Looking Through the Eyes of General Practitioners: The Role of Social Work in Primary Health Care.

This article examines the perceptions of general practitioners (GPs) in Flanders, Belgium, regarding the role of social work within ongoing primary healthcare reforms aimed at enhancing integrated, person-centred care. Through semi-structured interviews with twenty-three GPs working under different financing models, the study found that while physicians recognize the impact of social factors on patient health, they often lack knowledge about social work’s expertise and primarily engage social workers for individual cases rather than broader structural or community-level issues. Collaboration is facilitated by co-location and shared communication but hindered by fragmented services, unclear role definitions, and financing models that do not incentivize interprofessional teamwork. The findings highlight the need for greater mutual understanding, recognition of social work’s unique contributions, and organizational support to strengthen collaboration between GPs and social workers in primary care.