Abstract

BETANCOURT DIAZ, Elba. Media, debate and social policy: perceptions of the barriers to participate. Reflexiones [online]. 2016, vol.95, n.1, pp.101-114. ISSN 1659-2859.

Participate in the public debate on social policies through the media could be a challenge for social work professionals. The challenge may be due to multiple individual and structural factors that could undermine its potential to access the media and influence public opinion advocating for better policies to promote social welfare. However, building on the professional values, and their knowledge and experience, social workers can exert different roles in this debate. Nevertheless, little has been explored about their participation in the public debate through the media. This research aimed to explorer the factors that hinder social workers participation in public debate on social policies through the media in Puerto Rico. To conduct the study I used a sequential exploratory mixed method design. In this article, I exposed the findings on individual and structural facilitators corresponding to the qualitative phase, in which I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews to 12 social workers. From the analysis of discourse emerged three dimensions associated with socialization, power dynamics in theirs jobs and tension in theirs interaction with the media. Finally, I suggest recommendations on how to increase social workers participation in the public debate through the media.

Keywords : social work; media; public policy; public debate.

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