Heynk, Lucia, Zuchowski, Ines, and Kuruvila, Albert (2026) Social Workers perspectives on working in Australian general practice settings. Australian Social Work. (In Press)

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Abstract

Australia’s ageing population and rising chronic and mental health conditions increase pressure on the healthcare system. General Practitioners [GPs] manage increasingly complex health and social needs. Social workers help address social determinants through advocacy, support, and system navigation. Integration of social workers into general practice settings shows promise but requires sustainable models and further research. This study examined the benefits and challenges of embedding social workers into eight general practice settings in North Queensland. Using a sequential mixed-method design, data collection methods included a survey and interviews with social workers. Data analysis involved content analysis, descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings outline the dual mandate of social workers supporting clients while also supporting the clinic team in their practice, social work practice variations in each clinic context, identification of the importance of the ethical foundations and cultural responsiveness of practice and challenges and enablers to the integration of social work in general practice. The findings highlight that social work inclusion in Primary Health Care provided improved support for chronic, mental health, and vulnerable populations, but that structural barriers and funding limitations constrain broader implementation and transferability of social work in general practice.

Item ID:	90913
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1447-0748
Keywords:	Social Work; General Practice; Research; Interventions; Social Work Practice; Social Determinants of Health; Primary Health Care.
Copyright Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Date Deposited:	21 May 2026 02:52
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4409 Social work > 440901 Clinical social work practice @ 50% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4409 Social work > 440903 Social program evaluation @ 50%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2003 Provision of health and support services > 200301 Allied health therapies (excl. mental health services) @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200407 Health status (incl. wellbeing) @ 50%
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