The Intersection of Social Workee and Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area

This study investigated the challenges social workers face in medical institutions; a study of government teaching hospitals in Obia/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State. Primary source of data was generated through self- administered questionnaires. The population of the study was 800medical staffs, while the sample size of 267 was determined using the Taro Yamane’s formula for sample size determination. The study involved different cadres of hospital staff including; clinicians, nurses, radiologists, dental officers and hospital nutritionist. The study concludes that these challenges are the source of under-utilization of the medical social workers, which affects the welfare of patients and clients who would otherwise have benefited from social welfare officers interventions. The present paper is on the roles and functions of social workers should be made known in the hospital through the promotion of information about the discipline by its practitioners in the hospital.