Enhancing Quality of Life: Social Workers' Commitment to Palliative Care

 Palliative care is a support system for individuals who are diagnosed with life-limiting conditions. It is considered a human right to health and is provided for health conditions like cancer, chronic respiratory disease, kidney disease, liver disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and neurological disease.

Care endeavors to help them live the possible active life with respect, dignity, and empathy. Magnifying their quality of life with active and supportive care is the key objective of palliative care. Professionals from multiple disciplines play core roles in providing care for seniors with life-threatening conditions. Palliative care specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists, psychologists, dietitians, and caregivers are part of the palliative care team. Along with them, palliative care social workers contribute essentially to the well-being of seniors. 

According to the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is defined as a practice-based profession that promotes social development, cohesion, empowerment, change, and liberation of people.

Physical problems are immediate results of the disease. Apart from this, seniors and their families experience psychosocial problems and may require support and assistance for practical sectors of care namely financial, aids to daily living, psychological, and spiritual care. 

Social workers in palliative care specialize in working with adults and their families during such crucial times. They help and support them to cope with the impact of the disease condition and are an important linking point between the medical team, seniors, their families, and society. The empirical benefits associated with their roles pertain to improved outcomes for senior adults. 

Roles of a Social Worker in Palliative Care

Social workers play core roles in providing efficient and compassionate palliative care for seniors. Geriatric social workers in palliative care help in planning for palliative care by understanding their treatment plans and their personal needs. They help manage stress related to the illness be it physical or emotional and help them gain access to other support systems. 

They provide the seniors with knowledge of what resources are available within and outside the facility that can be helpful to them. Social workers also address the psychological factors concerning seniors and their families. They help families to cope with the pain and help them get the best support at critical times and also help them to grieve over the loss of their loved ones. Discussed below are the support and care provided by them. 

Assess needs

Palliative social workers conduct assessments to analyze the physical (disease progression, symptoms, comorbidities), emotional (stress, anxiety, depression), psychological (coping abilities, response to crisis, personal goals), social (family, socioeconomic status, society’s support), and spiritual (spiritual orientation, philosophies) factors. They also conduct family assessments to understand the availability of resources, their limitations, and the stress that can have an impact on the care plan. This assessment enables to building of an effective and considerate care plan. 

Breaking the bad news

The process of revealing the truth is a critical part. The way the individual and their family perceive the information is very important to avoid clinical depression and anxiety. Social workers hold adequate training and employ evidence-based approaches with humanity and empathy in revealing the truth about seniors’ health. They also help the families in decision-making about the care needs of seniors. 

Family education

Social workers educate the individual and their family about the disease condition, its progress, treatment options available, ways of coping, and the resources available to intensify care for them. This also helps the family to be prepared and acquire the skills to deal with critical times. 

Coordinate care

Social workers help in coordinating the care for seniors with the medical team. They ensure that seniors are delivered effective medical and psychological care. Being knowledgeable about the care and support systems available within the facility and in society, they become the point of contact between healthcare providers, the community, and senior adults. 

Resource navigation

Social workers in palliative care furnish the elders and their families with relevant resources available for them namely terminal illness support groups, counselors, religious communities, and many more. They promote advanced care planning needed for the elders’ health and contribute with adequate information and support to receive the same. Social workers also guide families with financial support services. 

Counseling

Social workers in palliative care extend emotional support to the individuals to deal with the situation. They guide the seniors to overcome behavioral challenges and evaluate and manage their emotions and thoughts. They incorporate different strategies to uplift the mental wellness of the seniors namely cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction, supportive psychotherapy, art therapy, storytelling therapy, and many more. 

Crisis management

Crisis refers to situations that cause a great degree of distress exceeding the individual’s ability to cope with it. The advancement of the disease condition can lead to trauma that is expressed as neglect, verbal abuse, or even physical violence at times. In this situation, social workers provide them with immediate counseling and support for their mental wellness. They also coordinate the services by informing the team to address the senior’s crisis. 

Bottom Line

The social aspects around the critical phase of the disease explain the importance of social work. Palliative care intrinsically refers to multidisciplinary practice, where social workers are unique players making meaningful contributions toward professional and non-professional care for seniors and their families. At Athulya’s Assisted Living facilities, we believe that palliative care requires the expertise and support of many medical specialists. Our multidisciplinary palliative care team includes doctors, nurses, therapists, dietitians, and social workers who collaborate to provide comprehensive, compassionate, and expert care for seniors. Our social workers prioritize the concerns and problems of seniors and their families and strive to find solutions for them.