The death of an elderly individual may occur in a variety of settings and circumstances. For example, an individual may die painlessly at home surrounded by the support of many loved ones, or an individual may suffer severe pain for months before dying in a health facility with little social support. In addition, it is possible that many health and helping professionals may interact with the dying person and his or her family.

For this Assignment, you consider a social worker’s role in end-of-life care. In addition to reading this week’s resources, conduct your own research and obtain at least one additional journal article that addresses how a social worker might support clients as they plan end-of-life care.

By Day 7

Submit a 2- to 4-page paper that analyzes the role of the social worker in helping to plan end-of-life care. Include possible consideration of palliative care, euthanasia, hospice care, the living will and advanced directives, and other factors. Research and cite at least one journal article to support your analysis.

Support your Assignment with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Solution:

End-of-Life Care and Social Work Practice

Many Americans have longer life expectancy but usually die after a considerably long period of managing multiple chronic diseases and functional disabilities (Reese, 2011). Even though most of end-life-care is lined with medical facilities and services, social workers with experience in the home- and family- oriented services are in the front-line of end-of-life care services in nursing homes, through hospice care as well as in emergency care waiting rooms. With the rise rates of aging people and rise in life expectancy in elderly individuals, it has become highly crucial for society to find supportive individuals for the aging individuals who are usually very elderly. Many times, end-of-life care is thought as geriatric care. However, end-of-life care equally focuses on sudden death, unanticipated diseases, and expected death from disease at earlier lives such as childhood (Reese, 2011). Taking this into consideration, this paper discusses end-of-life care and social work practice by analyzing the role that social workers play in helping individuals plan for end-of-life care particularly in palliative care, hospice care, and the living will and advanced directives. It includes a research journal to support the analysis.

Role of Social Workers in End-of-Life Care Planning

Standardized and cohesive approaches to end-of-life care usually address concerns related to the patient and family, care providers, and the healthcare professional team in delivering care. Social workers are involved in many aspects of end-of-life care including palliative care, hospice care, the living will and advanced directives, among many others.

In regards to palliative care, social workplaces a key role in palliative care, end-of-life as well as bereavement care. There are some social workers with a specialty in delivering palliative care and they often encounter individuals who are near to, at the end of their lives or are bereaved. As defined by Nelson (2016), palliative care is a caring approach that enhances the quality of life for patients that encounter various challenges related to life-threatening diseases through prevention and alleviation of suffering by identifying illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification, assessment, and treatment of pain and physical, psychosocial as well as spiritual problems. Palliative care social work includes providing support to families, friends, and communities to enhance the remaining part of life opportunities by providing support in sourcing home-based practical help, accessing care services, advising on income and debt maintenance, advocacy, psychosocial, and helping in housing. Palliative social workers are also skilled in therapeutic work that includes systemic family therapy, counseling, and cognitive behavior therapy. Further, palliative care social workers work together with other professions, agencies, organizations as well as the community they are based to ensure aging individuals receive the care they need….Please click the icon below to purchase full solution at $10