Written by Brian Giddens (2010), the seventh chapter of Handbook of HIV and Social Work addresses the HIV social work. Since its first documented case, HIV is now seen as a chronic disease rather than a terminal condition. Many patients, after being diagnosed with HIV, have been subjected to treatment and medication prolonging life. Aside from medical treatment, the path to recuperating from HIV also needs social workers. Giddens describe social work as ancillary to medical health care since patients require assistance in obtaining essential resources (i.e. food and shelter). Essentially, social workers provide the services the patients need for survival.
The chapter emphasizes that in order to meet their responsibilities, social workers must acquire a set of skills and characteristics, which are: empathy, certain knowledge about the disease, coordination with the interdisciplinary team, ability to work independently, comforting, organizational management skills, and insightful. In assisting persons with HIV, adherence counseling is observed to have positive results. Moreover, risk-reduction counseling may reduce the probability of spreading the disease or further deterioration of health. Finally, social workers must assess various barriers that may prevent, delay, or risk the patient from accessing treatment.
In addition, Giddens (2010) provides an informative discussion of the institutions and components of the health care system. Note that different patients may require different settings for health care. Each setting prioritizes different tasks. For instance, the primary tasks of outpatient and community clinics are advocacy, emotional support, and information and referral. Essentially, the tasks of the social worker are also dependent on the type of health care setting. Furthermore, social workers must also consider two issues among all settings: cultural factors and alternative medicine. Finally, Giddens (2010) provide a discussion of the various challenges faced by HIV social workers.
References
Giddens, Brian. (2010). HIV Social Work Roles, Tasks, and Challenges in Health Care Settings. In C. C. Poindexter (Ed.), Handbook of HIV and Social Work (pp. 103-121). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
