Contributions of the IMSS Volunteer Service to Social Work in Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62621/am6hvv30Keywords:
Social Work, Health Facility Administration, Instituciones de Salud, Voluntary Programs, VolunteersAbstract
The article examines the contributions of the Volunteer Service of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) to Social Work in health, situating it within the context of the current challenges of the Mexican healthcare system and the growing centrality of volunteering in organized social action. Based on a search of specialized literature in the health field and the use of documentary analysis techniques and disciplinary reflection, it first reviews international and national evidence on volunteering in health as a complementary strategy to improve the quality, warmth, and accessibility of care, as well as its impact on psychosocial support for patients and caregivers. It then reconstructs the historical trajectory, territorial expansion, and professionalization of the IMSS Volunteer Service, highlighting the diversification of its programs (shelters, hospital accompaniment, health promotion, and social assistance) and its role in highly vulnerable contexts.
From the perspective of Social Work, the article argues that volunteering constitutes a relevant device for psychosocial intervention, provided it is managed with quality standards, professional supervision, and complementarity with salaried teams. It warns of the risks of precarization and de-professionalization when the boundaries between voluntary work and paid work become blurred, and it underscores the need to integrate the IMSS Volunteer Service into the planning, management, and evaluation of services, so that it is consolidated as a strategic platform to articulate citizen participation, psychosocial support, and institutional commitment in favor of more humane, equitable, and co-responsible care.
Downloads
References
Aburto de Robledo, A., Gallegos Vega, T. M., Roldán Jiménez, D., & Fontaine Sánchez, C. G. (2023). El voluntariado del IMSS. En C. Coello Garcés & J. A. Marengo Camacho (Coords.), IMSS: 80 años de historia (pp. 291-318). Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Recuperado de https://www.imss.gob.mx/conoce-al-imss/coleccion-libros-80
Benavides Gil, G., Quiles Sebastián, M. J., García, E., Ortigosa Quiles, J. M., & López Roig, S. (2002). El voluntariado como fuente de apoyo social para enfermos hospitalizados. Revista de Psicología de la Salud, 14(1), 105-130. Recuperado de https://www.academia.edu/download/85046589/index.pdf
Carnicer Isla, B., Blasco Ranz, E. M., Pinós Serrano, P., et al. (2026). Programas de voluntariado hospitalario: coordinación por trabajo social. Ocronos, 9(2), 23. Recuperado de https://revistamedica.com/programas-voluntariado-hospitalario-coordinacion-trabajo-social/
Castillo Rocha, C., Quiroz Carranza, R. y Cortés Campos, R. L. (2024). Voluntariado y Participación. El involucramiento y experiencias de jóvenes en un proyecto social comunitario en Yucatán, México. Mediaciones, 20(32), 78-95. Recuperado de http://portal.amelica.org/ameli/journal/670/6704682009/
Castillo, E. G., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Shadravan, S., Moore, E., Mensah III, M. O., Docherty, M. et al. (2019). Community interventions to promote mental health and social equity. Current psychiatry reports, 21(5), 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1017-0
Donoso, M. I. (2012). GESTIÓN DEL VOLUNTARIADO EN ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES/Volunteer management in social in organizations. TS Cuadernos de Trabajo Social, (8), 43-57. Recuperado de https://tscuadernosdetrabajosocial.cl/index.php/TS/article/view/68/66
Gómez Olave, P. & Mielgo Martínez, E. (1989). Voluntariado y trabajo social. Cuadernos de trabajo social, (2), 79-87.
Gómez-Dantés, O., Sesma, S., Becerril, V. M., Knaul, F. M., Arreola, H., & Frenk, J. (2011). Sistema de salud de México. Salud Pública de México, 53(Supl. 2), S220-S232. Recuperado de https://www.scielosp.org/pdf/spm/v53s2/17.pdf
Herce, M. E., Chapman, J. A., Castro, A., García-Salyano, G., & Khoshnood, K. (2010). A role for community health promoters in tuberculosis control in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Journal of Community Health, 35(2), 182-189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-009-9206-0
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. (2024a, 22 de enero). Boletín de prensa 030/2024: Voluntariado IMSS fortalece sus programas sociales en beneficio de pacientes y cuidadores. Recuperado de https://www.imss.gob.mx/prensa/boletines/030-2024
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. (2024b, 23 de agosto). Boletín de prensa 431/2024: Voluntariado IMSS celebra 57 años de brindar bienestar a pacientes y familiares cuidadores. Recuperado de https://www.imss.gob.mx/prensa/boletines/431-2024
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. (s. f.). Información institucional del Voluntariado IMSS. Recuperado de https://www.voluntariadoimss.org.mx/
Intindola, M., Rogers, S., Flinchbaugh, C., & Della Pietra, D. (2016). Hospital administrative characteristics and volunteer resource management practices. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 30(3), 372-389. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-10-2014-0178
Ledogar, R. J., Hernández-Alvarez, C., Morrison, A. C., Arosteguí, J., Morales-Perez, A., Nava-Aguilera, E., et al. (2017). When communities are really in control: Ethical issues surrounding community mobilisation for dengue prevention in Mexico and Nicaragua. BMC Public Health, 17(Suppl 1), 410. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4305-9
Martínez Ripoll, J. M. (2017). Voluntariado y empleo precario: dos caras del tercer sector de acción social. Trabajo Social Hoy, (80), 61-72. Recuperado de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5839601&orden=0&info=link
Mesca, F., & Storace, C. (2025). The Invaluable Contribution of the Social Worker in Hospital Settings: Analysis of Needs, Interventions, and Outcomes. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 100779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2025.100779
Montero, A. (2025). Historia del voluntariado: Los ámbitos del voluntariado a lo largo de la historia. Evolución y diversidad de los ámbitos del voluntariado. Plataforma del Voluntariado de España. Recuperado de https://biblioteca.plataformavoluntariado.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/los-ambitos-del-voluntariado-a-lo-largo-de-la-historia.pdf
Rogers, S. E., Rogers, C. M., & Boyd, K. D. (2013). Challenges and opportunities in healthcare volunteer management: Insights from volunteer administrators. Hospital Topics, 91(2), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00185868.2013.806012
Secretaría de Salud. (2025). Programa Sectorial de Salud 2025-2030. Diario Oficial de la Federación, 4 de septiembre de 2025. Recuperado de http://sidof.segob.gob.mx/notas/5767240
Serna, M. G. (2010). La diversidad y el contexto cambiante del voluntariado en México. Espiral, 16(47), 141-172. Recuperado de http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=13811910005
Viejo Lezcano, N. C., Navarrete Mainar, D., Brinquis Seco, R., Fernández Navarro, S., García Jordán, P. y Guarch Oncins, M. (2025). El modelo ecológico en el trabajo social sanitario: enfoque integral para la intervención en salud mental. Revista Sanitaria de Investigación. Recuperado de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=10523347
Webber, M. (2022). Development and evaluation of interventions in social work practice research. China Journal of Social Work, 15(3), 221-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/17525098.2022.2114137
Zurdo Alaguero, Á. (2004). El voluntariado como estrategia de inserción laboral en un marco de crisis del mercado de trabajo: dinámicas de precarización en el tercer sector español. Cuadernos de Relaciones Laborales, 22(2), 11-31. Recuperado de https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CRLA/article/download/CRLA0404220010A/32360
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Omar Chávez Martínez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in the Journal ACANITS Redes Temáticas en Trabajo Social accept the following conditions:
- Authors retain all copyrights to their work, with the exception of third party images and other materials that may be added by the Journal, which are subject to the copyrights of their respective owners.
- The work may be freely shared and adapted as long as authorship of the original publication is acknowledged.
- According to the Declaration of Mexico in favor of the Latin American non-commercial open access ecosystem, articles may be deposited for publication in any repository.
