Evidence of Rural Practice Skills: Which Practice Skills are Helpful for Rural Social Workers?

Overview: Rural social workers face many challenges and disparities in their practice settings, unique to their practice location. This systematic review seeks to analyze current literature regarding specific skills required to be a rural social worker and discuss implications for practice and future directions for research and educational curricula.Proposal text: Rural social workers face many challenges and disparities in their practice settings, unique to their practice location. However, research specific to rural practice skills is lacking (Daley, 2017; Brown et al., 2017). The purpose of study is to explore rural social workers’ practice skills through the systematic review.
Method
For the systematic review, reviewed studies had to be published between 2000-2020, in a scholarly peer-reviewed journal from the following databases: Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, CINAHL Plus, PubMed, Social Science Abstracts, and PsychINFO. The articles had to include social workers’ practice skills or knowledge in rural settings within the United States.
From the search in November 2020, 182 articles were screened after removing duplicates and 36 were reviewed for potential inclusion in the review. From the 36 articles, 19 articles met the required eligibility criteria and answered the research question. Extracted data from the selected studies included design of the study, sample size, and composition.
Results
19 reviewed studies identified the following practice skills commonly utilized in rural social work settings:
- 7 articles commonly addressed a broad range of knowledge and practice skills to work with diverse populations & engagement with micro, mezzo, and macro systems (Beecher et al., 2016; Bonham et al., 2014; Clark et al., 2010; Edwards & Addae, 2015; Gumpert et al., 2000; Lewis et al., 2013; Murphy & McDonald, 2004; Riebschleger, 2007)
- 6 articles addressed managing dual relationships (Beecher et al., 2016; Brocious et al., 2018; Clark et al., 2010; Edwards & Addae, 2015; Warren et al., 2014)
- 5 articles addressed multiple roles between work and community (Brocious et al., 2018; Haxton & Boelk, 2010; Mackie & Lips, 2010; Saltman et al., 2004; Riebschleger, 2007)
- 5 articles address understanding rural culture (Gumpert et al., 2000; Lewis et al., 2013; Mackie & Lips, 2010; Saltman et al., 2004; Templeman & Mitchell, 2002)
- 4 articles addressed maintaining confidentiality (Brocious et al., 2018; Croxton et al., 2002; Edwards & Addae, 2015; Haxton and Boelk, 2010)
- 3 articles addressed cultural competence and humility (Beecher et al., 2016; Brocious et al., 2018; Warren et al., 2014)
- 2 articles addressed critical thinking skills in being self-aware of personal bias (Brocious et al., 2018; Edwards & Addae, 2015)
- 2 articles address innovation and creativity in implementing programs (Mackie & Lips, 2010, Lewis et al., 2013)
Conclusion and Implications
Rural social workers need both general and advanced practice skills to be successful in their practice settings. Rural social workers often work in areas where there is a lack of resources and funding, making creativity and innovation important while also being able to advocate within mezzo and macro systems. Rather than specialize in one area rural social workers have to balance a variety of skills similar to that in general practice but be able to deal with the complexities in practice that someone in specialized practice would. Therefore, rural social workers must adapt both advanced and general practice skills, encompassing the role of an advanced generalist practitioner.