Prospectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social e Intervención Social
PROSPECTIVA is a journal of Social Work and social intervention that publishes on a continuous basis, with two issues per volume (year). Its interests are the development of social thought and contemporary social work, in particular that of Latin America, and the dissemination of knowledge that contributes to processes of social transformation.
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Perception of healthcare social work practice by healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. A study by the Costa del Sol Health Agency in Malaga, Spain
Health Social Work was considered as an essential profesional space in the context of COVID-19 to ensure the well-being of people. This research investigates the perception that interdisciplinary health professionals have about the Social Work professionals of the Costa del Sol Health Agency of the city of Málaga. (Spain). A quantitative methodology was used; it was developed through a descriptive design, using a structured questionnaire administered online during the second half of 2022 (n=246). The results obtained show revealed that the professional practice of Social workers working in the health field responds to a task of support, help, and collaboration that solves problems through empathy and coordination. Among the main conclusions, the relevance of this profession’s response in the hospital environment, that requires greater recognition in the healthcare field is highlighted.
Copyright (c) 2026 Prospectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social e Intervención Social https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Tierra Grata: An example of territorialization and peacebuilding in post-conflict Colombia
This research article aims to make visible the conflict transformation initiatives driven by people in the process of reintegration. For this purpose, the former Territorial Training and Reintegration Area (ETCR) currently known as Vereda Tierra Grata, municipality of Manaure, Cesar, is taken into context. The research was developed from a qualitative approach, using an ethnographic design that allowed direct contact with the community and the application of semi-structured interviews. This methodological approach facilitated the understanding of the various strategies for transforming the conflict and strengthening the social tissue. Among them, territorialization and community rootedness stand out, which have contributed significantly to the process of reincorporation of the 162 signatories of the agreement that came to Tierra Grata. These initiatives represent a hopeful example within the complex Colombian post-conflict landscape.
Copyright (c) 2025 PROSPECTIVA. Revista de Trabajo Social e Intervención Social https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Imaginary Questionnaire on Social Work in the Colombian Caribbean
This study aims to analyze the cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Questionnaire of Imaginaries on Social Work in the general population of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. A quantitative study with descriptive-instrumental scope was divided into two phases: an exploratory analysis with 65 participants and a confirmatory analysis with 100 participants. Validation of the questionnaire included linguistic adaptation, expert judgment, and factor analysis. The findings suggest that the adapted version exhibits adequate validity indices, internal structure, and reliability, with a three-dimensional structure: Socio-vocational Commitment, Ignorance about the profession, and Bureaucratic Management. Factorial reorganization reveals a close relationship between the vocation of service and social justice, thus consolidating a single factor. It is concluded that the adapted version of the questionnaire constitutes a reliable and valid tool in terms of structure to measure the social imaginaries on Social Work in the Colombian context, with relevant implications for the discipline and professional training.
Community Water Management from the Participation of Peasant Women, in the Municipality of Timbío-Cauca, Colombia
Community Water Management in Rural Areas has been strengthened through the recognition and the spaces that rural women are gaining. These women have waged struggles in their territories for water for their communities. Through activities inherent to rural life and intercultural exchange, they have secured spaces for political, economic, social, and environmental participation, making their voices visible through positions, arguments, actions, and discourses that bring to light the real needs of their territories, within processes of resistance rooted in their own actions. The qualitative approach methodology analyzed realities within their contexts, interpreting the meanings and roles each woman plays in water management processes, their perspectives on social, cultural, and political issues, and their standpoints for both mitigating and raising their voices in the face of this reality. Information was collected through visits during different stages of the process, gatherings were held, and stories and lived experiences were gathered from the diversity of their roles. The findings reveal the situation of rural women in their contexts, the challenges they face daily, the stereotypes with which they have been labeled, their resistance and leadership in decision-making, and the ways they define, from their own thinking, categories that identify them. The conclusions highlight and acknowledge situations such as the absence of the State in the management of rural aqueducts, the different systems of oppression, discrimination, and types of violence that seek to overshadow the role they play in their communities and in society.
Intermediate internships in the training of Social Workers at a religious university in Chile
The article examines the intermediate social work practices as scenarios in which key dimensions of vocational training are articulated and stressed. It is proposed that these spaces allow o problematize institutional, ethical and methodological challenges, and explore different ways of understanding the critical thinking in the disciplinary field. The research adopts a qualitative approach, cross-sectional design and descriptive scope, based on the analysis of practice reports and focus groups with students of the Adventist University of Chile. Through interpretative strategies, it is investigated how students express their experiences in the face of challenges presented at the different levels of professional intervention defined by the curricular network. The study shows that intermediate practices oscillate between the technical application of models and the construction of critical positions, revealing formative tensions around the use of theory, professional role and dialogue with the institutional approach. Among the training challenges identified, the following stand out: the need to deepen the epistemological and political understanding of theoretical frameworks, strengthen structural analysis and promote a critical reflection on the professional role oriented towards social transformation.
Impact of traditional games on the social inclusion of migrant minors in Tudela- Navarre, Spain
This study analyses the impact of an intervention based on traditional games on the social inclusion and cultural cohesion of migrant minors living in a reception center. The objective was to assess to what extent the guided practice of traditional games promotes interaction, sense of belonging and cultural awareness in contexts of diversity. The methodology used was a quasi-experimental design with pre and post measurements without a control group, developed in a center managed by the Red Cross in Tudela with the participation of 13 migrant children between 6 and 17 years old. The data collection tools included standardized questionnaires, participant observation and a structured checklist aimed at recording collaborative, communication and compliance behaviours. The results showed a significant improvement in the quality of social relations and group cohesion, especially among children with low initial interaction. There was also an increase in knowledge of Spanish traditions and games and a more active participation in outdoor activities. However, family participation was limited, which is an area for future improvement. Despite the small sample, the results suggest that these interventions are effective and applicable in other cross-cultural contexts. Therefore, it is recommended to integrate traditional games as an educational resource to promote inclusion and improve coexistence in diverse environments.
Protection and gender violence: Experience of a group of dual devices users in Córdoba, Argentina
This article recounts an experience of participant observation within the framework of a doctoral research process on protection policies in gender-based violence. The experience was carried out between May and August 2023 in Córdoba-Argentina, a state institution dedicated to addressing gender-based violence. Observations were developed in workshops aimed at dual device users, a precautionary measure that attempts to end high-risk violence situations. The results reveal difficulties in accessing the measure related to a lack of access to information by those who report violence; obstacles in the placement of an ankle on those reported; continuity of situations of restriction of social participation of users, among others.
The reorganization of app-based delivery workers' job: new-old forms of control in Arapiraca, Brazil
With the rise of digital platform work, there is a challenge to understand the work process of app delivery workers. Given this, this research aims to analyze the reorganization of labor among delivery workers in Arapiraca, Brazil. This is a qualitative research study in which six interviews were conducted. The analysis considered the following dimensions: the work process, forms of control, and collectivity. The study found the formation of groups of delivery workers as an alternative to large delivery apps. In these groups, an administrator is present. There are strategies for collective organization, facilitated by digital social media. However, the presence of the administrator implies the coexistence of elements of vertical organization, with delivery workers being subordinate. These workers have a daily working day longer than 8 hours and earn between one thousand five hundred and two thousand reais (R$) per month. The work of delivery drivers, even with the use of new technologies, remains precarious. This reflects the conservative modernization typical of the periphery of capitalism, blending some technological innovations with old relationships.
Socio-ecological narratives of social work in a global context: an approach from the World Social Work Conference SWSD 2024
This article analyzes and characterizes the papers on socio-ecological issues delivered at the Joint World Conference on Social Work (April 2024, Panama). The conference is a space of planetary encounter that allows to approach exchanges of knowledge, visibilization of problems and establishment of interesting emerging issues for a disciplinary exploration. Out of a total of 899 papers available, 68 were on socio-ecological themes which were analyzed according to prevailing topics, geographical origin of the papers and declared roles. We find disciplinary narratives centered on the environmental crisis, with particular emphasis on climate change, socio-natural disasters, community action, and the Sustainable Development Goals as the main guiding framework. We conclude that Social Work narratives possess ethical and contextual opportunities articulated in a great professional versatility. However, they also confront hegemonic narratives that hyper climatize the debate and align it with the dominant environmental agenda invisibilizing the violence and conflictive of extractives colonialism. In response, Social Work must strengthen its ethical-political positioning by drawing on its theoretical and methodological capacities to advance toward an ecocentrism turn.
Perceptions and attitudes towards the environment among Social Work students at the University of Alicante, Spain
Social Work is a discipline committed to the well-being of people and the planet. It is a profession that, over the years, has internalized environmental problems as part of its theoretical and practical dialectic. The global crises have brought about a paradigm shift that influences the approach to current social problems. Universities and social work training promote the incorporation of an environmental, critical, and sustainable approach to social and environmental problems. This empirical study of quantitative design and descriptive and explanatory purpose aims to understand the perceptions and attitudes towards the environment by students of the Degree in Social Work of the University of Alicante (Spain) and their perceptions and attitudes about the relationship between environment and social work. The study was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire composed of 11 questions and 23 measurement variables. Data was analyzed through SPSS. A total of 102 students aged between 20 and 49 participated. The results show students' recognition of and concern for environmental problems, taking into account personal, cultural, and political factors that influence these perceptions, as well as the associations between their attitudes and perceptions and the perception of their own behavior towards the environment. It concludes with the need to strengthen ecosocial thinking in students of Social Work and incorporate their knowledge into professional practice.
Action 2.0: a serious game for the psychosocial formation of Social Workers in distance learning in Colombia
Gamification, through game design strategies applied in distance learning environments, facilitates the development of specific disciplinary competencies. This article examines the use of serious play Action 2.0 by Social Work students in distance learning to enhance psychosocial skills development. The methodology used was quantitative, using a comparative design between exposed and non-exposed groups to the serious game Action 2.0, composed of 46 students selected by sampling for convenience. The participants discussed potential situations in Social Work, which involve encountering challenges and narratives that require skills like active listening, self-recognition, empathy, and effective communication. As a result, a cognitive-behavioral pedagogical framework based on the ADDIE model (specification, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) was consolidated, demonstrating high adherence that can create an addiction to serious games. This confirms that serious play is a tool that strengthens the professional and psychosocial competencies of Social Work students, which also provides valuable feedback for the design of future educational interventions.
Routines, breaks and heritages of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
The preventive confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic can be conceived as a break that transformed the regular routines of the population from forced permanence in the home and the virtualization of daily life. The study's objective sought to characterize regular routines, pandemic breaks, and re-established routines recognized by the population as heritages of the COVID-19 lockdown period. Exploratory qualitative descriptive research was carried out using focused interviews and photographic images, which provided the information required for a qualitative analysis process by category. The results indicate that regular routines were gradually adapted to the home confinement by shaping the pandemic routines necessary to face the unprecedented break in daily life for health reasons and providing relative safety ranges amid uncertainty. It is concluded that the COVID-19 health emergency was constituted in a break capable of dividing the biographies into cardinal points corresponding to before, during, and after the pandemic, references that lie at the base of regular routines, pandemic routines, and reinstatement of regular routines/ post-pandemic routines, which constitute a sequence in whose deployment the inherited learning from an uncertain and threatening vital period are evident.
Pre-professional practices and the right to access to justice in marginalized urban sectors in Ecuador
Ecuador has been a constitutional state of law and social justice since 2008 and, therefore, must comply with one of the duties enshrined in its Constitution: the non-discriminatory guarantee of the effective enjoyment of constitutional rights, including free and open access to the judicial system. Therefore, the objective is to analyze the impact of pre-professional internships carried out by future lawyers in marginal urban areas and the right of access to justice in the cantons of Ambato and Pillaro, Tungurahua Province. The methodology applied is quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional. Data were collected from September 2017 to February 2018 by law students at the Technical University of Ambato, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences. The main results were termination of marriage, dissolution of marital partnership, and the establishment of alimony. Concluding that the provision of legal services free of charge by the higher education institution guarantees a fundamental right of social groups that is rendered impossible by economic circumstances.
The wisdom of the Fütakeche from the voices of Mapuche social workers to territorialize professional practice in Chile
This article explores the contextual and territorialized wisdom of the fütakeche (Mapuche elders) in the training and professional practice of social work in Wallmapu (Mapuche territory). The main objective was to explore how this ancestral knowledge can inform ethical and respectful professional practice within a specific context. The central research questions were: How do Mapuche social workers perceive the influence of fütakeche wisdom on their training and professional practice? What implications does this wisdom have for transforming social work training and practice in Mapuche contexts? The methodology used an indigenous design. Nütram (conversation) was the main method of data collection with Mapuche social workers who integrate Mapuche kimün into their work. Data were analyzed using dungun (speech) tracking and thematic coding based on pünontuchefe (Mapuche community service methodology). The results showed the validation of ancestral kimün as equivalent to academic knowledge. They highlighted the central role of territorial identity and küpalme (lineage) in professional practice. Community mediation is essential to accessing fütakeche knowledge. Lineage and family memory are seen as valuable epistemologies. These findings suggest a need to transform social work training by integrating values from Mapuche kimün and adopting a situated, decolonizing approach in professional practice.
Social Worker Intervention Methods in Oncology: A Case Study in Sincelejo, Colombia
This article presents social workers' methods, techniques, and strategies in cancer patients treated in public and private health institutions in Sincelejo, Sucre. The study adopted a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design implemented in a case study modality. Ten social workers with at least one year of experience in clinical oncology were selected. The data collection instrument consisted of a face-to-face semi-structured interview and an asynchronous data collection, using a Google Forms form as a guide. The results emphasize preference in the application of individual methods, such as control consultations, psychoemotional follow-up, motivational and care talks; in the family, techniques such as socioeconomic study, visits, and home care stand out, as well as resources management for families in vulnerable conditions, through governmental and non-governmental organizations, are highlighted. Community-based approaches are being uses to mitigate risk factors and promote early detection. An active participation of the Social Worker as a member of the health care team is concluded, who provides emotional and social support to the patient and their family, provides detailed information on the treatment process, develops personalized intervention plans, and integrates the family into the patient's treatment and recovery process.
Preferences and expectations about work among young people in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga (Colombia) after the COVID-19 pandemic
The economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed hundreds of millions of jobs worldwide, making the employment scenario even more precarious for young people. It also represented an opportunity to cherish the opportunity of teleworking, flexibility, and autonomy at work. This shared experience may contribute to framing young people's preferences and work expectations when starting their careers. This article aimed to test hypotheses to provide knowledge regarding these possible reconfigurations. Based on cluster analysis, among other analyses, of a cross-sectional survey involving 300 young people, a study was carried out on the significance of work among young people in the Colombian metropolis of Bucaramanga. The main findings suggest that there is a majority sector that gives their current job a good rating, values work as central to their lives and prefers a job based on pay and stability. This contrasts with other studies that show a decline in the centrality of work in people's lives and a clear preference for meaningful jobs with more flexibility and autonomy.
Spirituality in Social Work: a systematic review
In recent decades, interest in spirituality within social work has grown, recognizing its importance for the holistic well-being of individuals and communities. Spirituality encompasses both religious aspects and dimensions such as purpose, connection (with oneself, others, and a broader reality), and emotional and psychological well-being. This conceptual diversity creates ambiguity and challenges within the profession, highlighting the need for greater clarity and consensus on its meaning. International researchers, both from theoretical and practical perspectives of social work, acknowledge the importance of integrating this dimension into professional practice and the training of future social workers. This study presents a systematic review of 62 recent articles on spirituality and social work, identifying two main approaches: those that view spirituality from a cognitive lens and those that approach it from an experiential perspective, which in some cases is religious. Additionally, some positions consider religion and spirituality nearly synonymous, while others see them as distinct realms with common elements. The article concludes by proposing a definition of spirituality applicable to social work, incorporating the key nuances identified.
Child Care and Child Sexual Abuse in Social and Human Sciences: A Narrative Review of Theoretical-Methodological Contributions for their Understanding and Approach
This article presents the results of a narrative review on child care and child sexual abuse, aiming to identify and analyze the theoretical and methodological contributions of research and reports that examine the relationship between these two phenomena. Studies published between 1990 and 2023 were included in academic databases and institutional platforms of higher education. Findings were organized into five dimensions: (1) categorization, (2) historical, (3) effects on the self, (4) effects on the family, and (5) social intervention. First, the review revealed that child sexual abuse has been mainly addressed from a clinical perspective, focusing on the psychological and emotional impacts experienced by children and adolescents as direct victims. Second, a historical dimension was identified, highlighting changes in how abuse is understood and addressed. A third dimension refers to the effects on the self, emphasizing the repercussions in the « narrative self » of victims. Next, it was observed that the family dimension has not been explored with the same depth, particularly regarding caregivers' experiences, who are considered secondary victims. This omission is critical, as their involvement is fundamental to emotional reparation and justice. Finally, the study concludes that it is imperative to incorporate feminist epistemology and a cultural, psychological perspective to understand and address, both research and social intervention, the factors that facilitate and legitimize child sexual abuse, as well as care practices.
Ethics training for organizations: A path toward transforming the social tissue in Caldas, Colombia
This article presents the results of social research in which study that the Orchid Training Program was implemented, which emerged as a pedagogical initiative that seeks to reduce harmful behaviors in the organizational/collective sphere by developing skills and knowledge in ethics. This training approach was designed to provide communities, organizations, and individuals with tools to face problems and crises in collaborative environments. The Program consisted of 8 modules that addressed topics such as corruption, emotional management, recognition of ethical dilemmas, leadership at the service of talent, broadening the environmental perspective, culture of peace, labor welfare, and gender perspective. Each module was carried out in both virtual and face-to-face environments; the sessions focused on the work of the individual, collective, and territorial dimensions, facilitating the creation of collective teaching-learning spaces within the framework of active pedagogies, thereby enhancing contextualized learning to promote ethical values through discussion and reflection. The implementation of the Program in two organizations in Caldas (Colombia) and the application of instruments to measure its impact made it possible to identify that the processes of ethics training applied to organizations should be carried out under various pedagogical approaches that they are powerful strategy and have a positive effect on group dynamics and the strengthening of harmonious and free spaces for coexistence in the collective realm.
The importance of social intervention in coping with the end of life in Málaga, Spain
The presence of Social Work in palliative care teams is essential for comprehensive care for the person at the end of their life. The existing literature shows the relief of suffering benefits social intervention has on patients and their families. The present study aims to identify whether working with people on social aspects offers benefits in their end-of-life coping. This is done using a quantitative methodology with a descriptive and exploratory approach. The type of sampling used is snowball sampling. The instrument used is an Ad Hoc questionnaire. The responses to the research questions show that, although the sample does not fully understand the positive consequences of social intervention, its importance and necessity are recognized. Social intervention is essential to addressing emotional support, bereavement management, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. Professional intervention in social complications not only benefits the process of illness but also the act of dying, the farewell before death, the mourning of loved ones, and the possibility of having a dignified death. This intervention reduces suffering, promoting a better quality of life in the last moments. Promoting the human right to receive comprehensive, personalized, and dignified care is essential, as it promotes more significant serenity and support for the person and their environment.
The Role of Art in the Urban Armed Conflict in Medellín. David vs. Goliath: Living Networks and Self-Protection
Introduction: The relational perspective and network approaches are potent ways to understand the world of links and the construction of social issues in contexts of collective resistance, armed conflict, and social unrest. Objective: To analyze the scope and dynamics of networking(s) between artistic and cultural initiatives for self-protection in Medellín City. Methodology: A case study that included twelve artistic and cultural organizations of the city, a documentary review, semi-structured interviews, territorial tours, focus groups, and a participatory network-mapping workshop conducted between April 2022 and July 2024. Findings: The organizations form a non-hierarchical network structure based on political and aesthetic affinities oriented towards an alternative popular artistic movement. Links are strengthened through the exchange of knowledge between established and emerging organizations, intergenerational relationships, and collective activities based on territorial proximity and the sharing of diverse resources. Conclusion: These “networks of joy” represent a living movement and symbolize the metaphor of David against Goliath, in which about sixty groups face 380 criminal networks in areas with limited state presence. Under adverse conditions, these organizations seek to create a cultural, ethical, and political alternative for community protection, offering a counter-cultural narrative, especially for the city's youth.
Women and homelessness: group intervention from a gender and intersectional perspective in Spain
Women experiencing homelessness often rendered invisible, face specific challenges such as gender-based violence and the lack of resources tailored to their needs, typically designed from an androcentric perspective. Group intervention emerges as a potentially effective methodology to enhance the well-being and development of these women in residential resources. This study aims to explore women's perceptions of these interventions' benefits and evaluate the professionals' assessment. A qualitative approach was used, involving interviews with ten professionals and ten women participating in a Santa Cruz de Tenerife project. Results show improvements in emotional well-being and self-esteem, as well as the creation of support networks, enabling participants to tackle their difficulties and develop new life expectations. Professionals value the creation supportive environments and recommend replicating these programs in other contexts. It is concluded that group interventions are adequate for women's empowerment and social reintegration, and a specialized and adaptable approach is necessary to address their complex realities. However, improvements such as increasing the frequency and variety of activities are recommended.
Rural Women in the Public Policy for Women in El Carmen de Viboral-Antioquia, Colombia: An analysis from Practical and Strategic gender interests
The analysis of public policies from a gender perspective has problematized the neutral character of state intervention and the way in which political decisions affect the maintenance or transformation of gender social inequalities. Using Maxine Molyneux's approach to practical and strategic gender interests as a reference, this research analyzed the way in which these are addressed in the public policy for women in the municipality of El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia. Methodologically, an interpretative instrumental case study was conducted on the formulation phase of the public policy for women in the municipality, through a documentary review of policy instruments and semi-structured interviews and focus groups with officials in charge of designing the policy, formal and non-formal organizations of rural women in the municipality. The findings show a low state response capacity to address the practical interests of rural women in key aspects such as access to water, employment and mental health. In terms of strategic interests, it was found that both government officials and rural women maintain in their beliefs and practices the structural aspects of gender inequality in relation to the care economy, gender-based violence and the gaps in access to land and credit for rural women.
Vivencias éticas y políticas de los estudiantes de Trabajo Social. Desafíos para la formación universitaria
Pedagogies of Cruelty at Home: symbolic violence and affective discipline towards dissident subjectivities in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
This article analyzes how they manifest, normalize, and legitimize intra-familial violence against young men who build their sexualities from sexual and gender dissensions in Cartagena de Indias —a city crossed by structural inequalities, religious roots, and patriarchal family plots. Using a qualitative-phenomenological approach and a critical, intersectional, and situated perspective, 43 interviews and 10 discussion groups were conducted with young people from marginalized urban sectors, identifying five key categories: regulation, coercion, correction, moral defense, and defenselessness. The findings show how the family environment, far from being a safe space, operates as a normalization device that, under speeches of affection or protection, imposes limits on desire and sanctions dissident identities, consolidating a regime of affective and symbolic discipline. In this context, the home becomes a setting for the pedagogy of cruelty, producing severe impacts on mental health, self-esteem, and the right to recognition. The study provides analytical tools to understand symbolic violence in the family sphere and proposes routes of psychosocial intervention and public action that recognize youth resistance and question the heteronormative hierarchies that sustain these forms of violence.
Social Work Intervention in the Mental Health of Users in Health Institutions in Mexico
There is no doubt that Social Work has evolved in theory, methodology and practice in the field of intervention and research. Not only from a disciplinary perspective but also from social demands. The current context is more complex, because it prioritizes aspects for the integral well-being of people. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that mental health care is essential to any person’s development. In health areas, users in crisis situations request biopsychosocial care. In this sense, Social Work is a profession that requires great expertise because, in health institutions, the social worker is the first contact to attend users in times of crisis. This article aims to explore the processes of Social Work intervention in the mental health of users. We worked with qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, non-probabilistic method; intentional and snowball sampling, interviews via Google forms with social workers with years of experience in order to witness the changes in several institutions: Secretary of Health [SSA], the Mexican Institute of Social Security [IMSS]. Among the findings, the importance and need for training and updating of social work in patients’ mental health is highlighted.
Psychosocial characteristics of elderly care linked to the Centro Vida program in the municipality of Samacá, Colombia
Caring for older adults is a task that involves taking care of their physical, emotional, and social needs, often when they are partially or totally dependent. The carer function is mainly assumed by family carers. Caregivers, in turn, face various repercussions such as physical and emotional overload, stress, and, in many cases, an impact on their personal and social lives due to the time and energy demands of this responsibility. This article analyzes the psychosocial characteristics of caregiving and caregivers for older adults linked to the Centro Vida program in Samacá, Boyacá. A qualitative study with a narrative design applied semi-structured interviews and the Zarit Burden Scale to a sample of 11 caregivers. Findings show significant overload in caregivers, manifested in physical (such as fatigue and deteriorating health) and emotional (such as stress and anxiety) effects, as well as complex psychosocial dynamics, such as social isolation and lack of family and institutional support. These psychosocial characteristics and the physical demands of caregiving demonstrate the need for a comprehensive psychosocial approach. It is concluded that support strategies should be implemented to strengthen family support, facilitate access to social services for older adults, and promote the well-being of caregivers.
Interrelated violence in multispecies families: a challenge for the Social Work approach
This article presents the findings of the research on interrelated violence and the view from Social Work, completed in Colombia in March 2024. It is a qualitative study, situated in the hermeneutic paradigm, and under a documentary review of digital press news in Spanish-speaking countries, a categorical delimitation was made that from the analysis points out as axes of results: the typification of violence in a time window between 2016 to 2024, the context of the social problem, the subjective position of the victims, aggressor and zoo-lidarian community, the care routes for gender violence and animal abuse, and the challenges for the approach from Social Work. In this sense, the main findings refer that in the international framework the countries in which there was a greater trend of interrelated violence were Spain followed by Mexico, and at the national level in the city of Cali followed by Bogota; the way in which gender-based violence, domestic violence or animal abuse are typified - seen in an isolated and not convergent manner, which reduces the connotation of interrelated violence; and the challenges of Social Work for the psychosocial approach.
Copyright (c) 2024 PROSPECTIVA. Revista de Trabajo Social e Intervención Social https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Older adults, social inclusion and recreational spaces in the city of Latacunga, Ecuador
Ensuring recreational spaces that provide psychosocial support and prevent isolation is a key strategy to ensure the quality of life of older adults. This research analyzes the participation of older adults in recreational spaces to strengthen the right to social inclusion with the program "Mis Mejores Años" in the Once de Noviembre parish, Latacunga City, Cotopaxi Province. Interviews and observation were used as a qualitative methodology. Qualitative methods, interview techniques, focus groups, and observation were used. From a universe of 80 people who regularly attend the group, 30 elders were selected, and with them, three focus groups were formed. After this experience, ten profiles were designated to apply for individual interviews. The observation sheets were explicitly designed to analyze the dynamics of participation of the sample of older adults in terms of cognitive stimulation and the development of playful exercises that enhance their abilities. Additionally, two project managers were interviewed. Preliminary findings report benefits, especially in the mental health of older adults who attend the group and the possibility of socializing with their peers.