Okuzeka
Social Work vocabulary · Ethics and Confidentiality

Confidentiality

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˌkɒnfɪˌdenʃiˈæləti/nounCore term

In social work, confidentiality means: The duty to keep information about clients private and to share it only with their consent or when there is a clear professional or legal reason.

In Turkish: gizlilik, gizlilik ilkesi

How it is used

A core ethical principle. You keep, respect or breach confidentiality. Social workers explain its limits at the start: confidentiality is not absolute and may be overridden when someone is at risk of serious harm.

Example sentences

  1. I explained the limits of confidentiality before we started talking.

  2. Discussing a case in the lift is a breach of confidentiality.

Common collocations

  • breach of confidentiality
  • limits of confidentiality
  • maintain confidentiality
  • confidentiality agreement
  • informed consentPermission given by a person who understands what they are agreeing to, including the purpose, risks, alternatives and their right to say no.
  • data protectionThe laws and practices that control how personal information is collected, stored, used, shared and deleted.
  • information sharingPassing relevant information about a person between professionals or agencies so that the person can be protected and receive the right help.
  • need-to-know basisA rule for sharing information only with the people who need it to do their job, and only as much as they need.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Ethics and Confidentiality

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: