An Interdisciplinary View from the Trenches Social Workers and General Practitioners criticize Pover

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An Interdisciplinary View from the
TrenchesSocial Workers and General
Practitioners criticize Poverty-related national
policiesMenachem MonnickendamBar Ilan
UniversityShlomo Monnickendam
Chana Katz
Tel Aviv University
Sapir College July
2009
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Background

• Social workers and general practitioners serve
  poor people.
• Poverty perceptions affect service behaviour
• Social workers and general practitioners attest
  to the importance of similar perspectives on poor
  people as contributing to effective cooperation
• National poverty related policies affect the
  lives of poor people and are part of the context
  in which SWs and GPs provide services

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Objectives

• To explore and compare SWs and GPs in Israel
  regarding
• Identification of the salient policies they
  perceive as affecting their clients/patients
• Understanding their perception of these policies,
  i.e., how these policies might ease or worsen
  poverty
• Suggested policy changes
• Impact of interdisciplinary research teams on
  research process

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Method

• Two focus groups (11 SWs and 9 GPs)
• In-depth interviews (6 SWs and 11 GPs)
• All participants employed in health and human
  services in the community
• Communities selected to represent the
  socio-economic and multi-cultural diversity of
  Israeli society

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Method (cont.)

• Interdisciplinary research group, all university
  faculty
• Social Worker, expert in poverty and service
  provision
• GP, senior official in HMO, expert in family
  practice
• Public administration expert in local government
  and poverty

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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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Perceptions of poor and poverty relevant policies
by SWs and GPs
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FindingsPolicy and policy consequences

• GPs looked at the macro, the systemic, the
  normative, the position of the poor relative to
  the general population, and at the utilitarian
  and ideological aspects of the retrenchment of
  the welfare state.
• SWs focused on the micro, the practical, the
  situation of the poor relative to other poor, and
  utilitarian aspects of the retrenchment of the
  welfare state.

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FindingsPolicy and policy consequences

• Similarities in perceptions, but differences in
  stance
• GPs less accepting of work avoidance
• Unintended consequences
• Politics of pressure groups leads to largesse
• If you cant beat them, join them
• SWs criticize government capitalistic tendencies
  more than GPs. At the same time SWs see a central
  role for NGOs.

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Challenges to interdisciplinary research

• Professional modesty through shared coding
• Developing a shared vocabulary
• what is meant by the word poor ?
• what is the core role of the GP and the SW ?
• what do SWS and GPs do ?
• how do community clinics and local social
  services operate ?