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Towards Digital Adaption: An Exploration of Chinese Social Workers' Experiences of Digital Service Challenges and Coping Strategies in the Context of COVID-19.

This study is based on interviews with sixty-three Chinese social workers to explore the challenges they faced and the strategies they adopted when using digital technology for front-line services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Employing an ecosystem theory, thematic analys...

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Published in:British Journal of Social Work Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 45 - 65
Main Authors: Huang, Dan, Luo, Yingting, Lu, Jiayi
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Jan2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jan2025
      vid: 55
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        atl: Towards Digital Adaption: An Exploration of Chinese Social Workers' Experiences of Digital Service Challenges and Coping Strategies in the Context of COVID-19.
      aug:
        au:
          Huang, Dan
          Luo, Yingting
          Lu, Jiayi
        affil: Department of Social Work, School of Philosophy and Social Development, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
      sug:
        subj:
          Social Workers Psychosocial Factors
          Coping
          Social Worker Attitudes
          Work Experiences
          COVID-19 Pandemic
          Digital Technology Utilization
          Adaptation, Psychological
          Social Work
          Human
          Male
          Female
          China
          Chinese Persons
          Thematic Analysis
          Interviews
          Digital Media
          Purposive Sample
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Funding Source
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: This study is based on interviews with sixty-three Chinese social workers to explore the challenges they faced and the strategies they adopted when using digital technology for front-line services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Employing an ecosystem theory, thematic analysis is applied to analyse interview transcripts. The findings reveal three major challenges faced by social workers: limited digital capital, digital-mediated service predicaments and the digital burden. To address the aforementioned challenges, social workers adopted four strategies: digital empowerment, adjustment of online service processes, leveraging the advantages of digital technology and asking colleagues for support. This study suggests enhancing support for social workers through improved digital training and psychological care, integrating digital-mediated social work skills into academic curricula, and fostering interdisciplinary partnerships to develop and utilize reliable digital tools, thereby improving the quality and effectiveness of social work in the digital age.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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