of public health may be less understood than other practice domains in the profession. The goal of this session is to introduce the historic and current practice of public health social work to students considering this domain as a career path. In the early history of the profession, public health was a dominant field of practice. Public health practitioners were engaged at the federal, state, and local levels in the planned change process. The foci of practice was the bio-psychosocial functioning of new immigrants and migrant residents in a then highly mobile society. Social workers continue to address some of the issues that initially required intervention over a hundred years ago, and have expanded their practice domains to include areas of need that were not relevant in the past.

Currently, public health social workers address issues such as: environmental justice, social justice, and service delivery systems. Social workers engage in fact finding for needs assessment, development of psycho-education materials, maternal and child health care services, day care/head start, mental health, care of trauma victims, bio-terrorism preparedness, etc. Empowerment of underserved and unserved populations, as well as, insurance of services to others at-risk of poor health outcomes is the goal of practice. Practitioners are engaged in health promotion, advocacy, policy formulation, program development, direct practice, etc., while interventions are conducted at primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention levels.

Learning Objectives: Students will be able to

• state the foci of Public Health Social Work practice;
• articulate the various roles of social workers in public health settings; and
• understand the knowledge-based, skills, and interventions employed in population-based practice

Keywords: Health Promotion, Assessments

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.