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A Survey Analysis on a More Effective Model of Social Work for Sri Lanka with Reference to Selected WPSW and BSW Institutions Operated in Sri Lanka
Abstract and Figures
Despite the fact that social work education started in Sri Lanka in 1952, this field has
been progressing at a snail’s pace. Even if there are about 1500 trained social workers,
these social workers are not yet identified as professionals in the field of social work in
Sri Lanka (Ranaweera 2020). On the other hand, a manifold of Buddhist organizations,
especially the temples, have been carrying out social services in the country as a part of
the practice of Buddhist teachings even though most of them are unrecognized as
“social work.” In such a context, the present research attempts to identify whether it is
Western practice which has been developed in a completely different society, culture,
religious background, etc., which is the reason for the sluggish progress of professional
social work in Sri Lanka. The research also addresses the issue of whether Buddhist
social work in Sri Lanka has the capacity to be recognized as professional social work.
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Social works and welfare for empowering people
It was not until 2010 that social work was officially recognized as a profession in Vietnam when the government approved a national master blueprint to develop social work. This blueprint identified seven strategic objectives including: creating a foundational labor force, developing laws and policies, and raising awareness about social work. This exploratory study examines the degree to which key stakeholders in Vietnam have shared vision and perceptions about the challenges and solutions necessary to make this ambitious plan for Vietnamese social work succeed. An anonymous survey was conducted with 65 policy makers, educators, service providers, and practitioners. The survey revealed that key stakeholders in held a shared vision about Vietnamese social work, focusing on making it a genuine profession. They identified the top challenges for Vietnamese social work as lack of national policy and regulations, lack of public awareness about the profession, and lack of resources to develop high quality social work education. Key stakeholders considered social work to be an integral function of the government and, as such, depend upon the government to lay the foundation for, provide direction to, and make available the resources necessary for the profession to grow. In other words, there would not be a Vietnamese social work profession outside of and without the Vietnamese government, unlike how the social work profession has developed in many Western countries.
Despite being one of the fastest aging countries in the world, Vietnam lacks systemic and comprehensive policies and programs to manage the physical and mental health needs of its elderly population. In this paper, I will review the formal, biomedical system for mental health care and present preliminary results of an ethnographic study on formal mental health services provided through Buddhist temples. Results of the study show that while Vietnamese formal mental health system is under-developed, Buddhist temples serve effectively as a source of help to Vietnamese elderly with mental health problems. In that light, Vietnam should incorporate Buddhist concepts of existence—most importantly, the concept of mindful aging—into its developing system of elder care.
As a profession, social work only began developing in Vietnam in the last twenty years. In 2011, the Vietnamese government
approved a national programme aiming at incorporating social work into formal health settings in Vietnam for the first time
in the history of the country, including mental health care facilities. It is well known, however, that Vietnamese people
stigmatise seeking services from formal mental health settings; yet, they frequently seek help from Buddhist temples and other
informal systems. In this paper, I will (i) review the systems of mental health service delivery in Vietnam, including Western-style
formal systems and Buddhist temples, and (ii) propose an exploratory model of service delivery where the emerging social work
profession will play the liaison role between formal and informal systems.
Although efforts are being made to decrease the number of new HIV infections in Thailand, less support is give to the growing population that is already affected by the disease. This qualitative study explores the roles of Buddhist temples in the treatment of AIDS in Thailand, specifically the perspectives of both Buddhist monks and persons who are living with AIDS on HIV/AIDS and the care provided at the temples. Three major themes were derived from the interviews: (1) temple as a last choice; (2) temple as a support group; and (3) the role of Buddhism and monks at the temple.
In 2010, Vietnam established social work as a profession. As part of their strategic plan, the government aims to incorporate social work into existing hospitals and health care facilities in the country, including psychiatric hospitals and mental health care centers. This paper, based upon survey and focus group data from 194 people working in three major mental health facilities in Hanoi, explores direct care staffs’ perceptions of this historic incorporation of social work, with a particular eye to the benefits and challenges of the transition. Results show most staff members thought social workers would provide great support to the many unmet needs of their largely underserved and impoverished patients. They also viewed social workers as a potential resource to the treatment team by reducing work overload. Existing staff, however, were less attuned to the clinical functions of social workers in mental health settings, often equating social work with community development and social movements. Some were concerned about social workers taking on their tasks; others about new social workers being hindered by the professional hierarchy in which doctors were placed at the top. Successful integration of social workers will hinge on strong support from policy-makers and leaders of mental health systems.
With 80% of Vietnamese people holding key Buddhist beliefs, Buddhism has great impact on the thoughts, emotions, and behavior of Vietnamese people. However, almost no Buddhism‐based psychosocial interventions are offered at formal psychiatric hospitals across Vietnam, nor is there any plan to incorporate these interventions into mental health care. This exploratory study examines the perceptions of mental health clients and staff regarding the effectiveness of Buddhism‐based therapies (BBTs) in mental health treatment in Vietnam, using ethnographic observation and in‐depth interviews with 24 patients and eight professionals at the only psychiatric hospital employing BBT. Participants strongly believed in the positive impact of BBT to help clients manage or improve their symptoms. However, clients and staff advised that BBT should not be used alone; rather it should be used in combination with medication and was best employed for stress‐related disorders. They unanimously supported incorporating BBT into the formal mental health system, especially if the therapies were well developed through collaboration between Buddhist monastics and mental health professionals. Results of the paper suggest that Vietnam should think strategically about developing and incorporating BBT into the formal mental health care system.
Private and public social services, including social work centers, are limited to disadvantaged Vietnamese people, such as orphans and people with HIV/AIDS. Buddhism-based organizations (BBOs) have been acknowledged as an avenue to extend social services in Vietnam. This article reviews the social service system and BBOs in Vietnam using secondary data and findings from an empirical study on Buddhist charitable giving. A proposed model linking BBOs to social work centers seeks to improve the efficacy and effectiveness of service delivery.