Social workers in home care: The Israeli case

The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel In Israel, the government partially supports personal home care services (grooming, feeding, assistance with transfers) as a means to maintain frail individuals in their home environment for as long as possible. Social workers capture a prominent position in these arrangements as initiators and supervisors of personal home care services. This study evaluates the view of social workers concerning the home care industry in Israel. We conducted focus groups with 37 social workers and identified three main themes: a) challenges faced by social workers in home care agencies; b) advantages associated with working as a social workers in a home care agencies; and c) resources available to assist social workers in their work. The stigma associated with home care appears to be pervasive and to include stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors towards older adults, their home care workers, and the social workers responsible for this caregiving arrangement. This stigma could potentially be reduced by actively bringing aging and home care into academia and by greater regulation of the home care industry by the government.