Through the professionals' eyes : how can social work interventions support the needs of children born to opioid users, in their pre-compulsory education years?

Abstract

Opioid use is rising worldwide, with more childbearing women endangering their prenatal children by exposing them to opioids (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2017). In Europe, an estimated 30,000 infants are born each year to mothers who were opioiddependent or used opioids during the gestation period (Monnelly, 2019). The focus of this study was solely on opioid drug use; however, the researcher was aware that other substances can also have negative influences on infants. This research explored the perspectives of professionals working within the social work and medical field on how social work interventions can support the needs of children born to opioid users. The research primarily inquired about the effects of parental opioid use on the child’s development, where, understanding these effects would help inform social workers in carrying out adequate interventions with the service user and the family. Furthermore, an analysis of the local resources and services together with their limitations, provided a more comprehensive overview of the social work field in Malta. Ultimately, this study explored the efficacy and effectiveness of social work interventions conducted with children born to opioid users or living in opioid-using environments. A qualitative research method was used to collect the relevant data through six interviews with two professionals from the medical field and four professionals from the social work field. The data collected from each interview was transcribed and, later, analysed to extract the main themes and sub-themes accordingly. The most prominent themes derived from the interviews were: the developmental effects on children, the impact of parental substance use, social work interventions, and supportive strategies for social workers. Salient issues were identified concerning the social work situation in Malta, where the participants highlighted the lack of resources, services, and care placements, and inadequate salaries. Essentially, love and care were highlighted as the child's primary needs, which are crucial to their development. This study concluded with a list of recommendations for service development, while identifying future research.