Researchers have identified a number of issues commonly faced by social workers who practice in rural areas.  Four specific issues related to social work practice in rural areas are often concerns for BA-level social work educators.  These issues are: the prevalence of violence in urban areas (Sadowski & Munoz, 1996; Slovak & Singer, 2002), the lack of social service infrastructure in rural areas (Saltman, Gumbert, Allen-Kelly, & Zubrzycki), the need for social workers to be able to competently perform a wide variety of roles (Locke & Winship, 2005) and the importance of spirituality and religion in rural areas (Locke & Winship, 2005; Yoon, 2005).  This article will describe the experiences of our students as related to each of these issues.

 

Although our college is housed within  a city of approximately 73,000 people, the surrounding county contains a mixed urban and suburban economy, and its boarder is commonly accepted as the northern edge of Appalachia.  Thus, our social work program and our students have opportunities to be involved in both urban and rural social work settings.  The following paragraphs will discuss our experiences with the rural social work issues discussed above.

 

Rural Violence

 

Both Singer and Slovak (2002) and Sadowski and Munoz (1996) find that rural violence rates are high, despite public perceptions of rural areas as idyllic, peaceful locales.  Some suggest that a culture of gun ownership is partially responsible for high rates of rural violence (Singer, personal communication, July 2005).  Our students, who have primarily been involved in rural child welfare, school social work, and medical settings, have often experienced cases of rural violence.  One social work intern worked closely with the siblings of a young child who was murdered in a high profile child abuse case.

 

As faculty, we must prepare students for such work and must be aware that our social work students may have come from, or may be currently living with, this culture of violence. Faculty must work to provide opportunities for students to become aware that a violent lifestyle is not “just the way it is” and provide them with options to leave violent situations .

 

Lack of Social Services Infrastructure

 

Many rural areas lack sufficient social services infrastructure.  Recent research found that 90% of rural social workers surveyed included issues such as lack of sufficient social services in their definition of rural social work (Saltman, Gumbert, Allen-Kelly, & Zubrzycki, 2004).  Clients may lack transportation or may be unable to ask for services for fear that neighbors will “know their business”. Confidentiality is often a challenge in communities where people have few options as to whether they will shop, worship or serve on school committees with each other. Our social work interns who are placed in schools often comment on the lack of appropriate referral agencies available for their clients.

 

Multiple Roles for Social Workers

 

Locke and Winship (2005) report that it is often necessary for social workers to practice from a generalist perspective, given the number of roles they are required to play within their practice settings.  Many rural social workers are employed in secondary social work settings.  In our case, medical and school social work placements comprise most of our rural field placement organizations.  These placements bring special difficulties, as the goals of the host agency often do not fit well with traditional social work values and ethics.  For example, our school social work interns are often faced with situations wherein teachers are authorized by parents, and are willing, to utilize harsh behavioral strategies in order to maintain group discipline.  Such behavioral strategies are antithetical to social work values such as the importance of caring relationships and the dignity and worth of the individual (NASW, 1999). 

 

The Importance of Spirituality and Religion in Rural Communities

 

Locke and Winship (2005) and Yoon (2005) discuss the importance of religion and spirituality in rural communities.  Yoon cites previous research by Meystedt and Furman which states that rural individuals tend to be more religious than the general population and tend to utilize religious resources, rather than professional resources, to deal with personal and family problems.  Social workers who practice in rural areas must be comfortable discussing spiritual and religious issues with their clients.  Faculty training those preparing to work in rural areas should openly discuss spiritual and religious issues (as well as appropriate professional boundaries to such discussions). that may be encountered in social work practice. 

 

Conclusion

 

Rural social work is an area which is receiving increasing attention from social work educators and practitioners.  In light of the great needs which exist in rural areas, it is vitally important that social workers be prepared to deal with the issues addressed in our article, as well as other issues common to rural social work practice.

 

References

 

Locke, B. L., & Winship, J. (2005).  Social work in rural America:  Lessons from the Past and trends for the future.  In R. A. Lohmann & N. Lohmann (Eds.), Rural social work practice (pp. 3-24). New York: Columbia University Press.

 

Sadowski, L., & Munoz, S. (1996).  Non-fatal and fatal firearm injuries in a rural county.  Journal of the American Medical Association, 275, 1762-1764.

 

Saltman, J., Gumbert, J. Allen-Kelly, K., & Zubrzycki, J. (2004).  Rural social work practice in the United States and Australia:  A comparison.  International Social Work, 47, 515-531.

 

Slovak, K., & Singer, M. I. (2002).  Children and violence: Findings and implications from a rural community.  Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 19(1), 35-56

 

Yoon, D. P. (2005). The role of religious/spirituality and social support on subjective well-being among people living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities.  In R. A. Lohmann & N. Lohmann (Eds.), Rural social work practice (pp. 255-270). New York: Columbia University Press.