Social capital in social work disaster preparedness plans: The case of Finland

In: International social work, Band 61, Heft 6, S. 1054-1066

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out what can be learned from Finnish social work preparedness to develop future interventions and use of social capital in disasters. The data consisted of municipalities' social sector's disaster preparedness plan documents. Quantitative content analysis was used as the research method. The analysis was based on the concept of social capital and its forms of bonding, bridging, and linking. The results show that micro-level social work and bonding social capital were emphasized. Bridging and linking social work to disaster-related structures should be developed and social capital enhanced pre and post disasters.