Türkiye'de Halk Sağlığı Sosyal Hizmetinin Uygulayıcıların Gözünden İncelenmesi
Abstract
The present situation of public health social work in Turkey is not revealed by any research. With this justification, the aim of this study is to determine the current functioning of public health social works in Turkey within the framework of the practices and opinions of social workers working in public health institutions.
The study has a diagnostic character in which the general screening model based on quantitative methodology is used. In the study; sampling method is not used; full counting was aimed. In this context, 167 of the 267 social workers working in the central and provincial organizations of the Public Health Institution of Turkey were reached.
%51.5 of the public health social workers who participated in the survey are male and %48.5 are female and the average age is 28.74. Only 17% are graduate students. Almost all (98.8%) are in the practitioner position. A little more than half thought about working in the field of public health in undergraduate education. Nearly half of the participants (46.7%) were less than 1 year in the field of public health; (44.9%) are working for 1-5 years. 39.5% wanted to continue to work in the field of public health, while 37.1% were undecided. 59,9% express social work general education as "good". However, 41.3% of them point out that "neither good nor bad" is the level of social work education that fulfillment of public health social work practices. 25,7% of them took lessons from public health and public health social works in their undergraduate education, and 10,8% had internship in public health field. The average score of the public health principles of public health social workers is 56.13 out of 65 points and the average score of the social determinants of health is 40.07 out of 70 points. The most disadvantaged group identified by public health social workers was found to be "people with disabilities and chronic illnesses". The majority (83.2%) of the people working in the field of public health social work are referred to as "educators". The greatest obstacle preventing the fulfillment of roles and duties was determined as "no job description" with 76.6%. It was determined that social workers participating in the survey had higher frequency of team work in the field of public health. 88.6% of them are working together with psychologists. Information received from universities (79%), internet (77.8%) and legal regulations (74.9%) are the most frequent sources of information for public health social workers. The vast majority are implementing in the mental health branch or units. Again, the most frequently served target group are those who have mental health problems.
The average score of social workers' basic standards of public health is 44.74 out of 70. Statistically significant (p <0,05) associations were found between the basic standard scores of the public health social worker of the public health social workers and the utilization of the resources related to the course taking and the public health / public health social work related to the public health social work field, The level of social health education received by public health services, the general evaluation of social work education, the application of public health social work in the working public health institution, the role of public health social work before starting to work in public health, the role and duties of public health social service, the frequency of fulfillment of roles and duties related to public health social service, the status of receiving supervision for roles / tasks and applications, professional knowledge competence and professional skill competence. Tobacco-alcohol-substance addiction is seen as the most serious public health problem of our time by 89.2% of the public health social workers. The following needs, determinations and suggestions were determined by using the findings and recommendations of the public health social workers: determination of the definition, scope and purpose of the public health social service field, determination of the roles and duties of the public health social workers by legal regulations, provision of appropriate conditions for the implementation of public health social services, inclusion of the public health social service field in the course curriculum in the social service departments, and scientific studies on the public health social service field.
As a result of the research, it has been observed that "the field of public health social services" is still developing in Turkey and accordingly there is no fully implemented social health service in public health institutions. The urgent need for public health social services in Turkey is to make a clear definition of this area, to define the roles and duties of social workers working on this area in legal arrangements and to include them in the curriculum of the social services departments of the public health social service area.