- Title
- Rethinking social work in a technologically mediated world: a postphenomenological exploration of practice
- Creator
- Tickner, Campbell Enid
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- In recent years, eHealth technologies and their benefits have received widespread attention and are increasingly being implemented into health care practice. In no small part, much of the current implementation and uptake of such technologies is a direct result of health professionals needing to adapt their practice to a digital environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet despite the advantages, social work remains ‘behind the curve’ in implementing eHealth tools into practice. Contemporary scholarship has described some of the challenges health social workers, in particular, have faced when adopting these technologies into their practice. The profession has questioned the congruence of digital technologies with its values, with a reliance on face-to-face engagement cited as a key reason for slow uptake. Existing studies highlighted the need for a more nuanced and focused examination of the tensions between social work values and digital health practice, particularly in relation to issues of equity, risk, and assessment; issues that have preoccupied social work for some time but take on new meaning in the digital environment. My PhD research sought to explore the experiences of how social workers negotiate their role and practice, as well as how the use of eHealth technologies mediates the social work role. This study followed a qualitative methodology rooted in a constructionist paradigm and was further informed by postphenomenology as its guiding theoretical framework. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 20 health and mental health social workers practising within the Hunter New England Local Health District. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic approach to develop meaningful themes in relation to my research questions. The themes were further interpreted using key theoretical concepts of postphenomenology and compiled intro overarching ‘stories’ which comprise three analytic chapters within the thesis. The findings from my research reveal the complexities faced by health social workers in navigating their role and practice when adopting eHealth technologies. Firstly, the introduction and use of eHealth technologies raise questions about the nature of social work and how the profession and practice is conceptualised. Social workers’ experiences with such technologies challenged their perceptions of professional values and skills in an increasingly digital world. Secondly, social workers recognised the ability for digital technologies to expand their breadth of practice, but also had to reconcile the structural and systemic barriers impacting their accessibility and use. Thirdly, these challenges manifested most significantly in the process of assessing for risk and safety. Through the use of eHealth technologies, social workers managed feelings of discomfort when they were uncertain whether they would be able to gather the ‘full picture’ of their clients’ circumstances. Finally, these findings point towards the need for a framework of digital social work practice, with a preliminary concept outlined for future development.
- Subject
- social work; social work practice; technology; eHealth; postphenomenology; qualitative
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1503480
- Identifier
- uon:55335
- Rights
- Copyright 2023 Campbell Enid Tickner
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 333 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |