Innovative technology-enhanced social work service during COVID-19: How 'Garden on the Balcony' promoted resilience, community bonds and a green lifestyle.
Yixuan WangQin GaoFei PeiYi WangZhen ChengJi ZhangYang WuPublished in: Qualitative social work : QSW : research and practice (2022)
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated social workers to reckon with and transform traditions in service delivery. The development, application, and evaluation of technology-enhanced practices have become more vital than ever. Garden on the Balcony (GOB) was an innovative internet-based social work service designed to respond rapidly to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing. This paper introduces the underlying perspectives and design of GOB and reports participants' reflections on the program to understand its mechanisms and implications. Interview data from GOB participants were collected 4 months after the program ended. Thematic analysis generated three major themes, suggesting that GOB had (a) promoted individual resilience and family cohesion; (b) built online and offline community bonds; and (c) cultivated a green lifestyle and spiritual reflection on life. This study demonstrates a practical example of the effective use of technology-enhanced practice.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- mental health
- quality improvement
- health information
- metabolic syndrome
- primary care
- physical activity
- cardiovascular disease
- climate change
- weight loss
- social support
- social media
- emergency department
- type diabetes
- machine learning
- electronic health record
- depressive symptoms
- big data
- deep learning
- data analysis
- adverse drug