A profession whose primary concern is how human needs—both of individuals and of groups—can be met within society. Social and behavioral sciences provide its educational base. The services provided include general social services, such as health and education, and welfare services to targeted groups such as the economically disadvantaged, the disabled, the elderly, or victims of disasters.
The use of community resources and the conscious adaptive capacities of individuals and groups to better their adjustment to their environment.
Assistance to patients and their families in handling social, environmental, and emotional problems (in health care usage, primarily such problems associated with illness or injury).
Provision of social services (in fields such as child welfare, criminal justice, hospital-based medicine, or mental health) and the promotion of social welfare by a professionally trained person. Social work often involves advocacy and aid for individuals who are poor, elderly, homeless, unemployed, or discriminated against in society because of gender, race, or other biases.