Public health implications of neoliberalism on social work and vulnerable populations

Neoliberalism may affect certain public service sectors such as social work. An EU initiative developed the field's skill base, while its new research methods will contribute to the debate and help clarify this issue.

Industrial Technologies

Neoliberalism includes the notion that public services burden the state and hence should be delivered in a user-pays fashion. This economic philosophy may be detrimental to certain service professions, such as social work, and to vulnerable segments of society. To address this issue, the EU funded NL_SOCIAL (The public health implications of neoliberal policy and management on professions and vulnerable populations) project examined the impact of neoliberalism on social work in Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, Russia and South Africa. Project partners mapped existing services and the training, policy and delivery of social work services in the regions. This was done to develop knowledge and best practice in each country and relevant organisations. To deliver best practice guidelines, they designed tools to identify the effect of change on vulnerable populations and the profession. Findings show that vulnerability, citizenship and risk or protection are closely linked and undergo change over time. Context and cultural perceptions greatly influence vulnerability, while citizenship is in a state of flux. The most popular social policy comparison models are effective for culturally similar regions like Europe and the United States, but are limited in scope when covering a much broader range of countries. Comparing various social welfare policy systems is challenging due to the inconsistent information found in international databases. The NL_SOCIAL team found that social work is a low-paying, stressful and underappreciated profession in all regions. It also outlined key challenges common to social work in each. Research stimulated debate on the goal of social work as a profession. Existing global models that define vulnerability, risk or protection need to be broadened. Tackling the consequences of neoliberal policy and management in social work must be a collaborative effort by the social work community worldwide. NL_SOCIAL advanced the research skill base and fostered debate about new paradigms within social work circles. It answered questions surrounding the social effects of neoliberalism.