Social Work in Restructuring Hospitals: Meeting the Challenge

Abstract

From bureaucratic to programmatic institutions, hospitals across North America are experiencing restructuring. Using the results of a telephone survey and a semistructured questionnaire, this research study explores the effect of hospital restructuring on the organization and delivery of social work services and the strategies social workers select to manage change in a sample of Ontario hospitals. Respondents identified a number of issues related to control over the nature of work in the organization, social work roles, and the management of structural change. This article discusses the implications for the profession of the move to program management.