University of Sussex
Browse
%23socialwork_Mishna%20et%20al_British%20Journal%20of%20Social%20Work_Accepted%20manuscript.pdf (701.23 kB)

#socialwork: an international study examining social workers’ use of information and communication technology

Download (701.23 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-21, 05:37 authored by Faye Mishna, Jane E Sanders, Joanne Daciuk, Elizabeth Milne, Sophia Fantus, Marion Bogo, Lin Fang, Andrea Greenblatt, Penny Rosen, Mona Khoury-Kassabri, Michelle LefevreMichelle Lefevre
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) permeated social work practice before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to ICT-based formal services (e.g. e-counselling), social workers used ICTs informally as an adjunct to face-to-face practice. Building on our previous research, our cross-sectional online survey examined social workers’ informal use of ICTs in four countries: Canada, the USA, Israel and the UK. The survey was administered through Qualtrics software among social workers across Canada (n?=?2,609), the USA (n?=?1,225), Israel (n?=?386) and the UK (n?=?134), and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. The findings substantiate the ubiquitous use of informal ICTs in social work practice, as an adjunct to face-to-face treatment, across the four countries. Given the current, unprecedented context of COVID-19, we discuss the meaning of our findings related to access, ethical considerations (e.g. professional boundaries) and supervision in the context of restricted face-to-face practice. We discuss the implications for social work practice, education and research, and conclude that in the COVID-19 context, there is an even greater need for research, clinical discussion, supervision and policy on informal ICT use in social work practice.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

British Journal of Social Work

ISSN

0045-3102

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Issue

2

Volume

52

Page range

850-871

Department affiliated with

  • Social Work and Social Care Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2021-03-17

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2023-04-17

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2021-03-16

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC