Abstract

Social services in Bulgaria are increasingly oriented toward a family-centered and multidisciplinary approach. In this context, the role of clarity—defined as clarity of professional duties and responsibilities—is a key organizational prerequisite for effective collaboration within teams, providing support to service users and their families.

This study aims to examine the level of clarity of professional responsibilities among specialists in multidisciplinary teams, according to their job position and target groups.

Materials and Methods

An online survey was conducted among 316 professionals from social services and Regional Directorates of the Social Assistance Agency in Central and Southeastern Bulgaria, in accordance with the principles of voluntariness and confidentiality. The questionnaire addressed the clarity of roles, alignment between education and job duties, and preferred forms of additional training. Participants included social workers, psychologists, educators, therapists, nurses, and other specialists working with various user groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and ANOVA. Associations between categorical variables were examined through cross-tabulations in SPSS.

Results

Most participants (97%) report high role clarity, but distortions may arise from the self-assessment nature of the data and differing understandings of “clarity.” Simultaneously, a weak but statistically significant negative relationship exists between the need for training and the subjective clarity of responsibilities (r = -0.238, p < 0.05), as well as between intentions to change jobs and clarity of responsibility (r = -0.216, p < 0.05). A statistically significant effect of the need for training (F = 15.36, p < 0.05) and the intention to change jobs (F = 5.39, p < 0.05) on the subjective clarity of responsibilities was also found. These results indicate that, despite the high reported level of clarity, factors emphasize the importance of professional development to improve service quality.

Conclusion

Clarity of roles is an important prerequisite for the effective distribution of tasks in multidisciplinary teams. This study shows a practical need to improve the qualifications of employees, which contributes to effective and high-quality support for service users and their families.