Social work practice in a rural community collaborative to improve perinatal care

U.S. rural women encounter many logistical and psychosocial barriers to prenatal care, including high poverty rates, high rates of inadequate health insurance, health care provider shortages, transportation problems and health care systems that may be inadequate or unresponsive to the needs of poor women. The purpose of this article is to describe the role of the social worker in rural communities in the development, implementation and evaluation of a community effort that sought to improve prenatal care through a collaborative of health and human services organizations. The nature of social work participation and the implications for social work are discussed.