Roles and Collaborative Practices of Drug Rehabilitation Social Workers and Community Drug Control Officers in Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation in China: A Qualitative Study

Community-based drug rehabilitation (CBDR) in China involves multiple types of frontline workers, yet little empirical research has examined how these workers carry out their respective roles and collaborate in practice. This study explored the roles, collaborative practices, and role boundaries of drug rehabilitation social workers (DRSWs) and community drug control officers (CDCOs) in CBDR in Guangzhou, China. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 DRSWs and 9 CDCOs across two sequential phases, and data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings revealed that DRSWs primarily performed professional rehabilitation services alongside administrative assistance, while CDCOs focused on administrative management, support for enforcement-related procedures, and upward resource advocacy. Five areas of collaboration were identified, characterized by a spontaneous complementary division of labor. However, role boundary ambiguity was also observed at three interconnected levels: DRSWs’ administrative workload had expanded beyond an assisting capacity, some CDCOs described care-giving practices that approached the professional domain of social work, and workers reported that persons with drug use histories (PWUDs) often had difficulty distinguishing between the two roles. These findings highlight the need for clearer role definitions and institutionalized coordination mechanisms in CBDR.