The Swedish Network of Health Social Work Research

Social work within healthcare is an interdisciplinary field that examines how social factors influence health, illness, and disease.

WHO estimates that 30-55% of morbidity and mortality is attributable to social determinants, which are in turn affected by the systems governing daily living conditions. Despite the aspiration to adopt a biopsychosocial perspective, challenges remain in collaboration.

Health social workers encounter patients in complex situations, necessitating cooperation and research-based interventions.

Since 2019, health social workers has been recognized as a licensed profession in Sweden; however, research indicates that they often struggle to utilize research in practice, frequently due to time constraints and limited access to research findings.

This lack of research integration hampers the development of the profession, highlighting the need to strengthen structures for research and knowledge exchange between researchers and practicing health social workers, as well as to enhance their competencies in utilising research.The Swedish Network of Health Social Work Research aims to promote research development and knowledge exchange.

The network will serve as a platform for collaboration among researchers and clinical practitioners focusing on the significance of social factors for health, the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions, and how these can be integrated into primary care.Over the next three years, the network plans to map existing research in health social work, initiate multicenter studies on the effects of social interventions, as well as to support the development of training for social workers.

Additionally, the network will develop a web page to collect and share research findings and evidence-based interventions, and create an email address to enhance communication.

The network will contribute to the professionalisation of health social workers and strengthen their role in applying research in clinical practice.