Preparing social workers to address health inequities emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic by building capacity for health policy: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in healthcare delivery and exacerbated a wide range of inequities. Social workers across a broad range of healthcare settings bring an expertise in social, behavioural and mental healthcare needed to help address these health inequities. In addition, social workers integrate policy-directed interventions and solutions in clinical practice, which is a needed perspective for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear, however, what the most pressing policy issues are that have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, many social workers in health settings tend to underuse policy in their direct practice. The objectives of this scoping review are to: (1) systematically scope the literature on social work, COVID-19 pandemic and policy; and (2) describe the competencies required by social workers and the social work profession to address the policy issues emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods and analysisThe scoping review follows Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework. Identification of literature published between 1 December 2019 and the search date, 31 March 2021, will take place in two stages: (1) title and abstract review, and (2) full-text review. In partnership with a health science librarian, the research team listed keywords related to social work and policy to search databases including Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Social Services Abstract and Social Work Abstracts. Two graduate-level research assistants will conduct screening and full-text review. Data will then be extracted, charted, analysed and summarised to report on our results and implications on practice, policy and future research.Ethics and disseminationResults will help develop a policy practice competence framework to inform how social workers can influence policy. We will share our findings through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. This study does not require Research Ethics Board approval as it uses publicly available sources of data.

Global burden of mental health problems among children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: An umbrella review

“…Improving social determinants of CAMH as a local and global health priority ( Abrams and Szefler, 2020 ; Ashcroft et al., 2021 ; Elharake et al., 2022 ; Hossain et al., 2020 ; Racine et al., 2021 ; Smitherman et al., 2021 )…”

A Scoping Review to Guide Social Work Policy-Practice for Pandemic Recovery

“…This includes the following stages in the scoping review: (a) identify the research question, (b) identify relevant studies, (c) select studies, (d) chart data, and (e) summarize data and present results (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005). The review protocol is published online (Ashcroft et al, 2021). To support the transparency and rigor of this scoping review, the researchers also adhered to the PRISMA-ScR Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Review guidelines (Tricco et al, 2018).…”

“…Social workers are integral to assist with the range of these psychosocial and mental health needs emerging during the pandemic (Amadasun, 2020; Holmes et al, 2020; Walter-McCabe, 2020a). Harnessing a range of knowledge and skills, social workers engage in activities to attend to the emerging needs of the COVID-19 pandemic including risk assessments, problem-solving, crisis management, advanced care planning, case management, systems navigation, resource allocation, community mobilization, and policy development (Ashcroft et al, 2021; Bern-Klug & Beaulieu, 2020). Emerging scholarship demonstrates the essential role of social work is responding to the pandemic's social crisis (Ashcroft et al, 2021; Walter-McCabe, 2020a, 2020b).…”

“…Harnessing a range of knowledge and skills, social workers engage in activities to attend to the emerging needs of the COVID-19 pandemic including risk assessments, problem-solving, crisis management, advanced care planning, case management, systems navigation, resource allocation, community mobilization, and policy development (Ashcroft et al, 2021; Bern-Klug & Beaulieu, 2020). Emerging scholarship demonstrates the essential role of social work is responding to the pandemic's social crisis (Ashcroft et al, 2021; Walter-McCabe, 2020a, 2020b). Across all types of practice settings, social workers have been visible in fighting for social justice, particularly against racism and xenophobia that have risen drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ashcroft et al, 2021; Lee & Johnstone, 2021; Walter-McCabe, 2020a).…”

Global burden of mental health problems among children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic umbrella review

“…• Improving social determinants of CAMH as a local and global health priority [5,49,52,[65][66][67] • Integrating clinical and psychosocial interventions in public health and child health policies and programs with special focus on targeted mental health components whenever possible [5,40,64,68] • Establishing and strengthening mental health safety nets for children and adolescents [52] • Psychoeducational interventions on pandemic preparedness and mental health promotion for children and adolescents engaging parents, family members, teachers, and other stakeholders [41,43,45,46,48] • Designing and implementing physical activity-based interventions that may improve psychosocial outcomes alongside overall health and wellbeing [29,41,44,47,48,53] • Addressing food insecurity and nutritional problems that may influence mental health outcomes [41,52,69] • Providing extensive and integrative care for children with special needs ensuring mental wellbeing [48,70] • Providing social support, social connectedness, peer-networking, and social interventions for improving prosocial coping mechanisms among children and adolescents with poor mental health [41,48,50,63] • Educating and engaging parents on positive parenting and mental health promotion [41,43,47] • Providing family-based interventions for holistic mental health development of children, adolescents, and their family caregivers [41,4...…”