The Role Of The Social Work And Health Inequalities Network In Developing International Social Work

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The Role Of The Social Work And Health
Inequalities Network In Developing International
Social Work Research Paul BywatersCoventry
University
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Symposium Aims

• Reflect on the Networks experience in developing
  international social work research
• and
• To present 2 examples of international research
  collaborations.
• Professor Varda Soskolne Bar-Ilam University,
  Israel
• Professor Shula Ramon, University of East
  Anglia, UK

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Structure

• Why are Health Inequalities a vital social work
  research issue?
• What have we learnt about developing
  international research?

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Social Work and Health Inequalities Network

• www.warwick.ac.uk/go/swhin
• socialwork-healthinequalities_at_jiscmail.ac.uk
• P.Bywaters_at_coventry.ac.uk

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What do we mean by health inequalities?

• health disparities
• that are
• systematically
• associated with
• underlying social
• disadvantage or
• marginalization.
• (Braveman 2003)

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Health Inequalities as a social work issue the
basic case

• Health inequalities are physical and emotional
  signs of social injustice and the contravention
  of human rights.
• Social work is opposed to such injustice on
  moral grounds.

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Health Inequalities large and growing

• Life expectancy gross and growing inequalities
• Gap in male life expectancy between highest and
  lowest local authorities in the UK has grown by
  over 2 years in the last decade, from 9 to over
  11 years.
• Zimbabwe now average 35 years
• 1993 average 55 years

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Health Inequalities as a social work issue the
basic case

• Health inequalities are a vital social work issue
  because the primary determinants of health are
  social.
• It is the social economic, political and
  environmental conditions which determine health
  chances not health services, treatment and care.
• But access to health care is socially determined
  too.

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Health Inequalities as a social work issue the
basic case

• Almost all social work service users are either
  already living with poor physical or mental
  health or their health is threatened by the
  conditions in which they live.

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Health Inequalities as a social work issue the
basic case

• 4. Therefore, tackling health inequalities is an
  issue for all social workers, not just those in
  health settings.

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Why are health inequalities a vital international
research issue for social work?

• Evidence informed interventions
• Global factors and comparisons
• Legitimacy in policy development

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Developing International Research Building the
Network

• Communication
• systems
• Targeting
• international
• conferences
• Local and
• international
• seminars
• Activities not
• structures

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Developing Research Collaborations

• Building relationships
• Identifying issues
• Identifying funding
• Identifying and developing partnerships
• Submitting proposals

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Developing International ResearchLimitations
and Obstacles

• Difficulty in achieving cross Network initiatives
• Little funding for network building
• Little funding for social work research
• Little track record of social work research on
  HIs
• Absence of strong international structures or
  models

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Conclusions How are we doing?

• Good early stage
• development but
• building research
• collaborations is
• slow and
• maintaining
• momentum difficult.
• Ideas welcome!

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Social Work and Health Inequalities Network

• www.warwick.ac.uk/go/swhin
• socialwork-healthinequalities_at_jiscmail.ac.uk
• P.Bywaters_at_coventry.ac.uk