Knowing what to know? Health social workers and the values of epistemic resources

This article focuses on knowledge and analyses how different forms of knowledge came to be valued in a project focusing on health social workers’ working methods. The empirical material consists of six focus groups, with health social workers and their managers. The analysis highlights how health social workers primarily use contextualised and interpretivist approaches to knowledge, such as personalised metaphors, which are difficult to articulate and use as epistemic resources. This is in contrast to codes, definitions and screening instruments, which, through the project, became to be highly valued as epistemic resources. This is problematised, related to how these generalisable forms of knowledge are not tied to any profession and intended to describe interventions performed, rather than used to guide assessments of complex situations. The analysis concludes that this valuing of knowledge can be understood as supporting evidence-based policy rather than evidence-based practices. It can further lead to enhanced difficulties in articulating the theoretical base of social work, potentially affecting the professional identity of health social workers. Further, a stripping of complexity can lead to a risk of missing out on strengthening health social workers’ specific contribution of bridging social and medical domains.