The role of social work in disaster management in Finland
This study explores the role of social work in disaster management in Finland
and its relation to international disaster social work discussions. The aim is to
obtain information on the role of social work in disasters in Finland and to conceptualize disaster social work to understand it better. The framework of disaster social work interventions and the concepts of vulnerability, resilience and
social capital are used in analyzing and conceptualizing the role. The methods
used are integrative literature review, quantitative document analysis, and statistical analysis of the survey. Municipal social services’ preparedness plan
documents and survey data of private social care units’ preparedness form the
main empirical data. The results show that social work interventions of social
and human investments, i.e. day-to-day roles, which enhance bonding social
capital, were emphasized in disaster social work. Interventions of political empowerment and economic participation, which embrace bridging and linking
with other disaster management actors were less common. Preparedness planning was completed only on a very general level in Finland, and the overall level of preparedness and understanding of bridging and linking with other disaster management actors was inadequate. Statistically significant differences were
found between large and small social service areas in favor of the large ones. I
conclude that enhancing social capital in client work, social work’s own organization and in multiorganizational networking, should be central in disaster social work. The concepts of disaster vulnerability, resilience, and social capital
are central in understanding the role of social work in disasters.
...


Publisher
University of JyväskyläISBN
978-951-39-7227-1ISSN Search the Publication Forum
0075-4625Keywords
disaster management resilience social capital social work vulnerability sosiaalityö varautuminen valmiussuunnittelu katastrofit kriisinhallinta kriisivalmius kriisijohtaminen onnettomuudet luonnononnettomuudet haavoittuvuus resilienssi sosiaalinen pääoma sosiaalipalvelut kriisit perheet perhetyö suuronnettomuudet terrori-iskut verkkoviestintä
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- Väitöskirjat [2672]