Cross-National Comparisons of Social Worker Self-Care: The Global Self-Care Initiative

Overview: The importance of self-care among social work practitioners notwithstanding, research literature is in the nascent stages of examining this area inquiry, particularly in international contexts. Utilizing data collected as part of Wave I of the Global Self-Care Initiative, this study examined self-care among practitioners and educators in nine countries.Proposal text: Self-care is an integral component to adept social work practice (Brown, 2020; Grise-Owens, Miller and Eaves, 2016). A host of authors have suggested that self-care can assuage a number of problematic employment conditions, including vicarious trauma, professional burnout, and workplace stress, among others (Cox and Steiner, 2013; Greville, 2015; Smullens, 2015; Miller et al., 2019). Both the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2008) in the United States and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2004) have put forth practice edicts about the importance of self-care among a wide range of social work practitioners. Indeed, as Miller (2020) aptly summarized, “there is nothing in the contemporary practice landscape more important that social work practitioner self-care and well-being” (para 2).
Benefits notwithstanding, research about self-care is limited. Specifically, a literature review revealed no published works examining international comparisons related to self-care. This project contributes to remedying these limitations.
This study utilized data collected from social workers (Nf4,342) in nine-countries (i.e., Portugal, Slovakia, Finland, Ethiopia, U.S., etc.) via a self-care project known as The Global Self-Care Initiative (GSCI). The overarching purpose of this study included examining differences in self-care practice scores, both between and within countries. Ancillary foci included inspecting relationships between various demographic and professional variables and investigating significant predictors of self-care. All data were collected using the Self-Care Practices Scale (SCPS), an 18-item measure designed to examine the frequency in which participants engaged in self-care practices. Where appropriate items were translated and back-translated into languages consistent with the country in question. Participants responded to online survey or paper/pencil invitations, depending on country.
Overall, data indicates that social workers, no matter the country, engaged in moderate amounts of self-care. Interestingly, European practitioners engaged in significantly higher self-care practices than did those in the U.S. Analyses revealed a number of within-group differences in self-care practices, by work focus, education, and financial status, among others. Significant predictors of self-care included perceived health status (self-report) and workload (hours worked per week).
This study contributes to an empirical knowledge base and uniquely addresses limitations in the current literature. An exhaustive literature review of relevant databases suggest that this study is the only work to examine cross-national comparisons of social worker self-care practices. Data suggest that there may be pragmatic implications gleaned from examining practice-culture dynamics and how these factors impact self-care, in general, and self-care education and training, specifically. This study also highlights benefits and challenges (e.g., instrumentation, etc.) associated with international research and education collaborations. Participants who engage in this presentation will: (a) appreciate the importance of self-care research in relation to social work education/practice; (b) understand findings related to this study; and, (c) consider research implications for ongoing international work and education in this area.