National Summit on Social Work in Primary Care
Team-based care offers a sustainable solution to the human resource crisis in Canada’s healthcare system — but involving social workers is key.
At the first National Summit on Social Work in Primary Care, held in October 2025, social work clinicians, researchers, teachers, and policy makers from across the country advanced a strategy to redefine primary health care with social work among the essential contributors.
On October 15th and October 16th, a team of primary care researchers and social workers, led by Associate Professors Rachelle Ashcroft and Keith Adamson – in partnership with the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) – hosted a national summit at the University of Toronto to discuss strategies to advance the integration of social workers in team-based primary care.
Why does this work matter? Over six million Canadians lack a primary healthcare provider. Meanwhile, individual and community health care needs are becoming increasingly complex. A shortage of health care professionals, combined with funding pressures, high demands for mental health care, and a deeper understanding of the intricate biomedical, environmental, social, and structural factors that impact our health, have forced healthcare professionals, institutions, and communities to re-examine how we envision health care and how health care delivery is structured.
Team-based models of primary care hold promise and are rooted in community, relationships, and resiliency — areas that social workers deeply understand. They also promise to deliver care more effectively and efficiently. We know team-based models work because different regions have been harnessing the power of teams and priortizing new development and expansions of team-based primary care. But in the absence of a national vision, we lack the ability to easily learn from each other, share best practices, and advance the field. The National Summit on Social Work in Primary Care provided an opportunity for social workers to do just that.
Organized in partnership with the CASW and the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW), the National Summit on Social Work in Primary Care brought together primary health care and social work clinicians, leaders, researchers, educators, and policymakers from across the country. It’s one of a number of steps the Summit organizers are taking to contribute to a Canada-wide strategy for primary health care involving multiple disciplines.
“To see all of you here today is actually a dream come true,” said Ivy Oandasan at the reception that opened the Summit on October 15. Oandasan is Professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. She co-led the Team Primary Care initiative, which set the vision for a national strategy in motion. “The idea was that each of the 20 professions that were part of Team Primary Care would come together individually within their professions to think about their role in primary care and then advocate strongly for its development. Social Work is one of the very first that have been able to do that.”
Ashcroft and Adamson, both Associate Professors at FIFSW have been leading the charge for social work with a dedicated team that includes leaders from the CASW. Prior to the Summit, they worked with the CASW to release a report [PDF] on social work in primary care. They also developed publicly-available e-learning modules to teach social work professionals and others about the roles that social workers play in primary care teams.
Below is a summary of the discussion from the Summit, as well as resources for those interested in learning more.
“Not only are our primary care services the front door to access health care for many people, they also help prevent the use of more urgent care down the road. Unfortunately, far too many Canadians, more than 5 million, do not have access to a primary care provider.
“[Social workers] provide counselling, health promotion, and client education, respond to the complex physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing needs of clients. You are there during some of the hardest times of someone’s life, and you provide compassionate care.”
— Maggie Chi, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister of Health
Organizers of The National Summit to Advance Social Work in Team-Based Primary Care Across Canada are grateful for support from the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW-ACTS), The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) and the Sanda Rotman Chair in Social Work.