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Social Sciences › Social Sciences › Public Administration
Responding to COVID-19: New Trends in Social Workers' Use of Information and Communication Technology
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Conflicts of Interest
Identified Weaknesses
Rating Explanation
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Paper Summary
Paperzilla title
Zoom, FaceTime, and WhatsApp: Social Workers Get Creative During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic forced social workers to rapidly adopt diverse ICT options for service delivery, leading to a paradigm shift in practice. This transition increased accessibility for some clients, particularly those with anxiety or transportation barriers, while creating challenges related to privacy, boundaries, and digital access for others. Social workers demonstrated creativity in adapting their therapeutic approaches to maintain client engagement and the therapeutic relationship in the online environment.
Possible Conflicts of Interest
None identified
Identified Weaknesses
Small sample size
The small sample size (n=11) limits the generalizability of the findings. The study only included social workers, without client perspectives, which is crucial for understanding the full impact of the transition to online services.
Limited time frame
The study focuses on a specific time period during the pandemic, which may not reflect the long-term impacts of the shift to ICT use.
Self-reported data
The study relies on self-reported data from interviews, which can be subject to biases.
Rating Explanation
This study offers valuable insights into the rapid transition to online service delivery during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the methodology has limitations, the findings contribute to understanding the challenges and opportunities of using ICTs in social work practice. The client-driven approach and creative solutions adopted by social workers are noteworthy. However, the reliance on potentially less secure platforms and the ethical dilemmas related to privacy and boundaries raise important considerations for the future of digital social work.
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File Information
Original Title:
Responding to COVID-19: New Trends in Social Workers' Use of Information and Communication Technology
File Name:
s10615-020-00780-x.pdf
[download]
File Size:
0.62 MB
Uploaded:
July 14, 2025 at 07:01 AM
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