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The issue 2/2024 invited social work academics, practitioners, researchers, and students to submit articles about social work in uncertain times, such as social work in the current context meaning before and during the pandemic, during the war in Ukraine, and after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, events which directly or indirectly impacted the profession. Given the number of people affected and losses suffered not only in economy, long-lasting effects in societies are also foreseen. These events, along with new ones (like the Israel – Hamas war), highlighted once again that, to respond and find sustainable solutions for social problems during extraordinary collective events, social workers are in the front line.
To our invitation authors responded with articles covering a varied range of topics, covering social protection for many categories, such as families with children, youth, cancer patients, the homeless, and the elderly, as well as the social work practice. The current number contains nine articles and one book review. Most of the articles delve into Romanian context, but the use of the English language has broadened access to knowledge and understanding for any reader interested in the discussed issues.
Liana Teuşdea, Lavinia Anton, Andreia Iacob, Larisa Molnar and Felicia Furtos present the results of a qualitative research conducted with parents or grandparents whose children (or nieces and nephews) used the services of a day-care centre during the pandemic. In their article “Impactul pandemiei COVID-19 asupra copiilor din familii vulnerabile” [The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children from vulnerable families], the authors highlight the difficulties brought by the restrictions and disruption of routines in Romania.
Ana Maria Dima and Bogdan Voicu’s article on migration presents ten cases of transnational families and their practices of communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Uncertainty of Transnational Parenthood “explores the practices of communication between migrating parents living in United Kingdom and Germany (at the time of the interviews) and their children who remained in Romania.
Rebeca Popescu and Marian Mocanu explore the resilience factors which contribute to the prevention of child abandonment in Romania. In “Prevention of Children Abandonment – Resilience Factors,” the authors present factual data to underline the importance of the topic and continue by presenting the result of interviews with employees and service users of maternal centres.
Cristina-Elena Andone makes her debut in Social Work Review with the results of her Bachelor’s thesis in social work, focusing on high-school students’ perception concerning smoking. The article, titled “Studiu privind consumul de tutun în rândul adolescenţilor dintr-un liceu din Bucureşti şi unul din Bacău” [Study on Tobacco use Among Adolescents in a High School in Bucharest and One in Bacau], reveals that 2 out of 3 students have experimented with smoking, with 1 out of 3 continuing the habit. The primary motivators identified include curiosity and peer influence.
Rodica Gabriela Enache, Mariana Uţă and Marinela Grigore discuss the benefits of psychosocial services for cancer patients, specifically focusing on the results of an evaluation questionnaire administered to cancer patients involved in a support group. The findings reveal that the intervention led to reduced levels of distress, anxiety, and depression among the cancer patients, ultimately resulting in an improvement in their quality of life.
In the article titled "Provocările în asistenţa socială a persoanelor fără adăpost în contextul pandemiei" [The Challenges of Homeless Social Work in the Context of Pandemic], Bianca-Daniela Parepeanu explores through the presentation of three case studies the responsibilities of Romanian social workers when working with homeless service-users, both in regular circumstances and during the pandemic.
Diana Narcisa Dănău, in her theoretical article “Elderly People from Residential Centers. A Theoretical Approach on Ageing Implications and the Social need of Vulnerable Elderly”, explores the necessity for social services tailored for the elderly and emphasises the role of social worker in the social care process within Romania.
The authors of “Critical Aspects of the Sustainability of Care for the Senior Population in Slovakia”, Monika Orliková, and Jana Levická, explore how strategic documents address the threats to the sustainability of social services for the elderly in the context of aging population in Slovakia.
“Innovations in Social Work Practice. A Presentation of Two Case Studies from Romania”, an article by Ioana Prodan, presents two responses to social problems. Firstly, it discusses the involvement of the organisation Save the Children in modifying the legislation aimed to support social workers at local level to reach a better understanding of the extent of children left behind by migrant parents, who are under the care of other family members. Secondly, it shows out the UNICEF’s initiatives to promote inclusive social services in communities, in the framework of a pilot program implemented in Bacău county.
Sergiu Raiu, in “Feminisation of the Social Work Profession in Romania. Study on the Proportion of Women in Management Positions” [Feminizarea profesiei de asistent social în România. Studiu privind proporţia femeilor în funcţii de conducere] presents data from a quantitative study regarding the gender dimension of the management roles in social work services in Romania, focusing on General Directorates for Social Work and Child Protection and the public social work services at municipality level.
Mihaela Popa encourages our readers to explore the book “Dezvoltare şi schimbare socială – rezolvarea problemelor sociale prin programe şi proiecte comunitare” [Development and Social Change. Solving Social Problems through Community Programs and Projects] authored by Professor Adrian Dan, PhD, and published in 2023 by Tritonic Books.
In conclusion, we hope that readers enjoy the diversity of the articles published in this journal issue and continue making contributions to the dynamic field of social work.
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