The nature of social work services in a large public medical center serving an impoverished multicultural population.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of social work services in a large public medical center serving an impoverished multicultural population. This monitoring evaluation was developed and conducted within the context of a research collaboration between a School of Social Work and a team of clinical workers, supervisors, and administrators from the social work department of the medical center. The paper includes a description of the development of the assessment instrument as well as the findings, including the categories of sociodemographics, assessments, and services delivered by medical social workers. Conclusions emphasize the degree of anxiety and depression in the patients and their families and the need for clinical social workers to be skilled in the multicultural assessment and treatment of these problems. This need is then put into the context of the current health care climate.