Social Work and Public Health. Genealogy of a Reciprocal Relationship
Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyze the emergence of social work as a profession and its relationship with medicine. To understand the context and background of the professionalization of social work, it is necessary to go back to the end of the 19th century. A narrative literature review of classical texts on social work is used. Both the origins of social work and medicine are addressed. The hypothesis is that the interaction between both disciplines gave rise to the discipline we now call public health. It is commonly known that medicine influenced social work, but a careful review of the literature shows that the influence was bidirectional. Social work is a practical and female-dominated profession, related to reform and social progress, and it could have been forgotten or co-opted by male-dominated medicine. This study reflects on the identity of social work and its contribution to the social determinants of health.
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