World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Health and Social Work
H-index 8

Health and Social Work

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 878 11 10 6

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 22
Documents by Best Scientists*: 21
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 0
SCIMAGO H-index: 65
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.678
Impact Factor: 1.9

Overview

Top Research Topics at Health & Social Work?

Health & Social Work aims to foster the development of research in Social work, Health care, Nursing, Psychiatry and Gerontology. Some problems in Social work that were presented in the journal overlapped with concepts under MEDLINE, Psychosocial, Public relations, Family medicine and Mental health. Mental health research discussed connects with the study of Psychological intervention.

It connects research in Health care with the related topic of Public health. The studies in Nursing featured incorporate elements of Social Welfare and Managed care. The journal facilitates discussions on Psychiatry that incorporate concepts from other fields like Social support and Clinical psychology.

  • Social work (43.85%)
  • Health care (24.46%)
  • Nursing (24.04%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Transgender Health: Findings from Two Needs Assessment Studies in Philadelphia (406 citations)
  • Culturally Sensitive Social work Practice With Arab Clients in Mental Health Settings (318 citations)
  • Preventing Tobacco use Among Young People (305 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Health & Social Work:

The journal papers cover a variety of subjects, including Social work, Health care, Psychiatry, Gerontology and Clinical psychology. The published papers explore topics in Social work which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Social support, Social psychology, Nursing, Public relations and Mental health. The works on Psychiatry tackled in the published articles bring together disciplines like Suicide prevention and Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Internal medicine

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Health & Social Work mainly deals with areas of study such as Social work, Health care, Mental health, Nursing and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Health & Social Work holds forums on Social work that merges themes from other disciplines such as Workforce, Gerontology, Intervention (counseling), Applied psychology and Public relations. Topics in Health care explored in the journal were investigated in conjunction with research in Context (language use), Perception, Distress, Transgender and Focus group.

The concepts on Mental health presented in the journal can also apply to other research fields, including School psychology, Clinical psychology, Psychosocial, Cancer prevention and Ethnic group. In it, Health insurance, Job satisfaction, Quality of care and Psychological resilience are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Nursing research. The work on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tackled in the journal brings together disciplines like Occupational stress, Politics and MEDLINE.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Social Workers and the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. (1 citations)
  • Mental Health Service Utilization among Adults with Head Injury with Loss of Consciousness: Implications for Social Work. (1 citations)
  • Buffering Effects of Social Support and Parental Monitoring on Suicide (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Health & Social Work (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Stephen H. Gorin (41 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Barbara Berkman (39 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Rosalie A. Kane (22 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Sharon M. Keigher (20 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Thomas Owen Carlton (19 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Health & Social Work (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (46 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (29 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Tennessee (27 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Plymouth State University (27 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Michigan (27 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 39.22% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 25.81% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 9.68% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 35.48% of all publications and 29.03% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Health & Social Work Research

This section intends to provide insights into the possible career trajectory in health and social work. One such professional area is mental health counseling. Working in this field requires a specific set of academic backgrounds, skills, and experience. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that job opportunities for mental health counselors are expected to grow by 23% from 2016 to 2026. This career path represents a significant opportunity for those interested in making a difference in the mental health care arena. Pursuing a career as a mental health counselor in Illinois, for example, involves several steps, including obtaining the right academic degrees, passing licensure exams, and accumulating a certain amount of supervised work hours. Mental health counselors are well-regarded professionals who provide essential mental health services to a variety of populations. To learn more about the necessary steps to become a mental health counselor in Illinois, you can refer to this detailed guide on Mental health counselor requirements in Illinois. Moreover, health and social work researchers can also consider academic careers, where they can contribute to the field's further understanding and development. Opportunities in policy-making and non-profit organization leadership are also viable routes. Overall, the potential career paths in health and social work are as diverse as the research topics within the field, providing numerous ways for professionals to apply their knowledge and skills to effectively address prevailing health and social issues.

Top Publications

  • Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for Substance Use: A Review of the Literature.

    Cynthia Franklin;Audrey Hang Hai

    (2021)
    13 Citations
  • Ensuring Safety of Patients in Complex Health Systems: A Focus on Primary Healthcare Service Relations in Nigeria.

    (2022)
    12 Citations
  • Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Implementation for Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: Implications for Social Work Practice.

    Ashley Lacombe-Duncan;Adrian Guta;Peter A Newman

    (2021)
    9 Citations
  • Novel Service Delivery Approach to Address Reproductive Health Disparities within Immigrant Latino Communities in Geographic Hot Spots: An Implementation Study

    Amittia Parker;Michelle Johnson-Motoyama;E Susana Mariscal;Vincent Guilamo-Ramos

    (2020)
    8 Citations
  • Intimate Partner Violence and Use of Primary and Emergency Care: The Role of Informal Social Support.

    Nicole Geovana Dias;Ana Isabel Ribeiro;Ana Henriques;Joaquim Soares

    (2020)
    8 Citations
  • Experiences and Stressors of Parents of Trans and Gender-Diverse Youth in Clinical Care from Trans Youth CAN!

    (2022)
    7 Citations
  • Chronic Medical Conditions as Predictors of the Likelihood of PTSD among Black Adults: Preparing for the Aftermath of COVID-19.

    Paul Archibald;Roland Thorpe

    (2021)
    4 Citations
  • The SCOPE Intervention: Impact of a Social Care Optimization Pilot Initiative in the Emergency Department

    (2020)
    3 Citations
  • Service Access and Supportive Care Experiences among Urban and Rural Cancer Survivors: Informing Social Work Practice

    (2024)
    0 Citations
  • Challenges of End-Stage Renal Disease Patients in Ethiopia.

    (2022)
    0 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For students interested in expanding their qualifications in Social Sciences and Humanities, a variety of online degree programs cater to diverse career goals. Those aiming for advanced practice in social work might consider an affordable option through the dsw program, which balances accessibility with rigorous training.

Speech-language pathology is another growing field. Finding the right graduate school can be challenging, but resources listing the easiest slp grad schools to get into help prospective students identify programs that fit their academic profile and career aspirations.

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Behavior analysis is another promising career route, supported by online bcba masters programs that prepare students for certification and impactful roles in mental health and education sectors.

Each pathway balances affordability, accessibility, and career potential, making online learning a practical choice for many social sciences and humanities students today.

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