Designing and Compiling the Protocol of Specialized Interventions of Social Workers in the Process of Organ Transplantation



Sayar S¹ ; Noruzi S² ; Javadi SMH³ ; Khoshnami MS⁴ ; Dehghani S⁵ ; Hosein MP⁶ ; Zamyadi M⁷
Source: Journal of Payavard Salamat Published:2024

Abstract

Background and Aim: Considering the role of social workers in the health system, the success and stability of organ transplantation, prevention of re-hospitalization of patients and reduction of imposed costs, this study aims to design a protocol for the specialized interventions of social workers in Iran’s medical centers in the transplant process and to create uniformity in practice. Comprehensive services have been provided to patients and their caregivers. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in two phases of resource review and qualitative. In the resource review phase, reliable databases were examined, and in the qualitative phase, in order to collect information from Delphi techniques and focused group discussion with the presence of fifteen officials and social workers working in the country’s hospitals and experts and experts. The areas of health and treatment assistants of the Ministry of Health, university professors, medical staff and experts in the field of transplantation and organ donation were carried out. The protocol was sent to eight experienced experts for final review and evaluation, and they were asked to review the protocol in terms of the goal and scope of interventions, stakeholders, development steps, clarity of presentation, accessibility and non-dependence in writing according to the checklist to evaluate. Results: In this study, the work process of social workers was drawn in three stages before, during and after transplantation. Also, various roles were considered for social workers in three stages of work, including the role of defender, supporter, case manager, resource mobilizer, trainer, consultant, evaluator and guidance. Interventions such as finding informational support, facilitating the patient hospitalization process, providing psychosocial support to the family with the aim of empowering them for post-transplant care, providing counseling to family members to deal with stress and improving mental health of the patient, providing economic support, Accomodation conditions are provided through hospital companions and communication and interaction with the treatment team, including the doctor, in order to respond to the needs of the family, facilitate treatment and on time discharging. Conclusion: the protocol of specialized interventions of social workers in the transplantation process created a new step and a different look at psychosocial support in transplantation and coordination teams, so that social workers in the field of organ donation and transplantation and working with caregivers, families and the survivors of the patients arrived. © 2024 the Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.