A study of the work of a medical social worker in a group medical practice.

An exploratory study was made to demonstrate the role, the work and the relationships of a full-time medical social worker in a group medical practice. Patients were seen on referral only, and a schedule for interview was developed for purposes of categorizing areas of social dysfunction. The following areas of dysfunction were studied: accommodation, job, social activities, family problems and medical diagnosis and/or treatment. A profile emerged of the patients referred as compared to patients in the practice as a whole. The "social sickness" in patients was more likely to exist between the ages of 20 and 44 years or over 65. It occurred more frequently in females and in individuals living alone or in a family of seven or more, in people from the lower social classes and the unemployed, retired people or actual or potential social isolates, those having a psychological illness, and those with degenerative disease of the circulatory or central nervous systems. It was less frequent in patients from a farm.