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Childs TM, Iachini AL, Reitmeier M, Browne T, DeHart D, Bengel A, Haynesworth M. Exploring Social Work Practitioners' Perspectives on the Contributors to Burnout since the COVID-19 Pandemic. SOCIAL WORK 2024; 69:142-150. [PMID: 38366254 DOI: 10.1093/sw/swae005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Burnout has a historic and disproportionate impact on social workers and is one important contributor to the ongoing health and behavioral health workforce crisis in the United States. Little is known, however, about social workers' experiences of burnout and their perceptions of factors that contribute to burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to explore this by answering the following research questions: (a) To what extent are social workers in South Carolina experiencing burnout? and (b) What do South Carolina social workers view as the top reasons for burnout in their professional role? Seventy social work practitioners and leaders from South Carolina completed an online survey during Fall 2022 that included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and an open-ended question focused on identifying their perceptions of the top three reasons for burnout in the profession. Findings suggest that social workers in this study are experiencing moderate levels of burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic and report primarily organizational (83 percent) contributors to burnout. They also identified individual (36 percent), systemic (29 percent), and interpersonal (27 percent) contributors to burnout. Implications are discussed related to policy and practice responses to prevent and address burnout among social workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tasha M Childs
- PhD, LMSW, is assistant professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri-Columbia, 701 Fifth Street, 726 Clark Hall, Columbia, MO 65203, USA
| | - Aidyn L Iachini
- PhD, LSW, is professor and associate dean for research and faculty, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Melissa Reitmeier
- PhD, LMSW, is director of field education and clinical professor, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Teri Browne
- PhD, LMSW, is dean and professor, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Dana DeHart
- PhD, is professor emerita, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Ala Bengel
- MSW, is HOPE-WWR project coordinator, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - My'Ashia Haynesworth
- is an MSW candidate, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
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Apgar D, Nienow M. Becoming Woke by the ASWB Pass Rates: A Closer Look at Racial Inequities in Social Work. JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE-BASED SOCIAL WORK (2019) 2024; 21:162-176. [PMID: 37796810 DOI: 10.1080/26408066.2023.2265911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
There has been widespread outrage within the social work profession regarding racial disparities in pass rates of licensing exams developed and administered by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). The most supported remedy has been to eliminate testing for some categories of licensure with Connecticut, Illinois, and Rhode Island leading the way. Standardized testing has historically been a gatekeeping practice criticized for its exclusionary nature with no empirical evidence linking it to more competent mental health and other social work practice. Thus, the profession is correct in questioning an exam's relevance in social work regulation. However, the licensure test has become a lightning rod issue preventing more substantive analyses, debate, and antiracist reforms within the profession's policy, practice, and education arenas. This article uses the disparity in ASWB pass rates as the impetus for a more critical look at systemic issues in social work adversely impacting Black individuals entering the profession. The authors acknowledge that an anti-racist agenda in social work requires tackling long-standing problems that will not be as easily solved as eliminating multiple choice testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawn Apgar
- Department of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA
| | - Mary Nienow
- Department of Social Work, Henrietta Schmoll School of Health, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, USA
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Cederbaum JA, Zerden LDS, Ross AM, Zelnick JR, Pak HEH, Ruth BJ. The Experiences of Caretaking and Financial Stress among Social Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. SOCIAL WORK 2022; 68:47-56. [PMID: 36288085 DOI: 10.1093/sw/swac040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Social workers have engaged in promotive, preventive, and intervention work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that social workers are disproportionately women, and the essential nature of practice during the pandemic, how social workers experience caretaking and financial stressors warrants examination. Data are drawn from a larger cross-sectional survey of U.S.-based social workers (N = 3,118) conducted from June to August 2020. A convergent mixed-methods design included thematic content analysis and univariate, ordinal, and linear regression models. The sample was 90 percent female; average age was 46.4 years. Although 44 percent indicated moderate or significant caretaking stress, results varied by race/ethnicity, workplace setting, and age. Social workers of color were more likely to report caretaking (p < .001) and financial stress (p < .001) compared with White counterparts. Social workers in children/family services were more likely to report increased financial stress (p < .004). Older age was protective for both caretaking (p < .001) and financial stress (p < .001). Three distinct subthemes were found in caretaking stress (work/life balance, safety concerns, and positionality) and two in financial stress (uncertainty and absence of workplace recognition). Understanding workforce stressors may help organizations and policymakers better support an essential workforce integral to the United States' COVID-19 response and recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Cederbaum
- PhD, MSW, MPH, is associate professor, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th Street, MRF 222, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Lisa de Saxe Zerden
- PhD, is associate professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Abigail M Ross
- PhD, MSW, MPH, is associate professor, Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jennifer R Zelnick
- MSW, ScD, is professor, Touro College Graduate School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hee-Eun Helen Pak
- MSW, is a clinical social worker, Health Stuart House, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Betty J Ruth
- MSW, MPH, is emeritus clinical professor, School of Social Work, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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Cederbaum JA, Ross AM, Zerden LDS, Estenson L, Zelnick J, Ruth BJ. "We are on the frontlines too": A qualitative content analysis of US social workers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY 2022; 30:e5412-e5422. [PMID: 35932168 PMCID: PMC9539110 DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Social work has been a part of the essential workforce historically and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, yet lack recognition. This work explores the experiences and invisibility of social workers within the pandemic response. Data are drawn from a large cross-sectional survey of US-based social worker from June to August of 2020. A summative content analysis of responses to the question 'What do you wish people knew about social work during the COVID-19 pandemic' was undertaken. Participants (n = 515) were majority white (72.1%) and female (90.8%). Seven coding categories were subsequently collapsed into three domains: (1) meeting basic needs, (2) well-being (emotional distress and dual role) and (3) professional invisibility (workplace equals, physical safety, professional invisibility and organisational invisibility). Meeting social needs requires broad-based policies that strengthen the health and social safety net. Social workers have and will continue to play a critical role in the response, and recovery from COVID-19. Organisational and governmental policies must expand to increase the visibility and responsiveness to the needs of social care providers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A. Cederbaum
- Suzanne Dworak‐Peck School of Social WorkUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Abigail M. Ross
- Graduate School of Social ServiceFordham UniversityNew York CityNew YorkUSA
| | - Lisa de Saxe Zerden
- School of Social WorkUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - Lilly Estenson
- Leonard Davis School of GerontologyUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jennifer Zelnick
- Touro College Graduate School of Social WorkNew York CityNew YorkUSA
| | - Betty J. Ruth
- School of Social WorkBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
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