An ecological approach to community social work in hospital settings

"Ecology," both as a social movement and an academic discipline, has emerged as a significant perspective in social work theory and practice. There has been little study concerning the connection(s) between general frameworks and definitions of ecology and its utilization in social work as reported in the literature. What ecological definition could social work operate out of most appropriately, at what practice level, and in which settings? These issues were studied through library research, analytic reflection, and the use of case studies.

Results of this research indicated that social work is most appropriately connected to an interdisciplinary and generic definition of ecology; and that the ecological approach is effectively practiced at the community level of intervention. This generic definition of ecology emphasizes integrative and mediatory roles for ecology during periods of rapid social change and the consequential breakdown in community characteristic of such periods. Cast in the contemporary trend toward a post-industrial epoch, the hospital setting was considered one environment appropriate to the application of this particular ecological approach. These ideas need to be tested by further research.