{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:28:04Z","timestamp":1787027284697,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,27]],"date-time":"2025-03-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743033600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Self-care is increasingly advocated as necessary for improving social workers\u2019 wellbeing. However, it remains a contested term, with limited understanding of social workers\u2019 views and experiences of what it constitutes in practice. This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with nine social workers from three local authorities in Scotland. Informed by vulnerability theory, a six-phase thematic analysis was applied to explore social workers\u2019 views and experiences of self-care practices. Three key themes emerged: (1) understanding and conceptualizing self-care, illustrating practitioners\u2019 perceptions of self-care as individualized, multifaceted strategies aimed at both personal wellbeing and professional efficacy, with heightened awareness since COVID-19; (2) the implementation paradox, highlighting fundamental tensions between acknowledging professional vulnerability and managing organizational demands, workload pressures, and insufficient institutional support; and (3) toward sustainable self-care practice, identifying pathways through deliberate individual practices, organizational support, educational preparation, and culturally-sensitive policies. Public health policymakers and healthcare organizations should prioritize structural reforms to enhance workforce resilience, thereby improving service quality, practitioner wellbeing, and overall public health outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1585900","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,27]],"date-time":"2025-03-27T13:09:07Z","timestamp":1743080947000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Social workers\u2019 views and experiences of self-care practices: a qualitative interview 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