The Impact of COVID-19 on Social Care and Social Work in the UK: A Scoping Review

• Published in: The British journal of social work 2024-05, Vol.54 (3), p.885-904
• Main Authors: Owens, Janine, Young, Alys, Allen, Rosie, Pearson, Amelia, Cartney, Patricia, Robinson, Catherine, McPhillips, Rebecca, Davies, Sue, Regan, Martyn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult care services; Adults; Backlog; Burnout; COVID-19; Employee turnover; Health care management; Morale; Pandemics; Personal assistants; Psychological distress; Psychosocial factors; Resilience; Social services; Social work; Social workers; Staffing; Suitability; Vacancies; Workforce planning; Workloads
• ISSN: 0045-3102; 1468-263X
• DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad237

Prior to the COVID pandemic, staffing levels, staff turnover and vacancies in adult social care and social work within the UK were a major concern, with staff experiencing high workloads, burnout, stress and poor morale. The paucity of published evidence in a rapidly evolving contemporary situation indicated the suitability of a scoping review. Systematic searching produced evidence published between 1 December 2019 and 9 May 2023. Out of ninety-seven articles retrieved, the final analysis included thirty nine articles. To report the review findings clearly and accessibly, the analysis used the Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations framework. Abundant evidence emerged on psychological distress and the impact of COVID-19 on the working environment for social care and social workers, but a paucity of psychosocial resilience, supporting social care managers, Personal Assistants and moral injury. Social care needs and the statutory duties of social work are likely to become even more intense. The COVID pandemic magnified a chronic lack of funding, staffing, support and regard for adult social care, with no future planning compared to the NHS. This legacy and backlogs of social care assessment and service delivery are of concern despite the proposed actions of the Adult Social Care Reform Act in England. This article summarises evidence published from December 2019 to May 2023 on the impact of COVID-19 on social care workers and social workers in the UK. We used a type of review method called a scoping review, which allows the identification of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed evidence. Using a range of selected terms, we searched seven different academic databases, Google, Google Scholar and social care websites to find relevant evidence. Out of 643 articles, 39 were relevant. The analysis looked at similarities and differences in the papers to identify the greatest amount of research and areas where there were gaps. Analysis found lots of research about increasing demands, high workloads, burnout, stress, poor morale and the mental health impact of COVID-19 on social care and social workers. There were gaps in evidence about the support of and coping for workers. Limited evidence existed on Personal Assistants, who are unregulated and untrained, but still providing a level of care and moral injury. Moral injury occurs when social care workers experience stress because they cannot provide care in line with their traini