![]() Recognizing the context of COVID-19, we amended the questions to investigate ICT use during the pandemic. The purpose of the current study, which was underway at the onset of COVID-19, was to investigate social workers’ informal ICT use with clients in Canada (Mishna et al., 2021a, b). In response to COVID-19, practitioners were required to quickly transition to ICTs to replace face-to-face services, without adequate training or support (Canady, 2020 Doorn et al., 2020 Razai et al., 2020 Walter-McCabe, 2020). ICTs include mobile devices, computer hardware/software, and other communication media. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) entered social work practice long before the onset of COVID-19. We discuss these themes and present implications for policy and practice in a post-COVID-19 world. Analysis of transcribed interviews revealed that the COVID-19 context had led to a paradigm shift in practitioners’ ICT use, with two key themes identified: (1) boundary challenges and (2) clients’ diverging ICT needs. Eleven practitioners participated in interviews prior to and during COVID-19. ![]() The sample comprised 27 practitioners and 22 clients. In addition, with ethics approval, we conducted second interviews with practitioners interviewed prior to COVID-19 with a revised guide to address the pandemic context and we continued to recruit and interview practitioners and clients using an amended interview guide incorporating pandemic-related questions. With the onset of COVID-19, we adapted to the COVID-19 context and amended the questions to investigate ICT use during the pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, we were conducting interviews with practitioners and clients from four agencies serving diverse client populations in a large city in Canada. The onset of COVID-19 occurred during phase two of research in which we were investigating social workers’ informal use of ICT with clients. While information and communication technologies (ICTs) permeated social work practice long before the onset of COVID-19, the abrupt need to close non-essential workplaces resulted in an unparalleled incorporation of digital technology into practice across the globe. ![]()
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