‘You Took me Back to the sea:' Using Narrative to Explore and Inform the Practice of Social Work with Dying People

This article centres on a qualitative interview extract, the ‘Story of the Pebble', in which a West African Hospital Social Worker Ado, working in a UK context, and identifying as a Shaman, describes successfully trusting his instincts to create a symbol for a dying patient. Despite criticisms from colleagues, Ado's capacity to understand his patients needs are justified both before and after her death.The article discusses significant themes from the interview extract, including the meaning of professionalism, practice wisdom and cultural influences in a UK social work context, as well as through Ado's heritage and identification as a Shaman. The article considers holistic patient care in a medical context and suggests this has some useful lessons for social workers, particularly those involved with dying people. Although the extract, and wider research study from which it is drawn, pre-date the Covid 19 pandemic, this is referenced throughout, linking the interview extract to ways of helping practitioners and educators to consider people holistically at end of life. AD -, Chichester, UK ;, Chichester, UK

The 'hole' is greater than the sum of its parts: How conducting home visits during a pandemic revealed gaps in an educational system

Covid-19 turned the world upside down. What started as an impossible situation turned into a problem with new possibilities. Individuals, families, communities, and states worked tirelessly to restore balance to overworked systems. Using semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators, this high school social worker set out to examine how COVID-19 challenged staff to rethink current educational practices like home visits. This qualitative ethno-infused phenomenological study examines the experiences of home visits by a school social worker during COVID-19. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on UK Older People's Social Workers: A Mixed-Methods Study

In this article, we examined the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being, working conditions of social workers employed in UK older people's services and their intentions to leave the social work profession. Data came from a wider study of health and social care practitioners who completed online surveys at five different time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveys contained both quantitative and qualitative questions. We analysed the responses of 426 social workers who worked in older people's services between May 2020 and July 2022 and found that: The well-being of older people's social workers declined as the pandemic progressed and remained low in comparison to UK population norms. Lower well-being scores were associated with greater intentions to leave the social work profession. In comparison to older people's social workers who were aged sixty plus years, those aged between twenty and forty years were more than seven times more likely to state their intentions to leave social work. Lastly, respondents voiced concerns over staffing levels and staff absences;feelings of being unsupported and isolated;increased pressures;and a blurring of home-work boundaries. The social work profession was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined the well-being, working conditions and intentions to leave the social work profession among a sample of UK older people's social workers. This was a cross-sectional mixed methods study analysing data from 426 social workers who worked in older people's services in the UK at five time points of the pandemic spanning 2020-2022. Data were collected using anonymous online surveys which included both quantitative and qualitative questions. The mental well-being of participants decreased as the pandemic progressed and this decline was associated with intentions to leave the profession. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed two major themes: Practice challenges and Staff well-being. The findings highlight the nature of stressors related to internal related practice demands, and external health and social care service stressors encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic and have implications for policy, practice and research in older people's social work.

A critical appraisal of ways organizations can support social workers in light of covid-19: A scoping review

Due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for increased knowledge surrounding organizational support for social workers. This scoping review evaluated emerging research during the first two years of the pandemic (January 2020-May 2022) around ways organizations can support social work staff after the pandemic and during future public health disasters. This review suggests organizational leaders implement protocols to preserve workers' well-being, create supportive spaces, provide supervision and mentorship, acknowledge inequalities and enact change, and promote crisis preparedness. This review concludes with a list of recommendations and a discussion of further implications for practice and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Enhancing palliative care at home: a generalist community nursing case study

What this paper adds: * This case study demonstrated that facilitating ongoing education opportunities that draw on the expertise of local palliative care champions or internal specialists can enhance care provision. * Nurse care managers believe the value of generalist services, particularly home care services, in the generalist-specialist palliative care partnership, needs to be understood and respected. * Tailored investment in home care to provide a general palliative approach would be beneficial given the unique challenges of this mobile workforce. Keywords: Palliative care;home care services;Education, Nursing;qualitative research;Nurse Practitioner BACKGROUND Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life of people affected by life-threatening illnesses, including the prevention and relief of suffering through identification, assessment and treatment.1 This care extends to family members, and encompasses physical, psychological, social and spiritual support. Home nursing and care organisations are key providers of community-based palliative care, with staff often the linchpin, in supporting palliative clients, organising and providing care, coordinating the input of other professionals and of specialist equipment.5 Previous research has identified the difficulties faced by home care nurses in meeting their clients' palliative care needs, such as symptom management and communication, as well as requirements for further training to enhance their knowledge and confidence of caring for palliative clients.5-7 In this context, generalist palliative care is delivered by health and care professionals with broad clinical responsibilities who provide primary, ongoing care;and have established relationships with the person and their care community.2 This is distinct from specialist palliative care services which support complex needs through multidisciplinary teams with specialised palliative care training. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Thematic analysis identified the following overarching themes: 1) targeted education increased staff knowledge and confidence, but more is needed;2) collaborative teamwork with effective communication and information sharing underpins a successful generalist-specialist partnership;3) the home care setting is unique and requires accessible systems and processes.

An interpretive phenomenological analysis of resilience: Implications for social work practice during contemporary social issues

Resilience is generally defined as one's ability to adapt, surpass, or rebound from the experience or threat of substantial adversity. The study of resilience is an essential and complex component of social work practice, yet research suggests that many social workers struggle with proficient knowledge as well as the mindful application of the critical construct of resilience theory. As a result, a social worker's theoretical approach may lack the focus on the constructs, aims, tenets, and assumptions of resilience theory when applied to work with diverse, marginalized, vulnerable, and disenfranchised populations. This holds especially true in challenging times such as civil unrest and global crises (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) when social workers are bombarded with the needs of their consumers, their community, and their own interpersonal needs. This study sought to understand how constructs of resiliency theory can be instrumental in understanding how social workers make meaning of resilience as they respond to the intersectional adversity experienced during contemporary social issues. The responses from the social workers' interviews suggested three major themes: Resilience is Active Rather Than Passive, Prior Experiences Shape Resilience Understanding, and Resilience Perspectives Impacts Social Work Practice. The findings of this qualitative research project will generate opportunities to integrate resiliency theory into a unified framework for reflective and culturally responsive social work practice in these challenging times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Marxismo e Serviço Social: palestra do Professor José Paulo Netto

Os manuscritos ora apresentados constituem a transcrição — ainda que com algumas adaptações — da palestra proferida pelo Professor José Paulo Netto, em 29 de setembro de 2020. Desde logo, informamos ao leitor que o presente texto passou pelo crivo do palestrante que, depois de atenta leitura, aprovou-o para publicação. A atividade supracitada foi organizada pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Serviço Social, da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Como já estávamos enfrentando a crise sanitária decorrente da pandemia da Covid-19, a palestra foi realizada na forma de um Webinário, com a minha mediação. Na ocasião, o Professor José Paulo Netto abordou o tema Marxismo e Serviço Social: elementos para pensar a pesquisa, a produção do conhecimento e os desafios do trabalho dos assistentes sociais. Como destacamos já à época, o professor José Paulo Netto tem um carisma inquestionável e uma competência intelectual amplamente reconhecida. Trata-se de uma exposição sobre o tema feita por um dos mais importantes marxistas da atualidade no Brasil. Suas contribuições ultrapassam as fronteiras do Serviço Social, tanto brasileiro como latino-americano, caribenho e europeu. José Paulo Netto tem contribuído para o debate da teoria social marxista e, por isso, tem também reconhecimento em outras áreas do conhecimento, o que acaba por fortalecer o próprio Serviço Social brasileiro, haja vista que é um agente desta categoria. Quem o conhece sabe que a sua produção intelectual é acompanhada pela militância política, no contexto das lutas anticapitalistas. Não por acaso, José Paulo Netto recebeu a insígnia de ser um marxista sem repouso, não só pela sua contribuição no âmbito da academia, mas também pela sua capacidade de problematizar e colocar luzes sobre as pautas e as lutas da classe trabalhadora. A exposição de José Paulo Netto que agora chega ao público também em forma de uma publicação escrita por esta edição da Revista Katálysis foi realizada num período imediatamente precedente à publicação daquela que já tem sido reconhecida como uma de suas mais importantes produções intelectuais. Trata-se do seu livro Marx: uma biografia, que foi lançado no final de 2020 e que deu forma a um sonho que perseguia o autor desde a sua adolescência. Este sonho, talvez mais do que poderia ele imaginar, tem ganhado força social na medida em que tem suscitado nos estudiosos do marxismo, principiantes ou não, questionamentos importantes sobre o nosso tempo histórico a partir da obra e da vida de Karl Marx, o que evidencia a atualidade do seu pensamento para orientar as lutas pela emancipação humana.Alternate :The following manuscript results from the transcription — albeit with some adaptations — of the lecture given by Professor José Paulo Netto, on September 29, 2020. The text was reviewed by the speaker himself, who, after careful reading, approved it for publication. The aforementioned event was organized by the Postgraduate Program in Social Work, at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Since we were already facing the global health crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the lecture was held in a Webinar format and coordinated by me. During the occasion, Professor José Paulo Netto addressed the theme entitled Marxism and Social Work: reflections on research, knowledge production, and the challenges of social workers' practice. As we pointed out at the time, Professor José Paulo Netto has undeniable charisma and widely acknowledged intellectual competence. The theme was tackled by one of the most important Marxists in Brazil today. His contributions surpass the boundaries of Social Work, both Brazilian and Latin American, Caribbean and European. José Paulo Netto has enriched Marxist social theory in general and, therefore, he also has an impact on other areas of knowledge, which further strengthens the Brazilian Social Work, since he is a representative of this category. Those who know him are aware that his intellectual career is accomp nied by a life of political militancy, in the context of anti-capitalist struggles. Not by chance, José Paulo Netto has received the title of being a restless Marxist, not only for his efforts in the academic field, but also for his capacity to challenge and shed light on the agendas and struggles of the working class. This lecture by José Paulo Netto which now is brought to the general public in the form of a written piece, published in this issue of Katálysis Journal, was held right before the release of what has already been recognized as one of his most important intellectual works. His book Marx: a biography, which was released in late 2020 and fulfilled one the author's teenage dream. This dream come true, perhaps more than he could have imagined, has gained social force to the extent that it has raised in scholars of Marxism, beginners or not, relevant questions about our historical time from the work and life of Karl Marx, which highlights the relevance of his thought to guide the struggles for human emancipation.

Paying the ultimate price

[...]it is clear how much transmission is due to aerosol as well as droplet infection, surgical masks should not be considered effective protection, they say. [...]we must shield staff who are most at risk through age, sex, ethnic origin, and comorbidities. [...]that we can learn for the future, honour the sacrifice, and seek compensation for families, all deaths of health and social care workers should be referred to the coroner for independent review.

Serviço Social e TICs: a prática profissional no contexto da Covid-19

Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir as contradições presentes no processo de incorporação das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs) ao trabalho dos assistentes sociais que atuam nas políticas de Saúde, Assistência e Previdência Social no contexto da Covid-19. A metodologia utilizada consiste em pesquisas bibliográficas, documentais (com enfoque nas publicações do CFESS) e observações decorrentes da experiência prática enquanto assistente social do Sistema Único de Saúde e do Sistema Único de Assistência Social1 1 Até novembro de 2020, a autora Erika Valentim atuou como assistente social nas políticas de Assistência Social e Saúde, mais especificamente no Centro de Referência Especializado em Assistência Social (CREAS) e em hospitais de referência contra a Covid – 19. Atualmente é assistente social atuante na Política de Educação, assim como a autora Fernanda Paz. . Foi possível identificar que o uso das TICs acontece de forma heterogênea e desigual nas políticas sociais, como estratégia para a continuidade dos atendimentos nos serviços públicos, ao mesmo tempo que apresenta aspectos comuns, entre os quais se destaca a recorrência a meios digitais não institucionalizados. Tal incorporação esbarra em questões éticas, na falta de acesso das populações mais vulneráveis aos meios digitais e na lógica produtivista que tende a intensificar a precarização do trabalho.Alternate :This article aims to discuss the contradictions present in the process of incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the work of social workers who work in Health, Assistance and Social Security policies into Covid-19's context. The methodology used consists in bibliographic and documentary research (focusing on publications from the CFESS) and observations due to a practical experience as a social worker in the Unified Health System and the Unified Social Assistance System. It was possible to identify that the use of ICTs happens in a heterogeneous and unequal way in social policies, as a strategy for the continuity of public services, but it comes up against ethical issues, in the lack of access of the most vulnerable populations to digital media and in the productivist logic that tends to intensify the precariousness of work.

Indústria 4.0: serviço social no sistema previdenciário em tempos da pandemia de COVID-19

Este texto discute o cenário do trabalho de assistentes sociais (AS) da Previdência Social (PS) no Brasil, a partir da pandemia do novo coronavírus, COVID-19. Busca evidenciar como AS responderam à pandemia, em termos do seu trabalho e quais as principais mudanças ocorridas na PS nesse período. Utiliza-se de uma entrevista semiestruturada na forma de grupo focal com AS da PS. A ênfase fundamental recai sobre os processos de informatização dos benefícios previdenciários e teletrabalho correspondendo ao aprofundamento do neoliberalismo e maior fragilização do trabalho.Alternate :This text discusses the work scenario of social workers (SW) of Brazilian Social Security (BSS) from the pandemic of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. It seeks to highlight how SW responded to the pandemic, in terms of their work and what the main changes occurred in BSS during this period. It uses a semi-structured interview in the form of a focus group with SW of BSS. The fundamental emphasis is on the computerization processes of social security benefits and telework, corresponding to the deepening of neoliberalism and greater weakening of work.

Crise sanitária e atenção primária: a atuação de assistentes sociais nos territórios

Este artigo focaliza a atuação de assistentes sociais na atenção primária em saúde (APS), na pandemia do Covid-19. Discute a crise sanitária, problematizando a ofensiva ultraneoliberal e suas implicações na atenção primária em saúde cuja potencialidade assistencial foi esvaziada por meio de várias medidas tomadas pelo Governo Federal, como mudanças na Política Nacional de Atenção Básica e o Previne Brasil. Foi realizada pesquisa nos Anais do IX Congresso Nacional de Serviço Social em Saúde, destacando trabalhos sobre APS. Foi desenvolvida análise com base no materialismo-histórico-dialético, considerando a historicidade, mediações e contradições. Foram identificados desafios à atuação profissional, como o uso de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), o teletrabalho, a precarização da política de saúde. Entre as estratégias de ação utilizadas destacam-se: ações educativas, articulação com a rede socioassistencial, entre outras. Considera-se que a negação de direitos como método governamental distancia o horizonte emancipatório do projeto ético-político da profissão.Alternate :The article focuses on the role of social workers in primary health care (PHC) during the covid-19 pandemic. It discusses the health crisis, questioning the ultra-neoliberal offensive and its implications for primary health care, which its care potential has been emptied, through various measures taken by the Federal Government, such as changes in the National Primary Care Policy and Previne Brasil. Research was carried out in the Annals of the IX National Congress of Social Service in Health, highlighting works on PHC. An analysis was developed based on dialectical-historical-materialism, considering historicity, mediations and contradictions. Challenges to professional performance were identified, such as the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), teleworking, and the precariousness of health policy. Among the action strategies used, the following stand out: educational actions, articulation with the social assistance network, among others. It is considered that the denial of rights as a governmental method distances the emancipatory horizon from the ethical-political project of the profession.

Harm reduction for problematic substance use

A harm reduction approach, as the name implies, seeks to minimize the adverse consequences of behaviors without necessarily reducing or eliminating the behavior. Harm reduction policies have been initiated for a wide range of public health challenges throughout the world, including carbon exchange programs to combat air pollution, food labels to encourage healthier eating habits, access to condoms to reduce sexually transmitted infections, and directives to minimize large social gatherings to avoid contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current opioid epidemic, which in the United States claimed more than 46,000 lives in 2018 alone 2020, brought about a renewed urgency to make medication available for treating opioid use disorder. The use of agonist medications for the treatment of problematic substance use is a narrowly targeted harm reduction approach generally reserved for people with substantial opioid addiction. Social workers are employed in a vast array of settings conducive to a harm reduction approach, including schools, colleges, hospitals, child welfare services, mental health clinics, housing, and private practice. In the end, the harm reduction model neither condemns nor condones drug use, and instead concerns itself with the quality of life for individuals, community, and society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Social Work Practice with Asians and Pacific Islanders

This chapter focuses on the United Nations' classification of subregions: Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands. Asian and Pacific Islander (API) is used as an inclusive term to refer to the diverse people with origins in countries, states, territories, and jurisdictions in the identified Asia-Pacific geographic region. APIs include immigrants, refugees, United States (U.S.)-born citizens, naturalized citizens, undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, native communities in U.S. jurisdictions, non-immigrants. Racialization in the United States occurs along a continuum, which reflects longstanding systems of racial categorization and oppression. The COVID-19 pandemic presents sociopolitical challenges for APIs with the emergence of Sinophobia. Like other Asian American communities, the South Asian community has long been described as a model minority due to its members' increasing socioeconomic status and vast educational achievements in the United States. Heterogeneity and disparities among APIs are not fully understood due to the dearth of ethnic-specific studies. Social workers should be mindful of the diverse political, colonization, and immigration histories of API clients to fully consider the person in their environment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Social work in the age of disconnection: Narrative case studies

In 2020, social workers stood out as essential, frontline workers. This edited text brings together the stories of nine clinical social workers working during COVID-19, exploring the disconnections caused by a forced use of technology as well as the disconnections apparent in a time of social injustice. In the spirit of tolerating the ambiguous spaces of unknowing, the textbook presents no right answers or specific agendas. Instead, it inspires reader engagement and connective thinking by presenting a series of explorations where writing is as much a method of inquiry as a statement about what is true. This book begins with three accounts of "Connection During Times of Disconnection" in cases that show the ways that young and old have benefited from the technology. Then, in "Ambivalence and Connection through the Screen", the book presents cases that challenge hopeful views, worrying about the unique effects of 21st-century dissociation and disembodiment. Finally, in "Bridging the Gap: Disconnection and Reconnection During Times of Social Change", it explores the disconnection between humans in an age of racial conflict and inequality. Employing narrative strategies to capture this transformative moment of our history, these chapters will explore the effects of technology and social media on psychotherapy, the delivery of services for the chronically mentally ill and elderly, as well as the consequences of recent cultural shifts on our conceptions of gender, sexuality, race, the immigrant experience, and political activism. While traditional research methodologies tend to address social problems as if they were divorced from the lives and experiences of human beings, these chapters employ phenomenological description of how the existing system functions, to identify theory-to-practice gaps and to recover the experiences of the person within the various institutional structures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

On the online self as an extension of personhood

Social workers must adapt along with the technology that both they and their clients are using and utilize it as a tool for exploration of identity formation, recognizing unique experiences in the online realm shape their perceptions of themselves and the world around them. The speed at which global populations turned to the online world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were perhaps underprepared to do so, has complicated the feelings about being digital and skewed the discussions of online life to focus on the struggles of lacking "normal" human interactions. Adolescents who have already for years been forming their identities through an online world are participating in similar experiential activities that the generations before them have, but the means and mode of doing so have changed. While for years, many people have tried to limit the amount of time and energy that they put into their online lives, the changing landscape has forced many who had little interest in living lives online to grapple with their identity in a virtual world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Emerging fields of practice in American social work

Since its beginnings, American social work has evolved in response to social injustices and human needs confronting our society. Social workers have assisted immigrants in resettlement and developed policy for financial assistance and alleviation of poverty for millions of Americans. They engaged in the fight for civil rights;worked to combat stigma;and gained services for many disenfranchised groups, including those afflicted with HIV, the mentally ill, the addicted, the homeless, and survivors of violence. Increasingly, social workers are moving into spaces where they can provide help and support more readily and with less stigma than more traditional practice settings have afforded. And although social workers have long been involved in disasters as first responders, the COVID-19 pandemic is a strong impetus for the profession to reconceptualize the practice of social work in the face of a health crisis that requires a multidimensional response to needed social care. On the micro level, social workers who are skilled in trauma-based work will also find their skills and expertise in greater demand as many first responders, health care providers, and families who experienced the loss of loved ones will require mental health services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Social work under COVID-19: A thematic analysis of articles in 'SW2020 under COVID-19 magazine'

This article presents a thematic analysis of 100 articles which appeared in 'SW2020 under COVID-19' online magazine, authored by people with lived experience, practitioners, students and academics. The magazine was founded by an editorial collective of the authors of this article and ran as a free online magazine during the period of the first UK COVID-19 lockdown period (March-July 2020). It contained a far higher proportion of submissions from the first three groups of contributors, above, than traditional journals. The analysis is organised under four analytic themes: 'Hidden populations;Life, loss and hope;Practising differently and Policy and system change'. The article concludes by describing the apparent divergence between accounts that primarily suggest evidence of improved working relationships between social workers and those they serve via digital practices, and accounts suggesting that an increasingly authoritarian social work practice has emerged under COVID-19. We argue that, notwithstanding this divergence, an upsurge in activism within social work internationally during the pandemic provides a basis for believing that the emergence of a community-situated, socially engaged social work is possible post-pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Rural social work practice

Rural social work is practiced in United States (U.S.) Census-defined rural areas and in small towns and frontier areas throughout the United States. Rural people tend to have many of the same diversities as urban populations but with the added diversity of being from a rural community, and social workers who work with them require deep knowledge of the communities in which they live. Poverty is an ongoing nuanced social problem in rural communities. Rural social work agencies often address needs for housing, food security, and mental health and addiction services as itinerant workers move to work in these industries. Practice in rural areas can be rewarding but also presents some professional challenges. Gaining cultural competence ultimately becomes an important issue if the worker did not grow up in the rural community. All social workers have a professional responsibility to advocate for social justice and equitable distribution of resources. For social work policy advocates, the time is ripe for advocacy for fair telehealth reimbursement because the coronavirus pandemic has placed a spotlight on even the urban area need for telehealth services and has accelerated research on the best practice standards of what can safely and effectively be provided via telehealth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Consensus organizing: Facilitating community change

Community organizing is the process of helping communities work together to identify and solve problems. Most organizing approaches focus on empowering and strengthening communities to solve their own problems. Locality development is a neighborhood based organizing approach to engage a broad range of key stakeholders in developing goals and taking civic action. Consensus organizing focuses on five key strategic principles and nine basic steps. There are several examples of how consensus organizing has been used to engage residents and build their capacity to create community change in community development, family services, violence prevention, and equitable development. Consensus organizing is a vehicle through which social workers can address contemporary issues that continue to impact the individuals, families, groups, and communities with which we work, including racial injustices, police brutality, as well as health, housing, food, and other equity issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consensus organizers engage in advocacy and peaceful protests around inequity and racial injustices. However, they also work to create mutual interests and solutions around these long-term problems, authentically engaging residents and those affected by problems to lead the creation of solutions to some of society's most pressing issues. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Perception of Frontline Social Workers' Role in Healthcare Sector Combating COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu: A Phenomenological Study.

COVID-19 emerged as a global pandemic of the twenty-first century. It has created a huge burden on society. More specifically, it has turned into one of the health risks that threaten to undermine societal order in general. The global effort to save humanity from this public health crisis is heavily reliant on professional social workers. According to the study's qualitative findings and perspectives on social workers' experiences in the health sector, the COVID-19 response is addressed. This study explores the function and difficulties faced by frontline social workers through an empirical phenomenological approach. Primary data for this study was gathered from 20 social workers from the leading healthcare institutions in Tamil Nadu using purposive and snowball sampling. The study focuses on three key conclusions, including the requirement for interdisciplinary expertise to address the multifaceted effects of pandemics, perceived difficulties in pandemic practice, and obstacles in service provision. The report offers recommendations for advancing social work initiatives as a conclusion. It also explains how modern social work may benefit healthcare facilities better in the fight against the pandemic.