In an era of managed care, cost cutting and downsizing, the profession of oncology social work is under attack. Some payors consider social work to be """"""""value added"""""""" rather than essential members of the health care team. Yet, practice history and research emphasize the necessity of social work interventions for quality cancer care for patients with cancer and their families. Oncology social workers must redouble efforts to demonstrate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of their inventions. The long-term goal of this proposal is to stimulate more oncology social work research and the integration of that research into clinical practice: providing three state-of-the-art research workshops; providing the annual conference abstract booklet to all 1000+ members of the AOSW; and distributing the Psychosocial Research Kit: Tools for Practice Evaluation of Oncology Social Work to all annual conference attendees. The AOSW is uniquely positioned to encourage oncology social workers to develop and participate in research efforts. Providing additional training in research and more broadly disseminating state-of-the-art psychosocial oncology research findings is an important step in preserving the profession of oncology social work.
