Shaping the Future of Prevention in Social Work: An Analysis of the Professional Literature from 2000 through 2010

Abstract

In light of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s goals of better patient care, cost control, and improved population outcomes, prevention is emerging as an important component of health reform. As a result, broad societal interest in prevention is growing, together with widespread interest in public health. The profession, with its extensive involvement in the health system and deep roots in public health, needs to know more about its relationship to prevention. This study builds upon the Social Work Interest in Prevention Study–which evaluated the extent, types, and levels of prevention content in nine social work journals over a six year time period from 2000–2005. The goal of the expanded study, the Social Work Interest in Prevention Study-Expansion (SWIPS-E), was to assess whether interest in prevention had increased over the full decade, which included the time period in which health care reform was enacted.

Embedding preventive lawyering principles in preventive social work as a response to clients with complex problems in the post-Covid-19 era: An opinion piece

“…However, this obligation did not translate consistently into daily practice. Social workers tend to apply individual treatment methods focusing on the micro rather than the macro level, with the latter addressing the influence of a person's environment (Ruth et al, 2015;Weiss-Gal, 2007). This gap is surprising given that prevention is an important tool in central social work arenas, such as health, mental health, and drug addiction (Levi, 1985;Ruth et al, 2015).…”

“…Preventive social work is intervention with the goals of assisting clients with multisystem life problems and increasing personal well-being through significant decrease in future life difficulties (Hawkins, 2006). Initially, the social work profession was obligated in its preventive work to focus on the field of public health and disease control (Ruth et al, 2015;Woody, 2006). However, this obligation did not translate consistently into daily practice.…”

“…Social workers tend to apply individual treatment methods focusing on the micro rather than the macro level, with the latter addressing the influence of a person's environment (Ruth et al, 2015;Weiss-Gal, 2007). This gap is surprising given that prevention is an important tool in central social work arenas, such as health, mental health, and drug addiction (Levi, 1985;Ruth et al, 2015). More recently, awareness has arisen of the advantages of preventive social work, and programs have been developed based on its principles (Cohen et al, 2010;Hawkins, 2006;Hawkins et al, 2010;Rishel, 2007;Woody, 2006).…”

Towards a contemporary social care ‘prevention narrative’ of principled complexity: An integrative literature review

“…Prevention in social care is not new (McCave & Rishel, 2011; Ruth et al., 2015). Early pioneers were motivated to address the material and social conditions that shaped lives and opportunities for individuals, families and communities, as well as ameliorating individual and social hardships.…”

“…Prevention is again in the spotlight, yet the picture is mixed. The Social Work Interest in Prevention Study – Expansion examined ‘the extent and attention of prevention scholarship’ in nine key social work journals for the period 2000–2010 (Ruth et al., 2015; 126). Although there was a rise in prevention‐focused papers over this decade, the North American researchers found this was only 9% of all papers published in the selected journals (Ruth, et al., 2015).…”