Miller J Jay, Grise-Owens Erlene
Self-Care Lab, College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
The Wellness Group, University of Kentucky, Louisville, KY, USA.
J Soc Work (Lond). 2022 May;22(3):674-691. doi: 10.1177/14680173211013243.
There is broad consensus that COVID-19 has had a pernicious impact on social work, in general, and among social work practitioners, more specifically. However, at present, very few, if any, empirical examinations of this impact exist. This exploratory study examined peritraumatic distress among a sample of social workers ( = 3920) in one southeastern state in the United States.
Analysis suggests that distress is impacted by several variables. In general, participants identifying as male, married, reporting good physical and mental health, working in microcontexts, and who were finically secure tended to experience less COVID-19 associated distress. In addition, social workers identifying as LGBTQ* and who had been working mostly remotely experienced higher levels of distress.
Overall, findings indicate the need to provide adept support to social workers practicing during the pandemic. Data suggest the need for targeted support initiatives, typically for those who are from underrepresented groups (e.g., LGBTQ*) or experiencing financial or mental/physical health issues. Certainly, researchers should continue to examine the impact of COVID-19 on social work practitioners and service delivery.
人们普遍认为，新冠疫情总体上对社会工作产生了有害影响，对社会工作从业者的影响则更为具体。然而，目前对这种影响的实证研究极少，即便有也寥寥无几。这项探索性研究调查了美国东南部一个州的3920名社会工作者样本中的创伤后应激反应。
分析表明，应激反应受多个变量影响。总体而言，男性、已婚、报告身心健康状况良好、在微观环境中工作且经济状况稳定的参与者往往较少经历与新冠疫情相关的应激反应。此外，自我认同为LGBTQ* 且大多远程工作的社会工作者经历的应激反应水平更高。
总体而言，研究结果表明有必要为疫情期间执业的社会工作者提供适当支持。数据表明需要开展有针对性的支持举措，通常针对那些来自代表性不足群体（例如LGBTQ*）或面临经济或心理/身体健康问题的人。当然，研究人员应继续研究新冠疫情对社会工作从业者和服务提供的影响。
