BSW Students' Perceptions of the Role of Social Work Student Volunteers in Flood Relief Work: Insights on the Early-Stage Exposure to Social Work Science

Background: Floods have a devastating impact on communities, and social workers play a critical role in providing support, relief, and rehabilitation. Social work students often volunteer in disaster relief efforts, but their perceptions and experiences have not received much attention. This study aims to investigate BSW students' perceptions of their role in flood relief work. Understanding their motivations and challenges can inform effective strategies to engage volunteers in future flood relief efforts and enhance social work science and collaborative knowledge-creation process through the scientific method.Designing evidence-based effective strategies to ensure the quality and sustainability of disaster relief efforts within their communities of practice is a professional responsibility of social work.

Methods: This study utilized an exploratory online survey design to collect data from BSW students enrolled in a social work program in India. The online survey method was chosen due to its convenience, accessibility, and ability to reach many participants in a relatively short period exploring perceptions of social work student volunteers' role in flood relief work and the usefulness of social work interventions in flood-affected communities. The survey had three parts: demographics, perceptions of the role of social work student volunteers in flood relief work, and the usefulness of social work interventions in flood-affected communities. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify patterns and relationships in the data.

Results: The study findings revealed that social work student volunteers' most preferred roles in flood relief work were providing psycho-social support (97.3%), facilitating the restoration of everyday life (94.6%), and assisting in the availability and access to health and mental health services (94.6%). Nearly all participants (91.9%) believed social work students should commence flood-related relief work immediately after a disaster. An equally high percentage (91.9%) agreed that social work interventions were helpful for flood-affected communities. Additionally, most respondents (91.9%) thought that disaster social work education and training at the baccalaureate level would improve the social work response to flood disasters. However, only 34 participants reported receiving specialized formal training on flood relief work, and the majority had only participated in flood relief work once. The study employed descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the survey data.

Implications: The study suggests that social work student volunteers can play a significant role in flood relief work by providing psycho-social support, facilitating the restoration of everyday life, and assisting in the availability and access to health and mental health services. Social work programs should incorporate disaster social work education and training in their curricula to prepare students to respond effectively to natural disasters. Given BSW students' varied exposure and training in disaster relief work, the study results emphasize the need for ongoing support and supervision for social work student volunteers involved in flood relief work. Finally, this study's findings suggest avenues for future research to explore the effectiveness of social work interventions in flood-affected communities and the experiences of social work students. The study provides valuable insights on the early-stage exposure of social work students to social work science.