Use of information and communication technologies in social work institutions in extraordinary circumstances

Abstract

Information-Communication Technologies (ICTs) are currently used in various fields and there are many amazing inventions that are already present and make communication and life easier for us on a daily basis. The use of ICTs is less represented in the social work institutions. Therefore, this paper presents the implementation of ICTs through the chatbot application for the needs of social work created on the Tidio platform and within the webpage of the Public Institution “Center for Social Work Tešanj”. The application facilitates the work of social workers in collecting information from the users and eases the aid received by the users of social care in terms of faster responses to inquiries during emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but also after. For the purpose of this research, an end-user survey was created and conducted with the aim of collecting user opinions on the acceptance and motivation for the use of chatbots in social work institutions. The results showed good acceptance and usage motivation of social work chatbot.

Keywords

• chatbot
• covid-19
• ICT
• pandemic
• social work