Nurses and social workers in home health care: identifying and resolving turf conflict

A survey of role perceptions of nurses and social workers employed in home health care in Washington State indicated potential turf conflict in a number of roles involved in home care of elderly patients. Nurses tended to perceive themselves capable of all patient-directed tasks and perceived few professional tasks in home health care as the unique domain of social work. This attitude was in sharp contrast to social workers' perceptions, particularly regarding tasks in the psychosocial area. Strategies for identifying and overcoming professional turf conflict in home health care agencies are discussed.