Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• m j ¹
• mohammad sabzi khoshnami ²
• Tahereh Azari Arghoun ³
• Sara Noruzi ⁴
• Farzaneh Yaghoob ³
• Mahdokht Memarian ³

¹ Assistant Professor of social work, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

² Assistant Professor of Social Work, Department of Social Work, School of Behavioral Sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

³ Health social work expert. ministry of health & education. Tehran. Iran

⁴ PhD in Social Work, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad. Iran.

Abstract

One of the most important responsibilities of social workers is economic support of the needy patients based on professional evaluation and diagnosis. The present research is a qualitative contractual content analysis. Data was collected from 18 social workers of the headquarters, universities of medical sciences, and medical centers, following focused group discussion (FGD) method with multiple-question design. The findings obtained from analyzing the codes, subcategories, and themes/category were grouped as poor intra-organizational cooperation and collaboration and irresponsible inter-organizational challenges influential on the discount topic. The inter-organizational dimension involved topics such as the weakness of hospital HIS system, interference of others in recording the discounts, poor instructions, occupation of social work posts by graduates of other majors, poor documentation, lack of personnel and facilities, lack balance between the authorities and responsibilities, and the unfamiliarity of health workers with the nature of social work. The inter-organizational dimension included the poor performance of other supporting organizations, growing social paths and undocumented immigrants, insurance role, lack of attention to some of the vulnerable groups, imposed expenses, growing visits to public hospitals, and the culture of using public resources. According to the findings of the study, different factors influence the amount and type of the economic support that the social workers provide for the needy patients and this fact imposes a great expense into the healthcare system of the country. On the other hand, it has deprofessionalized the social work profession and created a negative and low level perception towards it in the society.

Keywords

• Economic Support
• Discount
• People in Need
• Medical Centers
• Social Work

Main Subjects

• this journal publishes authoritative articles in the following areas: Social work Social Welfare Social health Social Security Social Issues Norms