Knowledge of Social Work Roles and Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Primary Care: A Mixed Methods Study

Background: Successful integration of social work in community-based primary care clinics is dependent many factors, including knowledge of professional roles and job satisfaction. In order for socialization to occur on interdisciplinary primary care teams, professional autonomy and mutual respect is needed among all team members, regardless of perceived status. Additionally, degree of satisfaction can determine the level of engagement in the workplace. Knowledge of professional roles influences the perceived value of each team member and can determine the level of interdisciplinary collaboration achieved. Role knowledge, however, can be difficult to measure, particularly when responsibilities heavily depend on clinical setting and population. Research on the perceptions of social work roles has shown that most medical providers under-estimated the scope of practice and academic abilities of social workers. For large-scale integration of social work into primary care practice, medical providers will require more knowledge regarding the services social workers provide.

Methods: Medical providers and social workers (n=96) on integrated primary care teams were recruited from University of Texas Physicians in and around Houston. A sequential mixed methods (qualitative + quantitative) design was used. The qualitative portion of this study refined a scale created to quantitatively measure knowledge of social work roles, which was piloted in the quantitative portion strand. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) a direct positive relationship between knowledge of social work roles and each dimensions of interdisciplinary collaboration; 2) a direct positive relationship between knowledge of social work roles and satisfaction with collaboration; 3) satisfaction will partially mediate the relationship between role knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration. Multiple linear regression was used (SPSS) to test each of the hypotheses.

Results: The majority of respondents were medical doctors (35%) and the smallest group were psychologists (6%) and 83% were female. Sixty-nine percent reported previous experience with interdisciplinary practice with social workers. Data analysis revealed a positive linear relationship between knowledge of social work roles and interdisciplinary collaboration. Knowledge of social work roles was also shown to be positively correlated with satisfaction with collaboration. Mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between social work role knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration was not mediated by satisfaction.

Conclusions and Implications: Knowledge of social work roles has not been previously examined as a significant factor of interdisciplinary collaboration on integrated primary care teams. This study demonstrated that as knowledge of social work roles increased, interdisciplinary collaboration and satisfaction with collaboration also increased. Although satisfaction with collaboration was not found to be a mediator on the relationship between role knowledge and interdisciplinary collaboration, this result points to the overall importance of role knowledge for increased interdisciplinary collaboration. This finding suggests that role knowledge should be the focal point of interdisciplinary education programs and training.