The global impact of COVID-19 on child protection professionals: A scoping review and thematic analysis

Carmit Katz; Talia Glucklich; Afnan Attrash-Najjar; Ma'ayan Jacobson; Noa Cohen; Natalia Varela; Sidnei Rinaldo Priolo-Filho; Annie Bérubé; Olivia D Chang; Delphine Collin-Vézina; Ansie Fouché; Sadiyya Haffejee; Ilan Katz; Kathryn Maguire-Jack; Nadia Massarweh; Michelle O'Reilly; Ashwini Tiwari; Elmien Truter; Rebeca Veras de Andrade Vieira; Hayley Walker-Williams; Murilo Ricardo Zibetti; Christine Werkele

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106347

The global impact of COVID-19 on child protection professionals: A scoping review and thematic analysis

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Jul 19:106347. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106347. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Carmit Katz¹, Talia Glucklich², Afnan Attrash-Najjar², Ma'ayan Jacobson³, Noa Cohen², Natalia Varela⁴, Sidnei Rinaldo Priolo-Filho⁵, Annie Bérubé⁶, Olivia D Chang⁷, Delphine Collin-Vézina⁸, Ansie Fouché⁹, Sadiyya Haffejee¹⁰, Ilan Katz¹¹, Kathryn Maguire-Jack¹², Nadia Massarweh¹³, Michelle O'Reilly¹⁴, Ashwini Tiwari¹⁵, Elmien Truter¹⁶, Rebeca Veras de Andrade Vieira¹⁷, Hayley Walker-Williams¹⁸, Murilo Ricardo Zibetti¹⁷, Christine Werkele¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Levanon 30, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. Electronic address: drckatz@gmail.com.
² Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Levanon 30, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
³ Haruv Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: maayan@haruv.org.il.
⁴ Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Externado University, Calle 12 No. 1-17 Este, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: natalia.varela@uexternado.edu.co.
⁵ Laboratório de Pesquisa, Prevenção e Intervenção em Psicologia Forense - Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná, Brazil.
⁶ The Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada. Electronic address: annie.berube@uqo.ca.
⁷ School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: ochang@umich.edu.
⁸ The Centre for Research on Children and Families, McGill University, Suite 106, Wilson Hall, 3506 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7, Canada. Electronic address: delphine.collin-vezina@mcgill.ca.
⁹ Department of Social Wellbeing, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus, COMPRES Research Entity, Gauteng, South Africa. Electronic address: ansie.fouche@nwu.ac.za.
¹⁰ Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Electronic address: sadiyyah@uj.ac.za.
¹¹ Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: ilan.katz@unsw.edu.au.
¹² School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: kmjack@umich.edu.
¹³ The Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education, P.O. Box 124, Baqa-El-Gharbia 3010000, Israel.
¹⁴ School of Media, Communication, and Sociology, University of Leicester and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, UK. Electronic address: mjo14@le.ac.uk.
¹⁵ The Institute of Public and Preventive Health, Augusta University, 1120 15th St, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Electronic address: atiwari@augusta.edu.
¹⁶ North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus, COMPRES Research Entity, Gauteng, South Africa. Electronic address: Elmien.Truter@nwu.ac.za.
¹⁷ Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil.
¹⁸ North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus, COMPRES Research Entity, Gauteng, South Africa. Electronic address: Hayley.williams@nwu.ac.za.
¹⁹ The Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W. - MIP 201A, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada. Electronic address: wekerc@mcmaster.ca.

PMID: 37479549
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106347

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered new risks for child maltreatment (CM) and exacerbated existing challenges for families and children, elevating the importance of child protection professionals (CPPs) while also adding barriers to their work. During the pandemic, many CPPs experienced increased workloads, a disrupted work environment, and personal pandemic-related hardships. However, the scope of how COVID-19 impacted CPPs globally, as well as their adopted coping strategies, have not been well explored.

Objective: This study addresses these gaps in the research by conducting an international scoping review to explore and analyze these topics.

Method: The scoping review was performed in six languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, across 16 databases. Sixteen manuscripts were included in the final thematic analysis of this review.

Results: Two main themes were identified: 1) the impact of COVID-19 on CPPs, and 2) the coping and adaptation strategies employed by CPPs during COVID-19. This review revealed and emphasized the importance of CPPs' resilience during COVID-19, underpinned by the theoretical framework of the social ecology of resilience.

Conclusions: This study highlights the responsibility of social ecologies and organizational structures to create readiness for a rapid response in times of crisis as well as valuable evidence to inform how CPPs, children, and families may be better supported in the event of a future crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Child maltreatment (CM); Child protection professionals (CPPs); Resilience; Scoping review; Thematic analysis.