Social workers’ experiences of providing psychosocial support to learners in foster care in Merafong city, Gauteng during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The South African government attempted to curb a second wave of COVID-19 by banning activities individuals used as their coping mechanisms during the peak of the pandemic. This created a period of heightened stress which resulted in the increase in need for psychosocial services. Social workers within the Department of Social Development, were part of the individuals tasked with rendering psychosocial services. The aim of the study was to explore social workers’ experiences of providing psychosocial support to learners in foster care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Merafong City, Gauteng. It was a qualitative study, that was exploratory in nature following an instrumental case study design. The ecological perspective guided the study. The method of data collection was semi-structured interviews using a semi- structured interview guide as the research tool. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the 10 social workers who meet the inclusion criteria. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that there was lack of resources and no preparation or training to deal with the pandemic. There was also a fear of the virus being spread by social workers amongst themselves and to clients. The study also revealed that social workers needed to find alternative ways to provide services by being flexible, creative and adaptable to the new normal. The findings contribute to the South African knowledge base about the psychosocial support needs of social workers who render psychosocial services within traumatic circumstances like a pandemic. The identified gaps provide research opportunities for government and academics.