Age differences in the identification of psychosocial problems among hospitalised patients in Israel: Social worker and client perceptions

The type of services and the way they are provided by the helping professions may be affected by the helpers' biases in relation to socioeconomic characteristics of groups of clients. Some studies have shown that when clients are older adults, social workers have characteristically focused on procedural matters, often neglecting emotional dimensions of client need and care provision, as well as the role of patients in decision making. This paper examines these issues in the context of research conducted in a large medical centre in Israel. Findings about the ways in which services were offered in 120 social work cases included worker and client perceptions of the types of psychosocial problems dealt with. These cases were categorised in 2 groups, one including patients under 65 and the other including patients aged 65 and over. Differences in the findings were analysed with reference to this age-related case classification. Implications for the provision of care in the acute care setting are discussed.