The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work

Infused with patient and family narratives, learning exercises and resources, the second edtion of The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work is organized around settings of care, medical diagnoses, specific populations, ethical considerations and interventions. Chapters capture the rich palliative social work history and core components of collaborative practice including social justice, health equity, culture, language and spirituality. Woven throughout is the imperative for social workers to address the social determinants of health.

The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work is a comprehensive, evidence-informed text that provides clinicians, researchers, policy-makers, and academics with a broad range of content to inform and enhance palliative social work practice. This definitive resource brings together an array of more than 150 international authors and is edited by three leading palliative social work pioneers to address the needs of professionals providing interprofessional, culturally sensitive, biopsychosocial-spiritual care for patients and families living with serious illness. Social workers from diverse settings will benefit from the historical perspective and international scope as well as the wealth of patient and family narratives. In keeping with the dynamic growth of the field over the last decade, this second edition offers a substantially deeper dive both conceptually and contextually into the more nuanced delivery of palliative social work. This edition includes additional chapters that reflect the increased integration of palliative social work across populations, diagnoses, and settings. Each chapter has been extensively updated integrating current evidence, with a section specifically devoted to interventions for the purpose of affirming the scope of social work palliative practice. A new preface highlights aspects of social-political inequity and injustice that informed the development, process, and ultimate content of this Text. International palliative social work practice is reflected by regional voices and highlighted by an exploration of the unique response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it evolved in their respective countries. Professional issues explore topics of mentoring, supervision, advocacy, leadership, certification, legacy, and resilience.