Digital Technology in Children’s Safeguarding Social Work Practice in the 21st Century: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Abstract Digital technology plays an increasing role in children’s safeguarding social work practice, where there is a renewed emphasis on the recording and interpretation of data via digital technology, as well as the use of technology to communicate with families and colleagues, particularly since Covid-19. This scoping review delineated extant research investigating uses of digital technology in children’s safeguarding social work practice since 2000 in order to contextualise current emerging practices. The methodology used accounted for the heterogeneity of study designs whilst maintaining a rigorous approach to searching, selection and analysis. Literature searches were conducted in August and September 2022 identifying forty-three studies. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken to outline date, location, methodology, aspect of technology investigated, and key findings of included studies. The review generated two descriptive categories which reflect the included studies: electronic information systems and digital communications. These categories subsume a range of distinct platforms and applications whilst highlighting a tendency of the included studies to separate out their focus between these specific aspects of digital technology, with limited discourse between categories. Families’ perspectives are also missing from most research identified in the review.