Posted: December 2nd, 2022

Structural Analysis Essay

Structural Analysis Essay

Course : Masters Of Social Work

Structural Analysis Essay
Introduction
Great Care is an organization that provides quality care services to clients in Melbourne’s West and South-Eastern suburbs. The organization specializes in domestic care, personal care, respite care, allied health, home and garden maintenance, home-based support upon discharge from the hospital, and transportation. The services improves the livelihood of individuals with various social, psychological, and physical needs. The framework for action in the Great Care organization is humanistic theory. The theory focuses on free will, self-actualization, and self-efficacy. The theory emphasizes patient-centered care to meet the hierarchy of needs of the patients. Orem’s self-care theory is essential since it seeks to explain how support services should intervene to help patients maintain autonomy. During the provision of support services, the professionals focus on the autonomy of the patients. The purpose of the essay is to provide a structural analysis and examination of the social work theory.
Social Issue
Great Care is committed to providing NDIS and home care for elderly people. The organization hires support workers to provide support to the clients in domestic and social services, and transportation. The organization provides CALD staff and support workers. For example, the organization offers critical services to the clients such as gardening (Great Care, 2020). The focus of the agency is to provide quality services to ensure the comfort of the clients. Elderly people can face various challenges related to mental, health, and social issues (Schenker& Costa, 2019). During my placement, I experienced elderly people receiving quality help from the organization. The problems the elderly people experience are linked to structural and social issues. Studies indicate that elderly people experience problems due to the social structures in society (Schenker& Costa, 2019). Another challenge was that it was hard to interact with clients who do not speak English. The issue prompted me to find interpreters or refer the patients to other practitioners. Lack of communication was another challenge during the assignment. I experienced poor communication with other healthcare workers. Lack of clear communication can undermine the risk of poor health outcomes. Communication enhances accuracy of prescription of medication.
Great Care is an organization that provides quality care services to clients in Melbourne’s West and South-Eastern suburbs. The services include friendly and patient-centered services for all Australians irrespective of their background. (Great Care, 2020) The organization specializes in domestic care, personal care, respite care, allied health, home and garden maintenance, home-based support upon discharge from the hospital, and transportation. The package improves the livelihood of individuals with various social, psychological, and physical needs (Great Care, 2020). For example, people with various health complications require Helpance to execute domestic chores such as cleaning and gardening. Supporting the individuals is vital in eliminating the risks of loneliness which can lead to depression (Schenker& Costa, 2019). Transportation enhances the ability to move to different locations to meet diverse needs.
Structural Analysis of the Social Issue
Elderly people experience various challenges due to deteriorating health. Other challenges include financial problems and poor physical fitness. Great Care is an agency that deals with providing support services for the elderly. Some of the services include gardening, NDIS, home carer package, transportation, domestication, and social services (Great Care, 2020). The objective of the organization is to provide support to the elderly and ensuring their welfare. One of the strengths of the organization is to provide a comprehensive package for the elderly and the sick (Great Care, 2020). Maintaining the safety and wellbeing of their clients is a priority. For instance, clients can receive care without leaving their homes.
Statistics indicate several elderly people require support from carers outside the healthcare settings (Kabisch et al., 2017). The support includes physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of a person. Studies indicate that lack of essential services can increase the risk of depression or deterioration of a health condition (Kabisch et al., 2017). Lack of proper care can lead to poor health outcomes. Great Care provides various services that focus on the welfare of the clients. It has qualified and reliable professionals who Help people to meet various goals (Estape, 2018). Studies show that support for individuals and couples reduces the risk of mental conditions (Estape, 2018).
Great Care is cognizant of the daunting experience of getting old. Studies show that 92 percent of seniors experience at least one chronic illness (Estape, 2018). Heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are the major issues affecting the aged today (Estape, 2018). Similar health conditions affect children and adults making it important to diagnose, treat, and support them. Healthcare is not simply about diagnosing and prescribing medication but supporting an individual before, during, and after the diagnosis (Shipley et al., 2018). For instance, the health department recommends that it is vital to meet physicians annually for checkups to prevent and manage chronic illnesses. Other approaches proposed by the health department include a healthy diet and exercise routine (Shipley et al., 2018). The recommendations justify the efforts by Great Care to provide support to their clients to prevent adverse health outcomes. For instance, every 15 seconds, an elderly person is admitted to the emergency room for a fall while in another study every 29 percent of an elderly person dies due to a patient fall (Shipley et al., 2018). Supporting the patients is vital to prevent injury or death.
Seniors are at risk of falls due to the frailty of their bones and shrinking muscles. The patients lack the strength and flexibility to carry out daily activities (Rheault et al., 2019). The weaknesses increase the risk of losing balance and fracturing a bone. While falls cannot be completely prevented, the risk can be reduced by providing support to an individual. For instance, Great Care offers transportation and home and gardening maintenance for their clients. The focus is to eliminate the risk of injury when the clients undertake the activities (Rheault et al., 2019).
The government appreciates that the elderly and other patients of different ages should receive patient-centered care. Health policies indicate that patients can receive care from their homes (Estape, 2018). The focus is to ensure equality by providing the best care to patients despite their geographical location. Healthcare organizations appreciate that hospitals can be filled if all the patients are attended in their facilities (Estape, 2018). Provision of care in a home-based environment improves the quality of care and comfort of the patients.
Framework for Action
The framework for action in the Great Care organization is humanistic theory. The theory focuses on free will, self-actualization, and self-efficacy (Pirson, 2019). Rather than focusing on human weakness or dysfunction, humanistic theory strives to help individuals to achieve their goals. One of the goals individuals intend to achieve is self-actualization (Pirson, 2019). Other goals include fulfilling their potential and maximizing their well-being. For instance, patients have different goals despite their health complications. Living a fulfilled life is a desire for every individual (Pirson, 2019). Supporting individuals who are ailing is a way of helping them to achieve their goals. Great Care deals with an essential service such as transportation. Individuals want to travel to different locations to achieve social and economic goals. Without the support, individuals would be stuck in their homes without meeting friends, going to the bank, shopping, and touring different serene places.
Social workers can use the humanistic theory to understand the motivations that trigger the behavior of individuals. According to the theory, people are innately good and that mental, social, and physical problems are deviations from the natural patterns (DeRobertis& Bland, 2018). Supporting people when their physical and mental conditions are weak is a way of helping them to achieve their desires (DeRobertis& Bland, 2018). For instance, people who love going shopping or gardening would feel inadequate when they do not have the energy to tend to their garden or travel. Great Care steps in to provide the ultimate care for the patients depending on their individual needs. The services range from personalized care to domestic care in a culturally competent manner (DeRobertis& Bland, 2018). Cultural competence is a major fabric in the Great Care services since the clients come from diverse backgrounds. The competence confirms to the patients that they are loved and accepted.
Humanistic theory overlooks the challenges and the health complications of a patient. The goal is to offer customized care to the patients (Pirson, 2019). For instance, Great Care offers healthcare services to their clients without the hassle of leaving their residential homes. Custom care is effective for couples living in different locations in the state. The organization sends professionals to attend to different needs across the state (Great Care, 2020). For instance, during the pandemic, home-based care has been important due to the restrictions to be in public spaces. The elderly, who are vulnerable to the virus, can experience quality and safe care in their homes (Charnofsky&Sayani, 2020). Providing home care services is an approach of a humanistic theory that overlooks the challenges and focuses on the available solutions or strengths.
Humanistic theory specializes in addressing health needs according to the hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs includes needs such as psychological, safety, love, esteem, and actualization (Charnofsky&Sayani, 2020). The focus is to meet the needs at every level to promote the welfare of an individual. For instance, Great Care meets the basic needs of their clients such as ensuring their living conditions are friendly. Domestic and personalized care is part of the basic needs. Allied healthcare services ensure the clients can experience quality health despite their complications (Great Care, 2020). Carers respite is another critical service by the Great Care organization. The custom services intend to meet the diverse needs of the clients according to the hierarchy of needs.
Humanistic theory encourages professionals to deliver client-centered care for all people. The professionals allow the patients to lead the discussions and the treatment process. Professionals are not responsible for directing and commanding during the provision of care (Shipley et al., 2018). Another quality of client-centered care is unconditional positive regard. It involves complete support to the clients without judging them. Great Care organization has similar approaches of ensuring the clients can enjoy without judging their background or ethnicity (Shipley et al., 2018). The professionals at Great Care are genuine in their provision of authentic care while demonstrating emphatic understanding to the patients. The approach improves the self-esteem of the clients while ensuring they create a healthy relationship with the specialists.
Current Model of Practice within the Agency
The agency is currently using the theories which seek to establish positive behavior among their clients. One of the approaches of the organization is to develop a healthy relationship with their clients to foster trust and independence (Gligor&Domnariu, 2020). For instance, providing a comprehensive package for the issues affecting the clients improves the level of independence. Orem’s self-care theory is a tool for behavior modification (Gligor&Domnariu, 2020). The tool has been essential among social workers in modifying behavior by identifying the strengths and weaknesses to mitigate unhealthy behavior.
Orem’s self-care theory is essential since it seeks to explain how support services should intervene to help patients maintain autonomy (Gligor&Domnariu, 2020). Unlike other theories in social work that support critically ill patients, the clients under the Great Care organization require support services. Offering support services should still allow a patient to maintain patient autonomy to avoid dependence on a service. During the self-care process, patients should maintain autonomy (Borji et al., 2017). For instance, Great Care prides itself in offering support services including domestic and personalized care. The support staff Helps the individuals to accomplish tasks such as washing dishes or floors. In personalized care, the support staff helps the clients in bathing and dressing. Some patients are in a wheelchair due to disabilities or health complications. Providing support is based on the framework that patient autonomy can enhance the quality of outcomes.
Orem’s self-care theory is effective in understanding the individual strengths and weaknesses of the patients. The theory focuses on the situational needs and the environment of a patient (Borji et al., 2017). For example, the organization helps patients who are at home or in the hospital. The focus is to achieve short-term goals such as maintaining cleanliness at home and other daily activities. During the delivery of the services, the social workers have to keep in mind the need to provide opportunities for independence. Patients should learn to be independent despite their health condition or age (Miller &ReddinCassar, 2021). The focus is to provide support as a client continues to learn how to meet their needs. For instance, Great Care offers transportation to patients before full recovery to meet the daily needs such as banking, shopping, or visiting friends. Upon full recovery, it will be effective for a social worker to allow the client to accomplish their daily tasks.
The agency embraces the principles of Orem’s self-care theory which includes teaching another person, supporting them, working on their behalf, providing an opportunity for growth to fulfill future goals, offering guidance, and teaching others (Miller &ReddinCassar, 2021). For instance, the agency offers respite care which involves temporary care to a client. The support service is vital to relieve the primary caregivers while ensuring the patient’s autonomy. The support system is effective in since face-to-face interaction can help a patient and a practitioner to gain trust. I appreciate the face-to-face interactions but during the pandemic, we have not met multiple clients. Due to the pandemic restrictions I have to work from home.
The agency should provide patient-centered care to improve the quality of results. One of the changes is to collaborate with the primary caregivers to enhance continuity of care. Collaboration is important to ensure the primary caregivers can embrace the concept of patient autonomy (Allen, 2021). The primary caregivers should not make the patients rely on their help. Despite the advanced age or the chronic health conditions, patients can still execute some tasks on their own (Allen, 2021).
The changes should include additional funding for the training of the clients. For instance, despite the provision of support services, the clients should learn some new tactics. For example, the elderly can learn how to use different tools to clean their homes. Technology provides tools to carry out basic tasks at home such as automatic vacuum cleaners. Clients appreciate when they can execute tasks without relying on carers (Allen, 2021). Additional funding is vital to widen the scope of the services and the geographical area. The funding can also be used to provide discounts for patients with no income or low-income families. The funding will eliminate inequalities that exist in society (Allen, 2021).
My professional role as a social worker is to offer quality services to clients while encouraging them to maintain autonomy. My role is to use evidence-based practice to relate effectively to patients (Gligor&Domnariu, 2020). For example, I use my knowledge of different social work theories to support the clients in the encounter. An evidence-based approach is effective in ensuring quality outcomes. Another approach is to embrace learning from experienced professionals in social work (Gligor&Domnariu, 2020). I realize that learning is a continuous process. Embracing an inquisitive mind in social work helps provide client-oriented care to all patients despite their unique needs. Prioritization of the social work activities will improve the capacity to respond to the challenging issues in the practicum.
Conclusion
Melbourne’s West and South Eastern suburbs residents pride themselves in an organization that meets the diverse needs of the adults and the elderly. Great Care is an organization that specializes in the provision of quality and patient-centered care. The services of the organization include domestic care, personal care, respite care, allied health, home, and garden maintenance, home-based support upon discharge from the hospital, and transportation. Clients can enjoy home-based care according to government policies. The policies enhance the safety of the patients, especially during the pandemic. The agency embraces the principles of Orem’s self-care theory which includes teaching another person, supporting them, working on their behalf, providing an opportunity for growth to fulfill future goals, offering guidance, and teaching others. The best framework for action is the humanistic theory which guides professionals in the delivery of patient-centered care and addressing client’s needs according to the hierarchy of needs theory. Great Care focuses on meeting the needs of the clients while establishing a friendly and caring environment for all.

References
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