Tasks to Establish the Role of Hospice and Palliative Care Social Workers in Community Care.

In 2018, the South Korean government launched a community care policy aimed at providing more extensive social services for older adults, the disabled, and mental health patients. This policy also included an expansion of home-based hospice services in response to the growing demand for hospice and palliative care. Despite these initiatives, social workers play a limited role in home-based hospice care, and those specializing in hospice and palliative care are not yet fully equipped to provide effective community care services. This study investigated both domestic and international research trends to identify key tasks for defining the roles of hospice and palliative care social workers within community care. It also examined how these social workers perceive community care. The findings suggest that previous research has called for a more precise definition of the roles of hospice and palliative care social workers. It is particularly critical to address the underutilization of social workers in home-based hospice care, which is essential for effective community care. The study also revealed that while hospice and palliative care workers recognize the necessity of community care, their understanding of the community resources needed for its implementation and their actual performance in delivering such care are lacking. Additionally, their appreciation of the importance of establishing discharge plans, which include home visits, assessments and improvements of the residential environment, and transportation arrangements, was found to be limited. They acknowledged the need to establish a community linkage system and develop an information system to effectively implement community care. To clearly establish the role of hospice and palliative care social workers in community care, several measures should be taken: First, the role and function of home-based hospice and palliative care workers need to be institutionally strengthened. Second, training focused on developing discharge plans for these social workers should be improved. Concurrently, priority in this training should be given to those workers who are at a higher risk of burnout. Third, the activation of regional hospice centers should be pursued to ensure a robust community linkage system and the implementation of a community information system.