Grand Challenge of Social Work's Harness Technology for Social Good: Scoping Review

Abstract

PurposeThe Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative addresses critical social problems through social work science. This scoping review examines the first 5 years (2015–2019) of the Harness Technology for Social Good challenge, mapping literature by social work researchers on technology's role in improving client system outcomes.MethodsWe mapped the existing social work literature published between 2015 and 2019 about using technology to address practice outcomes for client systems.ResultsOverall, we found a clear pattern in which social work researchers were contributing to the scholarship on technology-mediated interventions and providing evidence that technology had positive or helpful outcomes in work with client systems.DiscussionWhile our scoping review was limited to English-language publications, which may have excluded significant scholarly work from non-English speaking regions, our findings indicate that social work scholars have significantly contributed to the scholarship on technology-mediated interventions, demonstrating positive impacts on practice outcomes.