The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study

Justin MacLochlainn; Jill Manthorpe; Paula McFadden; Rachel Naylor; Heike Schroder; Susan McGrory; Patricia Nicholl; Denise Currie; Karen Kirby; J. Mallett

doi:10.1177/17446295251315525

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study

Justin MacLochlainn, Jill Manthorpe, Paula McFadden, Rachel Naylor, Heike Schroder, Susan McGrory, Patricia Nicholl, Denise Currie, Karen Kirby, J. Mallett

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Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of social workers working with
people with learning disabilities has not been fully explored. This paper reports findings from a large
United Kingdom study that surveyed health and care workers in six phases of the pandemic and
shortly thereafter (2020-23) relating to 310 social workers who worked with people with learning
disabilities. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that these social workers experienced a decline in
wellbeing over the pandemic period, but this lessened as time passed. Logistic regression showed
that social worker wellbeing predicted intentions to leave their profession. This study offers an
evidence-based foundation to guide retention policies in learning disability social work, aiming to
stabilise the sector and preserve essential experience for workforce planning.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1 -15
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
Early online date	21 Jan 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525 https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525
Publication status	Published online - 21 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

Keywords

COVID-19
learning disability
Retention
Social work
Wellbeing
Covid-19
wellbeing
social work
retention

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1177/17446295251315525Licence: CC BY-NC
10.1177/17446295251315525Licence: CC BY-NC

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Cite this

MacLochlainn, J., Manthorpe, J., McFadden, P., Naylor, R., Schroder, H., McGrory, S., Nicholl, P., Currie, D., Kirby, K., & Mallett, J. (2025). The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 1 -15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525, https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525

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abstract = "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of social workers working withpeople with learning disabilities has not been fully explored. This paper reports findings from a largeUnited Kingdom study that surveyed health and care workers in six phases of the pandemic andshortly thereafter (2020-23) relating to 310 social workers who worked with people with learningdisabilities. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that these social workers experienced a decline inwellbeing over the pandemic period, but this lessened as time passed. Logistic regression showedthat social worker wellbeing predicted intentions to leave their profession. This study offers anevidence-based foundation to guide retention policies in learning disability social work, aiming tostabilise the sector and preserve essential experience for workforce planning.",

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MacLochlainn, J, Manthorpe, J, McFadden, P , Naylor, R, Schroder, H, McGrory, S, Nicholl, P, Currie, D, Kirby, K & Mallett, J 2025, 'The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study', Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, pp. 1 -15. https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525, https://doi.org/10.1177/17446295251315525

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The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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