Jackman Matthew, McDermott Fiona, Sadler Jacinta, El Hage Nicole, Lee Halim
Monash University, Department of Social Work,Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia.
Soc Work Health Care. 2021;60(8-9):614-630. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2021.1990189. Epub 2021 Oct 26.
This study explored the patient characteristics and outcomes in relation to guardianship in a large-scale sub-acute Australian hospital. Fifteen patients who appointed a guardian at The Kingston Center, Monash Health, participated through exploratory data collection and analysis utilizing a de-identifiable template. The findings revealed both diverse and complex patient characteristics, and ethical dilemmas in patient outcomes for social workers. Patient outcomes post-guardianship appointment and discharge highlighted a negative impact from long length of stay and the iatrogenic impact on patient wellbeing in hospital. The study reflected a disparity between patients' discharge goals and their outcomes indicating significant ethical dilemmas and complexities for social workers in ensuring rights to autonomy and responsibility for safety are balanced.
