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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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/17446295251315525","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,21]],"date-time":"2025-01-21T11:06:02Z","timestamp":1737457562000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The COVID-19 pandemic\u2019s impact on UK social workers working with people with learning disabilities: A mixed methods study"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9799-9719","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin","family":"MacLochlainn","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jill","family":"Manthorpe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kings College London, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"McFadden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rachel","family":"Naylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Heike","family":"Schroder","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen\u2019s University Belfast, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4700-3746","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susan","family":"McGrory","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patricia","family":"Nicholl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen\u2019s University Belfast, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Denise","family":"Currie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Queen\u2019s University Belfast, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karen","family":"Kirby","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Mallett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ulster University, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-17446295251315525","volume-title":"Council social care support for people with lifelong disabilities","author":"Alma Economics","year":"2023"},{"key":"bibr2-17446295251315525","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bjsw\/bcab158"},{"issue":"2","key":"bibr3-17446295251315525","first-page":"104739","volume":"116","author":"Baginsky M.","year":"2020","journal-title":"Child Abuse & Neglect"},{"key":"bibr4-17446295251315525","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bjsw\/bcac165"},{"key":"bibr5-17446295251315525","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0020872820949614"},{"key":"bibr101-17446295251315525","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14780887.2020.1769238"},{"key":"bibr6-17446295251315525","volume-title":"Covid-19 Pandemic \u2013 Ethical Guidance for Social Workers Version 2","author":"British Association of Social Workers (BASW)","year":"2020"},{"key":"bibr7-17446295251315525","volume-title":"Restrictive Intervention of children and young people with SEN and disabilities during the pandemic. 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