Social work in family practice: what are the prospects?

In a study by Frangos and Chase of thirty-nine family practice residents, it was found that the majority had positive attitudes toward having a social worker associated with their future medical practice. Their findings, however, could have been positively skewed since their sample was small and from residents in only one program. This paper reports the findings of 159 board certified family practitioners surveyed in a national sample. This study also yielded positive findings but much less than those in Frangos and Chase's study. These and other findings related to family practitioners' attitudes and practices regarding social work involvement in their practices are reported and discussed.