ABSTRACT

Facilitating benefit and resource acquisition to assist clients is a major responsibility of medical social workers, requiring them to have a thorough knowledge of community resources, legislation, and regulations. The aim of the current study was to examine knowledge of the Law for Compensation of Scalp Ringworm Victims and ringworm-related irradiation damage among 101 social workers employed in diverse healthcare settings in Israel. We found that 65.3% of the social workers were aware of the law, but only 40.6% were aware of the health effects of scalp ringworm irradiation. Media coverage and clients who underwent scalp ringworm irradiation were social workers’ major sources of knowledge. Working with former ringworm patients had the strongest association with knowledge of the law and of ringworm-related irradiation damage. Results highlight the important contribution of exposure to clients’ experiences and knowledge to expand social workers’ knowledge of health issues.

摘要

促进福利和资源获取以帮助客户是医疗社会工作者的主要责任，要求他们对社区资源、立法和法规有透彻的了解。当前研究的目的是检查在以色列不同医疗机构工作的 101 名社会工作者对头皮癣受害者和癣相关辐射损害赔偿法的了解。我们发现，65.3% 的社工了解该法律，但只有 40.6% 的社工了解头皮癣辐照对健康的影响。媒体报道和接受头皮癣照射的客户是社会工作者的主要知识来源。与前癣患者一起工作与法律知识和癣相关的辐射损伤相关性最强。