Um olhar para oncologia: reflexões sobre o Serviço Social na Saúde e o exercício profissional de assistentes sociais em contextos hospitalares

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of Social Work in the hospital setting, with an emphasis on the field of Oncology, highlighting the role of social workers in ensuring rights and addressing the social inequalities that impact the health-disease process. It is a qualitative study, grounded in historical-dialectical materialism, which employed participant observation during a curricular internship at the Onofre Lopes University Hospital (HUOL), as well as bibliographic and documentary analysis. It was concluded that the work of social workers at HUOL is essential for articulating public policies, promoting humanized care, and upholding the principles of the Unified Health System (SUS), reinforcing the profession’s commitment to social justice and human emancipation. The importance of the social worker in supporting patients and their families was also emphasized, given the multiple social determinants that influence illness and present themselves as demands. Their intervention is fundamental to ensuring rights and providing comprehensive and qualified care.