SOCIAL WORK IN CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Abstract

The article reveals the peculiarities of the organization of social work in children’s hospitals of the Czech Republic, determined by its authors during academic mobility within the ERASMUS+ KA107 program in 2022. Social workers of the Czech Republic are part of the process of ensuring the quality of medical care in health care institutions. At the current stage, there is a lack of established social work in health care institutions of the Czech Republic, which is necessary for the successful achievement of its goals. Social workers feel isolated from colleagues who work in other health care institutions and the social sector in general. In the practice of social workers in long-term health care organizations, there is a lack of methodology that could serve as a tool for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the service provided by a social worker. The authors of the article identified the main directions and content of the work of social work specialists of the Center for Support of the Department of Pediatrics of the University Hospital of the city of Ostrava (Czech Republic) with parents of child patients, families who found themselves in difficult life circumstances due to the child’s illness. They also pay attention to the interdisciplinary interaction of hospital specialists in the case of a child patient and his parents. The authors used a content analysis of the documents of the Support Center of the Department of Pediatrics of the University Hospital of the City of Ostrava, interviews with experts, and observation of the activities of the institution’s specialists. Specialists of the Support Center of the Department of Pediatrics of the University Hospital of Ostrava accompany patients at the following stages: while waiting for a diagnosis; when reporting the diagnosis; soon after diagnosis; when the child’s health changes; during hospitalization of the patient; during operative procedures of the patient in the pediatric department; during individual examinations (neuro, cardio, genetics, gastro, etc.); when communicating with a pediatrician; when communicating with specialists; in the provision of assistance paid by a health insurance company or the state sector; in providing support from foundations and endowment funds; when getting acquainted with the patient organization; when establishing cooperation with care services (early care, palliative support). The article emphasizes the importance of social work both in health care institutions in general and in children’s hospitals in particular, as a safeguard against increasing vulnerability, preventing family crises and helping to overcome difficult life circumstances.