Health and Social Care is a field of study that covers a wide range of areas including sociology, biology, nutrition, law and ethics. It is a subject offered in schools, colleges and universities across the UK. Students wishing to pursue a career in this area often complete a work placement as part of their studies. These placements may be in a nursery, residential home or hospital.
Many health issues have underlying social causes. Social care workers are ideally positioned to identify those risks and help people take action to overcome them. This helps to improve health outcomes and reduce the need for healthcare services.
Three major national and state policy initiatives to improve integrated health and social care have emerged over the last ten years, primarily within the context of the Medicaid public insurance program for Americans with low incomes. These initiatives support activities ranging from screening patients for social risk and unmet needs in primary care clinics to building new cross-sector collaborations (e.g., health clinic-food bank partnerships). They also support efforts to finance social care with healthcare dollars and to share data between health, social and community services.
Efficiently integrating health and social care requires the implementation of value-based principles. It also demands investment in critical enablers such as funding, education and technology. In addition, it is important to continually evaluate quality to ensure that systems are delivering on their promises. This includes evaluating the outcomes of integrated care and identifying areas for improvement. health and social care
