Social Worker Participation in the Rehabilitation Routes of the Wounded: The Experience of Medical and Family Teams

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to conceptualize the role of a social worker in the rehabilitation routes of wounded servicemen, taking into account normative approaches, interdisciplinary team interaction and family-oriented practices. The focus is on the structure of the rehabilitation trajectory in conditions of full-scale war, with an analysis of the interaction of medical, social and family actors. The research methods included qualitative content analysis of the regulatory framework, secondary interpretation of empirical results of modern research (2020–2025), scoping reviews of social work practices in rehabilitation, as well as analytical modeling of social worker participation at each stage of the route – from the acute inpatient period to social readaptation in the community. The article provides an interdisciplinary analysis of social worker participation in the rehabilitation routes of wounded military personnel in the context of a full-scale war and the transformation of the healthcare and social protection system. The study focuses on the interaction of medical, social and family teams that ensure the continuity of the rehabilitation process from the acute inpatient stage to long-term social readaptation and inclusion in community life. A structural typology of the social worker’s participation in the rehabilitation route is presented: initial social assessment in the hospital, planning of rehabilitation goals as part of a multidisciplinary team, coordination of prosthetic and rehabilitation services, navigation of the social services system in the community, long-term case management and support of family teams. It is determined that the social worker acts as a key link that combines the biomedical logic of rehabilitation with the social dimensions of recovery – housing, work, education, legal support, participation in veteran and civic communities. It is proven that the effectiveness of the route depends on the quality of the regulatory integration of the medical and social systems, the institutional capacity of communities, the availability of specialized rehabilitation centers, and the willingness of families to fulfill the role of daily rehabilitation teams. The barriers that complicate the implementation of agreed routes are analyzed: fragmentation of services, uneven regional accessibility, overload of families, limited models of long-term support. The prospects for the development of social workers' participation in the rehabilitation of the wounded through the implementation of case management, expansion of the practices of multidisciplinary and family-oriented teams, the use of digital tools and advanced training of specialists involved in rehabilitation routes are considered.