Exploring Social Workers' Experiences and Perceptions of Digital Technology-Based Care Services

Background and Purpose: With rapid aging, the demand for community-based care has significantly increased, leading to the growing adoption of digital technology-based care services, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and AI care robots. These technologies have been recognized as promising alternatives for enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of care services. However, despite their rapid expansion, there is limited empirical research examining how these technologies are implemented in practice and how they influence social workers’ experiences, roles, and day-to-day service delivery. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the experiences and perceptions of social workers who provide digital technology-based care services to community-dwelling older adults and to identify implications for the sustainable and effective establishment of such services.

Methods In-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted with ten social workers delivering digital care services in Seoul, Korea. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling to capture diverse practice perspectives across organizational settings and level of experience. All interviews were conducted with participants’ informed consent, audio-recorded, and transcription verbatim. The collected interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: The findings revealed four key themes: (1) the use and impact of digital care services in practice, enhancing service efficiency and accessibility while also creating implementation challenges; (2) the expansion of social workers’ roles and increased workload; (3) acceptance barriers and ethical considerations in the use of digital care technologies, including low technology acceptance among older adults and concerns about privacy; and (4) institutional limitations in the operation of digital care services, particularly the lack of clear guidelines and management systems affecting service stability.

Conclusion and Implications: Based on these findings, this study highlights how digital technology-based care service shape social work practice, offering empirical insights into their impact on service delivery. To ensure the stable and sustainable operation of digital care services, it is necessary to establish digital ethics training and clear practice guidelines for service providers, as well as building a dedicated workforce and operational systems to manage care devices beyond regular working hours. These finding offer important policy and practice implications for the effective implementation of digital care services and for supporting frontline practice settings.