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. 2023 Mar;22(2):321-339.
doi: 10.1177/14733250211059431. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

Innovative technology-enhanced social work service during COVID-19: How 'Garden on the Balcony' promoted resilience, community bonds and a green lifestyle

Yixuan Wang  1 , Qin Gao  2 , Fei Pei  3 , Yi Wang  4 , Zhen Cheng  5 , Ji Zhang  5 , Yang Wu  5
Affiliations

Innovative technology-enhanced social work service during COVID-19: How 'Garden on the Balcony' promoted resilience, community bonds and a green lifestyle

Yixuan Wang et al. Qual Soc Work. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has motivated social workers to reckon with and transform traditions in service delivery. The development, application, and evaluation of technology-enhanced practices have become more vital than ever. Garden on the Balcony (GOB) was an innovative internet-based social work service designed to respond rapidly to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing. This paper introduces the underlying perspectives and design of GOB and reports participants' reflections on the program to understand its mechanisms and implications. Interview data from GOB participants were collected 4 months after the program ended. Thematic analysis generated three major themes, suggesting that GOB had (a) promoted individual resilience and family cohesion; (b) built online and offline community bonds; and (c) cultivated a green lifestyle and spiritual reflection on life. This study demonstrates a practical example of the effective use of technology-enhanced practice.

Keywords: Covid-19; crisis intervention; green social work; online; service development; technology-enhanced social work.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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