Social Work Core Competencies in Disaster Management Practice: An Integrative Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110554
Author(s):  
Timothy Sim ◽  
Minying He ◽  
Lena Dominelli
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Competence Framework

Purpose: Though social workers are increasingly engaged in the disaster management, there has been a lack of professional guidelines for social work practice and training in this emerging field. This study aims to develop a rudimentary social work competence framework to plug this gap. Method: We conducted an integrative review of 183 international empirical studies and practice reflections, comprising a systematic search, selection, review, and content analysis, guided by ecological systems theory. Results: This rudimentary framework consists of 73 competencies, including 33 micro-level competencies, 18 meso-level ones and 22 macro-level ones, covering knowledge, values and skills in four disaster management phases. Conclusion: Compared to other competence frameworks, this framework further elucidated and classified the salient knowledge, values, and skills in disaster management training and practice for social work.

Against the Odds: Developing a Core Competence Framework of Social Work Practice for the Field of Disaster Management in China

Impact ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (7) ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
Timothy Sim ◽  
Ke Cui ◽  
Zuxue Tan ◽  
Elsie Yan ◽  
Minying He
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Core Competence ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Associate Professor ◽  
The Core Competence ◽  
Competence Framework

Disaster plans are complex and the role of social workers can become lost amidst plans and processes. Although social workers' skill sets are desperately needed during disasters and recovery, in many disaster management strategies their roles are not acknowledged. In order to maximise their value, specific training for social workers in disaster management needs to be reinvigorated. Associate Professor Timothy Sim, Singapore University of Social Sciences, believes that current social work research in disaster management is underdeveloped, and other professionals are unclear about social workers' roles in it. His project to examine the core competence of social work in various stages of disaster management was funded by the General Research Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government. He and colleagues from China and around the world devised a new competence framework that is unique from previous attempts. The framework comprises five dimensions: knowledge, values, skills, roles and tasks, in four specific disaster management phases: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The thinking behind this novel structure is that it will help social work professionals clarify related concepts and comprehend competencies, roles and tasks for each phase of the disaster management cycle. The approach is also more comprehensive and precise than has been seen previously and will improve collaboration between social workers, governments and non-government organisations. Furthermore, the team used rigorous research methods when designing the framework, including an integrative review, in-depth interviews and a Delphi study. In addition, the team is confident the framework will have a long-term impact and could be applied to other countries and contexts.

scholarly journals Theorising Social Work Sense-Making: Developing a Model of Peer-Aided Judgement and Decision Making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Helm
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Continuum Theory ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Cognitive Continuum Theory ◽  
Further Development

Abstract This article addresses the challenges of sense making in social work practice and presents a descriptive model of peer-aided judgement to facilitate critical debate and knowledge creation. The model is founded in Hammond's Cognitive Continuum Theory and developed in direct application to social work practice. It seeks to expand currently available models of social work judgement and decision making to include processes and outcomes related to informal peer interaction. Building on empirical studies and multiple contemporary literatures, a model of peer-aided judgement is hypothesised, comprising four distinct and interacting elements. By modelling these fundamental aspects of the processes and outcomes of peer-aided judgement, this article provides a tool for illuminating the everyday unseen value of peer interaction in practice and a framework for critical debate of dilemmas and propositions for professional judgement in social work practice. This article concludes by examining some of the implications of the model and its potential use in the further development of theory, methodology and practice.

scholarly journals Social worker experiences in disaster management: Case studies from Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Kathryn Hay ◽  
Katheryn Margaret Pascoe ◽  
Liz McCafferty
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Essential Components

INTRODUCTION: Despite minimal public attention, many social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand have been active contributors to disaster management practice. Disaster management comprises four stages: risk reduction; readiness; response; and recovery. Social workers, as professionals in multiple fields of practice, may be engaged in one or more of these stages.METHODS: This article draws from a four-stage project that explored the involvement of registered social workers from Aotearoa New Zealand in disaster management. In the final project stage, 11 social workers were interviewed for the purpose of developing case studies for research and teaching purposes. This article presents the practice observations of two of these social workers in a case study format.FINDINGS: The experiences of the two social workers emphasises the importance of understanding communities, debriefing and supervision, and having a suite of tools for post- disaster situations. The case studies highlight the complex and vital work undertaken by the social workers following the Canterbury 2011 earthquakes.CONCLUSION: It is important that social workers understand disaster management and how their skills and knowledge can be transferred into this space. Regular professional supervision, and adequate resources are essential components in the long-term recovery phase of disaster management. Social work as a profession can provide leadership in disaster management through celebrating previous social work practice in this field.

How social workers understand and use their emotions in practice: A thematic synthesis literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Professional Relationships ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Thematic Synthesis ◽  
The People

Emotions are intrinsic to social work. Social workers engage with people at points of crisis or need. The emotions of both practitioners and the people they interact with are central to the lived experience of practice. This paper presents a thematic synthesis of empirical studies which illuminate how social workers understand and use their emotions in practice. A search of electronic databases and reference harvesting located 28 papers which were screened against inclusion criteria and appraisal tools. Four analytic themes were identified: emotions as a dynamic relational resource; patterns of organisational and professional relationships; ambivalence, dissonance and distance and the place of emotions in professionalism and identity. Patterns and themes were found in diverse settings. This review brings together a small but valuable knowledge base. Findings suggest that emotions constitute a paradox for social work and are potentially a constructive resource. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research into the situated emotions of social work practice.

Using Current Research to Teach Empirically-Based Mental Health Case Management Practice to Undergraduate Students

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-82
Author(s):  
John C. Rife
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Case Management ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Case Managers ◽  
Mental Health Settings ◽  
Practice Method

Case management is an important social work practice method in mental health settings. However, there have been very few systematic statewide studies of case management roles and functions. As a result, educators have not had research-based models of what case managers do for use in social work classes. This article presents a curriculum model for teaching empirically-defined mental health case management to undergraduate students using an exemplary National Institute of Mental Health funded statewide study of mental health case management. The model presents strategies for using this content in both BSW research methods courses and practice courses. Suggested primary sources for additional reading about case management are also provided.

Interventions with Fathers: Effective Social Work Practice for Enhancing Individual and Family Well-Being

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152110471
Author(s):  
Waldo E. Johnson ◽  
Harold E. Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Father Involvement ◽  
Social Roles ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Paternal Engagement ◽  
American Civil Society

Father involvement, as specifically parent-led or engaged activities, is recognized and understood as distinctively broad in scope, but also rigid and historically prescribed by gendered social roles such the provider and protector roles. American fatherhood is rooted in masculine tropes that historically restricted men to narrowly circumscribed social roles and expected parental performance. All too frequently hegemonic masculinity stifles broad paternal engagement and ingenuity as well as children’s and families well-being. In addition, racial and ethnic bias and discrimination limits Black and other men of color’s ability and access to enact paternal expectations and obligations broadly shared by American civil society and the fathers themselves (Johnson & Johnson, under review). Interventions with these fathers and their families frame the empirical studies in this Special Issue of Research on Social Work Practice.

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