Social Work, Human Rights, and Advocacy: Public health as a social right – A critical approach.
Academic social work, internationally, has highlighted the fundamental link between the social work profession and human rights. In particular, the social right to health, both as a human right of the highest importance and as a serious social justice issue, is a key subject of social work. This study will attempt a theoretical review of the historical relationship between social work, human rights, and the social right to health. Furthermore, advocacy will be studied as the type of social work practice that is more closely linked to the promotion of human rights than any other practice. In addition, the critiques that have been developed regarding human rights and how they have been used to date will be examined.
The object of the research component of this study will be to explore the attitudes, perceptions, and practices of social workers working in public hospitals in Greece regarding human rights and advocacy. Finally, the views of health service recipients will be studied to highlight their experiences.
Key words:
Human rights, Advocacy, Health, Social work
Teloni Dimitra- Dora (supervisor), Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, University of West Attica
Ioakimidis Vasilios, Professor, Chairman of the Department of Social Work, University of West Attica
Karagounis Vasilis, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Democritus University of Thrace
