{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T20:04:26Z","timestamp":1783454666586,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,12]],"date-time":"2019-10-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1570838400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW), Hamburg","award":["no grant number available"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["no grant number available"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Large parts of Europe have been affected by an influx of refugees and increasing homelessness in recent years. Social workers provide care services for refugees and homeless people, but little is known about their working conditions. The aim of this study was to examine their job demands, resources and health strains. 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers in refugee and homeless aid in Hamburg and Berlin between October and December 2017. The interviews were analysed following Mayring\u2019s qualitative content analysis. Additionally, the job demands and resources of social workers with and without long-term psychological strain were compared. Respondents particularly experienced demands concerning their job content and work organisation, including emotional and quantitative demands. Appreciation expressed by clients and social support from the team served as key resources. Respondents had problems switching off from work, were exhausted and exhibited signs of long-term psychological strain, such as symptoms of burnout or depressive states. Workers reporting long-term psychological strain were more likely to consider themselves as being adversely constrained by legal requirements and to describe inadequate supervision offers and team conflicts. In conclusion, the results indicate the need for job-specific health promotion measures reducing particularly demands concerning social workers\u2019 job content and work organisation and further strengthening their social support.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16203858","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,14]],"date-time":"2019-10-14T03:54:13Z","timestamp":1571025253000},"page":"3858","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["\u201cThis Isn\u2019t Just about Things, It\u2019s about People and Their Future\u201d: A Qualitative Analysis of the Working Conditions and Strains of Social Workers in Refugee and Homeless Aid"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6762-4430","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tanja","family":"Wirth","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Competence Centre for Epidemiology and Health Services Research for Healthcare Professionals (CVcare), University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janika","family":"Mette","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20459 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Albert","family":"Nienhaus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Competence Centre for Epidemiology and Health Services Research for Healthcare Professionals (CVcare), University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services (BGW), 22089 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zita","family":"Schillm\u00f6ller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, 21033 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Volker","family":"Harth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20459 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefanie","family":"Mache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20459 Hamburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Feantsa, and Fondation Abb\u00e9 Pierre (2019, August 19). 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