Responses to COVID-19 in Major Social Work Journals: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies, Comments, and Editorials

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest studies on COVID-19-related social work issues. Method: This systematic review aimed to collect, review, and synthesize all COVID-19-related papers published in 43 major social work journals, a year after the first known case was reported. Results: The final sample ( n = 256) consisted of 85 research articles and 171 in other formats. All the studies involved a total of 46,195 research participants. The majority of papers (75.4%) could be accessed freely online. Service users including families, students, older adults, caregivers, refugees, patients, health care workers, etc. were either researched or discussed. Discussion: Gerontological social work was one of the fields that received ample attention. Papers published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work yielded the highest number of citations. Academics and social workers came up with innovative ways of practicing and researching during the pandemic.