Supervision of Information Communication Technologies in Social Work Practice: A Mixed Methods Study

center dot Supervision contributes to the lifelong professional development of social workers and therefore plays a key organisational role in the provision of, and accountability for, effective client service. center dot Supervision is an ideal site for sharing knowledge and considering the consequences of technological innovations with the potential to impact clients, workers and organisations. center dot The integration of informal information and communication technologies (ICTs) has transformed social work practice, yet ICT use is not commonly discussed in supervision. center dot We conducted an explanatory sequential mixed methods study to understand the factors associated with social workers' discussion of informal ICT use in supervision, and the considerations that influence these discussions. center dot The integration of quantitative and qualitative findings presents a picture of supervisory ICT discussion highly dependent on organisational policy and supervisors' interpretation of these policies. The integration of informal information and communication technologies (ICTs) has transformed social work practice, yet the use of ICTs in practice is not commonly discussed in supervision. The aim of this sequential mixed methods study was to understand the factors associated with social workers' discussion of informal ICT use in supervision, and the considerations that influence these discussions. A logistic regression was conducted using data from Canadian #socialwork survey participants in organisational settings (n = 958). Quantitative findings were integrated with the qualitative findings from a reflexive thematic analysis of participant interviews (n = 22), some of which occurred during and were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our integrated findings, supervisory ICT discussion was highly dependent on organisational policy and supervisors' interpretation of these policies. The setting in which the survey participants worked was also associated with ICT discussion in supervision. In making their decisions to discuss ICT use, interview participants further highlighted the importance of the supervisory relationship based on supervisor qualities and availability.