Integrating Social Work Services in an Established Low Vision Service: Lessons Learned from a One-Year Pilot Program.
Background: Individuals with visual impairment face challenges in addressing transportation access, employment placement, and mental health awareness and counseling. Accessing resources is difficult for patients and providers lacking training. Social workers can bridge these gaps. This paper reviews...
| Publicado en: | Optometry & Visual Performance Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 24 - 31 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
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Optometric Extension Program
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=192913587&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 192913587 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 23253479 HOOW jtl: Optometry & Visual Performance issn: 23253479 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 14 iid: 1 pid: 46881 pub: Optometric Extension Program place: Lutherville Timonium, Maryland artinfo: ui: 192913587 192913587 192913587 192913587 ppf: 24 ppct: 7 formats: tig: atl: Integrating Social Work Services in an Established Low Vision Service: Lessons Learned from a One-Year Pilot Program. aug: au: Squier, Karen affil: Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, Tennessee. sug: subj: Social Work Service Health Care Delivery, Integrated Mental Health Evaluation Treatment Outcomes Program Implementation Referral and Consultation Vision, Subnormal Prevention and Control Outpatient Service Human Pilot Studies Transportation Employment Mental Health Case Management United States Support, Psychosocial Patient Navigation Health Literacy Adaptation, Psychological Glaucoma Prevention and Control Macular Degeneration Prevention and Control Optic Atrophy Prevention and Control Diabetic Retinopathy Prevention and Control Counseling Descriptive Statistics Male Female Male Female ab: Background: Individuals with visual impairment face challenges in addressing transportation access, employment placement, and mental health awareness and counseling. Accessing resources is difficult for patients and providers lacking training. Social workers can bridge these gaps. This paper reviews lessons from integrating a new social work service into an existing low vision clinic. Methods: The Low Vision Service at The Eye Center of the Southern College of Optometry received a private grant to hire a social worker (SW) for one year. The social worker kept a log of all the patients with whom she interacted during this term. Using the patient logs, a record review and assessment of interactions with each patient were evaluated. Results: The SW evaluated 236 patients. Case management and referrals comprised the majority of the SW’s efforts, as requested by patients. Counseling and emotional support were rarely implemented by the SW. Program sustainability was a challenge. Conclusions: While our program provided requested support to our patients, it functioned more as a patient navigation and case management program than one that highlighted the SW’s expertise. Incorporating patient input and creating a structured internal program and education for appropriate referrals, as directed by the SW, would have provided an opportunity for a more robust program highlighting the key skills a SW can offer. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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