Serviciile sociale – un răspuns la nevoile şi factorii de risc din comunităţile rurale [Social Work Services – a Response to the Needs and Risks Factors Specific in Rural Communities]

A series of needs that generate risk factors affect rural dwellers, decreasing and affecting their welfare and quality of life. Social needs and limited resources are risk factors that often occur in rural areas and guide the specialists toward identifying some necessary social services, which could offer disadvantaged people new opportunities for social reintegration. The first part of the article highlights the relation between need and risk factors in the rural area and presents the major problems and needs reported at the international level. The second one presents the results of a research done in one village, Sibiu country, Romania, in 2019. 187 vulnerable dwellers and four local specialists reveal the main specific rural social needs. Based on the results of the survey and on the legislative frame in Romania, the article suggests a series of social services that have the potential to prevent the risk factors, satisfy the needs of vulnerable persons, and facilitate their social welfare.


Keywords: rural area, risk factors, rural social work, socially disadvantaged categories, social services