Social work during COVID-19 in Slovenia : absent, invisible or ignored?

Mešl, Nina (author), Leskošek, Vesna (author), Rape Žiberna, Tamara (author), Kodele, Tadeja (author)

The article discusses the results of a research study on social work during COVID-19 in Slovenia. Governmental measures to prevent the spread of the disease have increased the need for assistance to various groups of people but at the same time limited their access to social services. The main research question was to what extent social workers and social services were able to reorganise and adapt to crisis conditions and how this relates to the role of social work in society. Data were collected using mixed methods: online survey and interviews with social workers. Content analysis and selective coding, thematic analysis and univariate descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The analysis shows that the ability of social workers to respond to the growing and changing needs of people during the pandemic depended on the context in which they worked. Social work was perceived as more effective and responsive in social services where professional autonomy was assured and valued and where horizontal relationships existed between staff and management. The study contributed to a better understanding of the context in which the pandemic occurred and identified some structural barriers to successful social work that are internationally comparable and relevant.

• Language: English
• Keywords: community engagement, crisis social work, new public management, pandemic, professional autonomy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FSD - Faculty of Social Work
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 737–754
• Numbering: Vol. 53, iss. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-144979
• UDC: 364.4
• ISSN on article: 0045-3102
• DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac149
• COBISS.SI-ID: 119911427
• Publication date in RUL: 28.03.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: The British journal of social work
• Shortened title: Br. j. soc. work
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, British Association of Social Workers
• ISSN: 0045-3102
• COBISS.SI-ID: 25125376

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.