Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 321-339 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Qualitative Social Work |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2023 |
Keywords
- Covid-19
- crisis intervention
- green social work
- online
- service development
- technology-enhanced social work
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)