Social workers as disaster responders during the COVID-19 pandemic: Polish experience

Abstract

This article aims to present the experiences of 284 social workers as disaster responders during the Covid-19 pandemic—the study conducted among social workers from public social assistance institutions in the Greater Poland Province, Poland.During the pandemic, the vast majority of social workers carried out administrative activities consisting of qualifying people to receive social assistance benefits. The activities that were undertaken the least frequently during the pandemic were: initiating new forms of assistance, developing social welfare programs acting as an advocate for the rights and interests of clients. Respondents observed changes in the functioning of social assistance institutions during the pandemic on several levels: guarantying access to personal protective equipment, changes in the way of working, lack of protecting the mental health of workers. The respondents were asked to rate on cooperation with the environment to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Cooperation with institutions such as police, non-governmental organizations, informal groups, and the Wielkopolska Province Office in Poznan was rated the highest. The results of the present study demonstrate that social workers are essential disaster responders to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of polish social workers did not lose touch with the local environment and, risking their own health, undertook activities for people and families in need.