Socioeconomic, health status and hospitalization aspects of adult patients referred to the social service of a tertiary hospital

The aim of this study is to record and analyze socioeconomic, demographic and health profiles of adult patients referred to the Social Service of a tertiary Hospital, as well as to present additional hospitalization conditions.

A retrospective hospital archive study containing all patients referred to the Social Service during a four-year period was conducted.

The study consisted of 350 patients (168 males) with mean age 70.1 years. Most of the patients were of Greek origin and singles or divorced. 184 patients (52.6%) were retired. The participants’ average income ranged between 500 and 1000 euro/month. Most of the patients were insured by the Government (public health insurance) and were hospitalized in Pathology and Covid Clinics, with a mean hospitalization level of 17.6 days. The main reasons for referral were admission to an Aged Care Unit and the need to investigate network support. The most frequently recorded diagnosis was Covid-19, while 103 (29.4%) patients had a mental illness problem. The analysis of associations between demographic characteristics with health dimensions showed significant differences.

Changes in socioeconomic conditions have an impact on outpatient and inpatient care as well as on Greek social work practice and pose enormous challenges to social work professionals.