Social work and migration: the Spanish case

ABSTRACT

The following article studies the role of the social work profession in Spain with regard to the increasing importance of migratory phenomena in the planning and management of public policies. The objective is to review the academic publications that have been made on this topic from 2016 to 2020 inclusive through a systematic review of the main scientific databases (Web of Science and Scopus). The results of this work provide an overview of the situation and detail the social work topics being researched in the field of immigration, which principally concern women, health and cultural education. The methodology of the articles studied is fundamentally qualitative, although it would be beneficial if more triangulated approaches were carried out. It should also be noted that more than half of the articles analysed do not place the social work professional in a central role. Finally, the study highlights aspects that still need to be covered or improved, which could provide guidance both for the development of future research and for orienting decision-making at the political level.

RESUMEN

El siguiente artículo estudia el papel de la profesión de Trabajo Social en España en relación con la creciente importancia de los fenómenos migratorios en la planificación y gestión de las políticas públicas. El objetivo es revisar las publicaciones académicas que se han realizado sobre este tema entre 2016 y 2020 ambos incluidos a través de una revisión sistemática de las principales bases de datos científicas (Web of Science y Scopus). Los resultados de este trabajo ofrecen un panorama de la situación, detallando los temas de Trabajo Social que se investigan en el campo de la inmigración, que conciernen principalmente a la mujer, la salud y la educación-cultura. La metodología de los artículos estudiados es fundamentalmente cualitativa, aunque sería deseable realizar aproximaciones más trianguladas. También cabe señalar que más de la mitad de los artículos analizados no sitúan al profesional del Trabajo Social en un papel central. Finalmente, el estudio destaca aspectos que aún necesitan ser abordados o mejorados, lo que podría servir de guía tanto para el desarrollo de futuras investigaciones como para orientar la toma de decisiones a nivel político.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic publications
• social work
• research
• migrations
• Spain

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Publicaciones académicas
• Trabajo Social
• Investigación
• Migraciones
• España

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea Sixto-Costoya

Andrea Sixto-Costoya, Degree in Social Work from the University of Vigo. Master in Research Treatment and Associated Pathologies in Drug Addiction by the University of Valencia. Researcher at the Universitat de València since 2017. She is part of the Social and Health Research Unit (UISYS) of the Universitat de València. Her lines of research are developed in the field of the evaluation of scientific production, social work, the publication of open data in the area of health sciences and the addictions field. She has participated in several research projects mainly on the analysis and evaluation science and open science. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Médicos del Mundo – Comunitat Valenciana, an NGO that works for the right to health of all people, including migrants.

Víctor Agulló-Calatayud

Victor Agulló Calatayud, Social worker, sociologist and Lecturer of the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology of the Universitat de València. Specialist in research methods in Social Sciences, quantitative analysis of social reality, the study of addictions from a qualitative and bibliometric perspective and Sports Sociology. He holds a Diploma of Specialist in Applied Social Research and Data Analysis from the Spanish Center for Sociological Research (CIS). Member of the Social and Health Research Unit (UISYS) of the University of Valencia. He has been a visiting professor at universities in Brazil, Iceland, Belgium, France, Portugal and Uruguay.

Elena Mut-Montalvà

Elena Mut Montalvá, Social Worker and Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Services of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Valencia. Teacher at the Master in Gender and Equality Policies and in the Master in Development Cooperation. Researcher at the Institut Universitari d’Estudis de la Dona (Women-IUED) and her publications are linked to international development cooperation, human rights and the study of immigrant and refugee women. He has twenty years of professional experience in the field of international development cooperation, eight of which he has lived in Latin America (mainly Colombia). In Spain, she has been consultant and coordinator of programmes in various government agencies, NGOs and foundations.