(establishment of clubs, training of healthy lifestyle coaches), which together
leads to a gradual transition to an active model of health.
The third chapter is devoted to the analysis of specifics of the formation of
professional competencies of a social worker in the provision of social services
in the healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Initially, the existing
technology of forming the professional competencies of a social worker was
explored. Thus, the analysis of curricula and subsequent practice of social work
has shown the need for changes in the Republican classifier of professions with
the aim of introducing an additional definition of "social assistant" and a more
precise description of the required level of qualification for each of the
definitions (at the moment, the classifier mentions the profession "social
worker" and "specialist in social work", in the description of which is a mixture
of qualification requirements). The structure, contents and volume of the
curriculum, detailed planning of the educational process are offered.
While forming qualification requirements for professional activity of a social
worker, there are three levels of management singled out in the work, in
accordance with which professional competencies are presented:
The first level is key core competencies, including managerial-social and
health-saving competencies, autonomy (the possibility of self-development and
self-learning), and auxiliary tasks. They characterize a person's overall ability to
manage, as well as his ability to exist in a social professional environment.
The second level includes professional competencies, which are described at a
basic level, but in this (personal) context must confirm the ability of a person to
be an employee exactly of the social service. Important is not only the
description of the dominant species and functions of professional activities,
such as planning, organizational, motivational, control, reflexive, but also an
emphasis on a compulsory management algorithm for collecting, processing
information, developing and making managerial decisions, organizational
actions for their implementation, etc.
At the third level, special-professional competencies of social workers are
considered. There are procedural and resultant groups of competences. The
procedural competencies describe the directions of the professional activity of a
social worker. The resulting competencies mark the ability of a social worker to
influence positive dynamics of changes in the social service and, as a result, on
the social development of society.
Next, the diagnosis of the formation of professional competencies of social
workers in the provision of social services in the healthcare field was done. For
this aim, a sociological study was conducted - a survey of potential
beneficiaries of social workers in the health care of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
medical personnel in multidisciplinary interaction with social workers, as well
as among social workers themselves. A total of 621 respondents were
interviewed on specially prepared questionnaires (16-24 questions), 126 of
them are social workers, 93 are representatives of medical staff of polyclinics,
incl. family doctors, physicians, family nurses, and 402 recipients of social
services (hereinafter "service recipients") in 6 regions of Kazakhstan, among
which such cities as Astana, Karaganda, Kostanay, Zhezkazgan, Pavlodar,
Atyrau.
Diagnosis of the question status showed the following:
- Awareness of the population about the activities of socio-psychological
service (hereinafter SPS) in CPHC is not sufficient: only 84% of potential
beneficiaries of social services in CPHC know about the SPS. Most informed
audience about existence of socio-psychological services is in Karaganda
(97.5%), Astana (93%), Zhezkazgan (91%) and Pavlodar (82.2%), while
respondents are relatively less informed about the existence of SPS in the cities
of Atyrau (52.5%) and Kostanay (64.3%).
- Among all the surveyed beneficiaries, 71% asked a social worker for help, of
which 63.7% did it to a varying degree regularly; the social worker offered to
participate in certain types of group activities or events, and in most cases the
respondents attended them. Respondents solved social and medical problems
(56.2%) and socio-psychological (38.4%) problems in SPS, and much less
frequently - social, legal, socio-economic and other social issues.
- For half of the interviewed, the conditions of rooms where the social worker
takes patients (available equipment, furniture, implements, etc.) are completely
satisfying (50.4%), and for 37% the conditions are almost satisfying. The
majority of respondents (81.2%) assess the quality of equipment in rooms as
"completely satisfying" and "almost satisfying". Almost the same number of
beneficiaries (83.7%) believes that social workers of the organization are polite
and friendly towards their visitor (the respondents rated "5" and "4").
- 84% of respondents indicate the need for the activity of social workers in
primary health care; the quality of social worker's services provided was only
partially satisfying for beneficiaries (65.7%) or, almost satisfying (18.7%);
social service is credible, because clients who have received any services in the
SPS will advise it to their friends, relatives and acquaintances to contact the
PCA for solving their social and other problems.
- To improve the quality and completeness of the provision of social services, in
the opinion of beneficiaries, it is necessary:
- to increase provision of medical, social and psychological assistance to
aged people (21%);
- to arrange consultations on medical issues (18%);
- be able to provide emergency assistance (16.4%);
- increase the number of social workers in the sector (12.6%).
- reduce bureaucratic procedures (12.6%) and formalism in solving social
problems (8.2%);
- to expand assistance in social and legal issues, in the field of solving
administrative and legal problems (10.6%), in increasing social and
economic independence (7.4%).
- The population is not sufficiently informed about the SPS in CPHC. Social
service in CPHC, in the opinion of beneficiaries, is needed, but it is necessary
to improve the quality and completeness of the provision of social services to
the population.
