A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) in England

IF 1.7 4区社会学 Q1 SOCIAL WORK

Research on Social Work Practice Pub Date : 2025-05-21 DOI:10.1177/10497315251338227

David Westlake, Philip Pallmann, Fiona Lugg-Widger, Elizabeth-Ann Schroeder, Linda Adara, Kim Munnery, Sharon Ayayo, Verity Bennett, Melissa Meindl, Philip Smith, Jennifer Condie, Shahd Daher, Louisa M. Roberts, Sarah Rawlinson, Donald Forrester, Stavros Petrou, James White

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose: “Social Workers in Schools” (SWIS) is a school-based intervention aiming to reduce the need for children to receive child protection services in England. This article reports the findings of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate SWIS. Method: The study was a two-arm pragmatic cluster RCT with an embedded process and economic evaluation. The intervention physically located social workers within schools. The primary outcome was the rate of child protection inquiries and secondary outcomes included care entry and educational outcomes. Results: 278,858 students in 268 schools were randomized to the intervention (136 schools) or control arm (132 schools). We found no statistically significant effects on primary or secondary outcomes. SWIS was implemented well and positively perceived. Discussion: SWIS appears ineffective in reducing the need for statutory services. The study demonstrates it is possible to conduct a large-scale school-based social work RCT. The study was registered at https://www.isrctn.com/ , ref: ISRCTN90922032.

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英国学校社工（SWIS）的整群随机对照试验

目的：“学校社会工作者”（SWIS）是一项以学校为基础的干预措施，旨在减少英国儿童接受儿童保护服务的需求。本文报道了一项旨在评估SWIS的随机对照试验（RCT）的结果。方法：采用嵌入过程和经济评价的两臂实用聚类随机对照试验。干预措施将社会工作者安置在学校内。主要结果是儿童保护问询率，次要结果包括进入护理和教育结果。结果：268所学校的278,858名学生随机分为干预组（136所学校）和对照组（132所学校）。我们没有发现对主要或次要结局有统计学意义的影响。SWIS得到了很好的实施和积极的评价。讨论：SWIS在减少对法定服务的需求方面似乎无效。研究表明，开展大规模校本社会工作随机对照试验是可行的。该研究注册在https://www.isrctn.com/，编号：ISRCTN90922032。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Research on Social Work Practice SOCIAL WORK-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

11.10%

发文量

105

期刊介绍： Research on Social Work Practice, sponsored by the Society for Social Work and Research, is a disciplinary journal devoted to the publication of empirical research concerning the methods and outcomes of social work practice. Social work practice is broadly interpreted to refer to the application of intentionally designed social work intervention programs to problems of societal and/or interpersonal importance, including behavior analysis or psychotherapy involving individuals; case management; practice involving couples, families, and small groups; community practice education; and the development, implementation, and evaluation of social policies.