The aim of this project is to find out whether Schwartz Rounds can help improve the social and emotional well-being of social care staff in England.
Overview
Working in social care can be immensely rewarding – but it can also be stressful and emotionally challenging. Schwartz Rounds are an intervention widely used in healthcare settings in the UK to help staff manage the social and emotional demands of their work. In this project, we are evaluating the use of Schwartz Rounds in social care services in England, to see if they make a difference for social workers and other social care staff. Schwartz Rounds had never been used in children’s services in England before this study, and we are now working with eleven local authorities to test their impact in social care.
Activities and Methods
Working with eleven local authorities, we have randomly allocated more than 2,000 members of staff to either attend Schwartz Rounds now or to wait for six-months before attending.
We are collecting data on the social and emotional well-being of staff and comparing levels of stress between those who attend Schwartz Rounds and those that do not.
The project is divided into two phases, with six local authorities having completed their participation in the study in early 2020. A further five local authorities are due to take part in 2020.
Findings
An interim report has been shared with the six local authorities in phase one and will be published once the project is completed, alongside a final report. The qualitative feedback from staff who have attended Schwartz Rounds is generally very positive.
Update
The project is currently paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The nature of Schwartz Rounds requires groups of people to meet together in a shared physical space and so it would be very challenging to deliver the intervention while maintaining social distancing.
Lead Person
| Principal Investigator | David Wilkins |
Academic Staff
| Researcher | Sarah Thompson |
| Researcher | Zoe Bezeczky |
Related Information
| Related Schools | Cardiff University School of Social Sciences |
| Related partners | Point of Care Foundation |
| Funders | What Work’s for Children’s Social Care |
| Related documents | Research Protocol |