HEALTH-CARING ACTIVITIES OF SOCIAL WORKER: FROM MODEL OF PRACTICE TO PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

Abstract

Social work as an area of professional activities and an academic discipline promotes social change and development, social cohesion, strengthening the ability of people to function independently in society, and their liberation; involves people and structures to address vital issues and improve well-being. More often, and fairly well-being is associated with health, in the WHO Constitution (1948) in particular, it is defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Social work supports this definition of health and believes that the combination of physical, mental, social and spiritual spheres of a human being in a holistic phenomenon places health among major personal and social values and simultaneously turns it into an instrumental value - a means to achieve other purposes ranging from simple (basic needs) to higher objectives related to personal and social development, and growth. The modern, updated concept of social work intervention is based on a holistic bio psychosocial and spiritual assessment and interventions that go beyond the micro-macro division, and embraces multisystem levels, intersectoral and interprofessional cooperation aimed at sustainable development. In political statement of the International Federation of Social Workers “Health and Disease” the problem of health is named as an issue of major human rights and social justice, which requires social work to apply the identified principles in politics, education, research and practice. Equity in health - this concept implies that ideally everyone could attain her/his full health potential and thus no one should be disadvantaged by social status or other socially determined factors. Social inequalities in health – these are systematic differences in health between different socio-economic groups, depending on income, education and occupation. The created progress model of professional development of social workers for health caring and health promoting activities, starting from preparation of bachelor to master and Ph.D. in the specialty 231 "Social work" on the basis of health caring, was realized due to implementation of a number of conditions: applying a holistic (bio-psyсho-socio-spiritual) approach to health understanding, eco-system, integrated, cross-sectoral approaches in designing ways to professional intervention of social workers in healthcaring activities, competence approach and didactic principles of integrity, continuity, communication of theory and practice, interdisciplinarity and fundamentalization of content, equivalence of practical and theoretical training components in professional programs’ building.