The role of social work in digital inclusion: a systematic literature review.
In promoting equal digital inclusion, formal support is a main contributor. One of the most accessible formal support structures available are community centres and social workers. Yet, it is unclear how formal digital inclusion support is or can be offered by social workers. The aim of this researc...
| Published in: | European Journal of Social Work Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 658 - 675 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
May2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=193139273&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 193139273 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13691457 BHX jtl: European Journal of Social Work issn: 13691457 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: May2026 vid: 29 iid: 3 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 193139273 10.1080/13691457.2025.2553856 ppf: 658 ppct: 17 formats: tig: atl: The role of social work in digital inclusion: a systematic literature review. aug: au: Hartman-van der Laan, M. Van Deursen, A.J.A.M. Van Laar, E. Tuinstra, J. affil: Department of Communication science, Twente University, Enschede, The Netherlands Department of Health and Social Studies, NHLStenden University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands su: Internet access Social media Social workers Occupational roles Focus groups Social services Privacy Affinity groups Socioeconomic factors Social change Internet Behavior Motivation (Psychology) Client relations Social support Medical ethics Digital libraries Access to information Digital technology Professional practice Diversity & inclusion policies Digital divide Descriptive statistics Systematic reviews Data analysis software Psychology information storage & retrieval systems sug: subj: Internet access Social media Social workers Occupational roles Focus groups Social services Privacy Affinity groups Socioeconomic factors Social change Internet Behavior Motivation (Psychology) Client relations Social support Medical ethics Digital libraries Access to information Libraries and Archives Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Wired Telecommunications Carriers Other Individual and Family Services Digital technology Professional practice Diversity & inclusion policies Digital divide Descriptive statistics Systematic reviews Data analysis software Psychology information storage & retrieval systems keyword: digital equality Digital inclusion social work systematic literature review digital equality Digital inclusion social work systematic literature review ab: In promoting equal digital inclusion, formal support is a main contributor. One of the most accessible formal support structures available are community centres and social workers. Yet, it is unclear how formal digital inclusion support is or can be offered by social workers. The aim of this research is to survey the existing studies on how social workers support digital inclusion. We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA protocol. A total of 1110 unique articles were screened with search terms related to social work and digital inclusion, 36 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and ultimately ten articles were extracted. The 'Resources and appropriation theory', which describes motivation, access, skills and usage as complementary phases of internet appropriation, was used to analyse the extracted articles. We found social workers' observations of exclusion indicators in all four phases. However not in all four phases of the theory simultaneously. Social workers offer support directly to clients but also by organising peer support, training or by activating their organisation to facilitate. In addition to this direct support, social workers played an important role in identifying systemic barriers and addressing digital exclusion due to social inequality. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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