The Role of Social Workers in Improving Treatment Adherence Among Patients with Chronic Diseases

Abstract

Background: Treatment adherence among patients with chronic diseases remains suboptimal, contributing to adverse clinical outcomes, disease progression, and increased healthcare costs worldwide. Social workers, with their unique expertise in psychosocial assessment, care coordination, patient education, and resource navigation, possess significant potential to enhance adherence.

Objective: This review aims to synthesize existing literature on social work interventions in chronic disease management, identify the mechanisms by which these interventions improve adherence, and propose an integrated model embedding social work within chronic care frameworks.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and key grey literature from 2000–2025. Studies describing social work roles in chronic care were included. Extracted data focused on intervention types, targeted adherence barriers, and outcomes.

Results: Social work interventions fall into six domains: biopsychosocial assessment to identify mental health, social support, and financial barriers; care coordination and advocacy addressing access, logistics, and system navigation; emotional support and counseling;  patient education and health literacy enhancement; resource navigation to alleviate socioeconomic obstacles; and facilitation of peer-support networks . Integration into interdisciplinary models—such as adapted Chronic Care Models—has shown promising qualitative and limited quantitative outcomes, including improved adherence, better clinical control, enhanced quality of life, and reduced hospital readmissions.

Conclusions: Social workers significantly contribute to adherence improvement in chronic disease management by

addressing non-medical determinants. Embedding social work interventions—through structured assessments, coordination, education, and psychosocial support—within care systems offers a comprehensive pathway to improve adherence. Future research should focus on RCTs to measure effectiveness, cost outcomes, and scalability of such models across diverse healthcare settings.