The application of case management and the assessment of the possibilities and limits of this method in the performance of social work in municipal authorities aimed at supporting the provision of long-term care in a natural environment, including consideration of organizational conditions and the readiness of social workers to implement this method
The aim of the project was to gain knowledge about the current extent of the application of the case management (CM) method in the practice of social work in the offices of the ORP focused on difficult life situations associated with the need or provision of long-term care, based on qualitative and quantitative empirical data. As illustrated by the review of knowledge and conceptualisation of CM from international sources included in the final summary research report, CM is a method suitable for intervention focused on situations related to long-term care, which are often characterised by an accumulation of problems, a combination of acute and chronic problems, and often involve multiple actors, often with conflicting interests and needs. At the same time, case management is a highly complex method of social work, the introduction and application of which in practice requires certain organisational conditions, management support, and preparedness on the part of social workers. The research needed to focus not only on the factors that support or hinder the application of CM, but also to capture in detail which specific types of long-term care living situations are currently targeted by OPR social workers and which remain rather neglected so far, what forms of intervention social workers choose in different cases, and for which cases they consider CM to be an appropriate method. CM places high demands not only on the expertise but also on the psyche of the helping professional. For this reason, in relation to the conditions of CM implementation and the readiness of social workers to use this method, it is necessary to consider the possibilities of developing the expertise of social workers also in terms of the concept of self-care of social workers.
Outputs
HUBÍKOVÁ, Olga, 2019. Self-care of social workers as part of the professional performance of social work. Praha: RILSA. (only in CZE)