The Role of Social Workers in End-of-Life Decisions and Planning

This report delves into the critical area of end-of-life decisions, emphasizing the essential role of social workers in providing comprehensive support and guidance to patients and their families. It highlights the significance of discussing end-of-life plans and the value of palliative and hospice care, illustrating how social workers assist with advance directives, offer counseling, and solve practical problems. The report discusses the challenges faced by patients, including depression, anxiety, and family conflicts, and how social workers provide resources and support to navigate these difficulties. Additionally, it covers the coordination of information between patients and healthcare professionals, crisis intervention, and grief support. The report references key literature, including Bosma et al. (2010), Cagle & Kovacs (2009), Reese (2011), and Zastrow (2016), to underscore the importance of end-of-life planning and the ongoing efforts to improve care through practice updates and ethical guidelines. The report concludes by underscoring the social worker's role in ensuring patients' end-of-life decisions are respected.

Running head: END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS 1
End-of-Life Decisions
Name
Institution

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End-of-life care is one of the vital aspect in our daily life. Most people do not have in
mind the importance of discussing the end life decisions and plans. A group of people have
agreed that it is essential for families to be educated on palliative and end of life options.
Understanding the importance and value of end of life planning will help all patient even though
some require putting some advance directives. Although the end care is often associated with
medical facilities and services, social workers have been on the forefront in providing the end
life care service through hospice care and nursing homes, emergency waiting rooms and
hospitals. The available literature offers a complete view of how social workers support clients
as they plan their end of life care.
Social workers offer a lot of services to help patients plan for their end-of-life care.
Attention has been directed to patients who require palliative and hospice care because they
undergo some extreme challenges including depression, anxiety, discomfort, social isolation,
family conflicts and anger. The palliative and hospice social workers have provided guides to
patients to sail across the difficulty and challenges. They have identified new opportunities and
provided insight on how to improve the psychosocial and physical value of life of people living
with serious illness (Bosma et al., 2010) They offer counselling and psychotherapy to the
families and the patient and offer support with honesty and respect and without judgment or
consideration. Some of them use their social expertise to solve difficult practical problems and
provide financial advice and help whenever needed.
Social workers act as a bridge between patients and families. Most of them have a
clinical understanding of the disease and the method of treatment their patients need. They
provide education and information about the health care system as they work alongside a team of
health professionals. The workers Coordinate information between the patients who are in the

END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS 3
process of dying and the physiatrist who is monitoring their illness (Cagle & Kovacs, 2009).
Patients suffering from euthanasia have been helped by social worker submit their advance
directives. These advance directives them help find the decision and the fate of their disease. In
some instances, where a patient has decided to terminate his life to be relieved from suffering,
social workers offer crisis interventions to prevent the same catastrophe from happening on the
patient or the family at large. For those who are mourning, social staffs are the best in helping
when in grief. They ensure that people have complete information and support they need to
complete the procedures of burials (Reese, 2011). Support is provided to that left at risk after
losing someone. They help them assimilate with others and find a way to live with lose.
Today, it is everyone’s opportunity to ensure that he lives a good life and die peacefully.
Social workers are part of the contribution to make this dream is achieved. Efforts have been
made, and research increased for end-of-life care to be in another level. Some resources have
been provided by NASW to help improve the practice update, policy statements and ethics codes
(Zastrow, 2016). Numerous resources published from collective work summits on end-of-life
and palliative care have supported the role of communal workers in planning for a client end-of-
life care. By educating patients and other members of the society on the importance of planning
and having control of advance directives during your end-of-life period, social workers offer the
best opportunities at ensuring that the patient end-of-life decision and plan are respected.

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References
Bosma, H., Johnston, M., Cadell, S., Wainwright, W., Abernethy, N., Feron, A., & ... Nelson, F.
(2010). Creating social work competencies for practice in hospice palliative care.
Palliative Medicine, 24(1), 79–87.
Cagle, J. G., & Kovacs, P. J. (2009). Education: A complex and empowering social work
intervention at the end of life. Health & Social Work, 34(1), 17–27.
Reese, D. J. (2011). Interdisciplinary perceptions of the social work role in hospice: Building
upon the classic Kulys and Davis study. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life &
Palliative Care, 7(4), 383-406.
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social
environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning