AFFORDANCES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS ENABLING AND LIMITING SOCIAL WORK DOCUMENTATION

Authors

• Katri Ylönen Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30668/janus.130339

Abstract

Documentation is an important part of social work. Often, its success is judged by the skills of social workers, rather than by the support of information systems to make it happen. This article examines the opportunities and constraints of information systems for documentation, applying the concept of affordance (Gibson 1986). The data consists of interviews with social workers (n=19) working in different social care services, which were analysed using theory-driven content analysis. The information systems enabled the storage of a wide range of information in a single location, which was considered important for the implementation of legal protection and the usability of the information. Structured documents were seen as a means of standardising documentation, but their use was still limited. Information systems limited documentation because of difficult logic, technical challenges, unsuitability for different contexts, inappropriate terminology for the work and challenges in information flow. The results show an urgent need for technical solutions that better support documentation work.