Hospital social work: Are we conducting the right type of research?

Given the current financial state of health care in the United States, intervention- or outcome-based research is essential for the survival of hospital social workers. The purpose of the current study was to systematically review the current literature on hospital social work to assess the effectiveness of hospital social work in implementing intervention-based research and to make recommendations for the future direction of research among hospital social workers. Over the 10-year period (1991-2001), a total of 44 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified for inclusion in the present study: 19 were qualitative articles and 25 were quantitative articles. Of these studies, only 5 studies were intervention based research. Possible strategies for increasing intervention research among hospital social workers were discussed. © 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved