Social work in palliative care: the complexity of Italian situation

Palliative Care (PC) is characterized by a multi-professional approach which takes into consideration the overall care of patients and their families. In line with the holistic approach proposed by the current Italian legislation, Social Work (SW) is also called to participate in the assessment of needs and implementation of interventions that encourage continuity of care, among the various services of the network (hospitals, hospices, service centres, etc.). The aim of this article is to testify, starting from social work practices and research experiences, the importance that the assessment of social needs is taking on in the context of palliative care and, consequently, the role that social workers are called to exercise in the integrated work team and in the care of people. The reference context is Italy. The greater part of the researches referred to in this article was carried out in palliative care networks present in the Italian territory, with an integrated methodology (questionnaires and interviews). The results show that: • there is no homogeneity in the organization of PC services in Italy; • the social worker is not always present in the work teams; • the activities carried out by the social workers contribute to identifying the psycho-social needs of patients, relieving the burden of care givers, reducing residential projects, and facilitating the appropriate use of hospices.