What started as a peripheral banking crisis in 2008 within five years triggered the deepest recession Europe has seen in decades, escalating to manifold socio-political crises. Under these circumstances, many social workers find themselves in a situation of extreme pressure and insecurity. Traditional theories and orthodox practices are now challenged by frontline social workers. This article explores such a ‘reconceptualization’ process, evaluating recent developments and changes in Spanish, Portuguese and Greek social work. We argue that the current crisis has generated a profound (re)politicization of social workers which leads to the redefinition of the core values and principles of social work.

The increase of forcibly displaced people worldwide is a challenge for health systems and their ability to provide access and equity in Health as a universal right. Health information systems should be strengthened to collect and disseminate migrant health data enabling analytics for strategic decisions.This Viewpoint focuses on blockchain technology as an emergent digital tool to improve communication and overcome gaps in medical data sharing, conceptualizing a global health space. Anchored in the security, privacy, and medico-legal regulation of medical data, Blockchain technology would empower inter-organizational services or workflows, in real-time, by the users, inside and outside the national health systems, anywhere in the world. As an innovative approach, this Viewpoint highlights the future directions in IT-supported health.

Empowerment is a concept widely used in several policy documents and is presented, in social work and social care professional universes, as an operative process to reduce vulnerability and to increase the power, or capabilities, of individuals and groups to make choices and to transform these into actions and results. However, to move beyond rhetoric and paternalistic practices, we need to understand what empowerment really means and implies in different contexts, and especially, how to evaluate what has changed (outcomes) or is changing (processes), both on an individual and a collective level.

Considering data that suggests an overrepresentation of children/youth with disabilities in Residential Care Homes (RCH), placing them in a situation of accumulation of risk factors and increased vulnerability, this study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) focused on this target group. Research questions address prevalence rates, characteristics and outcomes of children/youth with disabilities in RCH; characteristics and practices of RCH, and evidence-based interventions; and recommendations to improve practices to support the development of quality indicators to improve the experience of children and young people with disabilities in RCH. Methodology followed PRISMA-P and the protocol was registered with PROSPERO. Five databases were used and 31 studies were included. Results demonstrate the need for clear definitions of disability to ensure consistent data and guide policymaking for RCH. Moreover, results show gaps in research on the experiences of children/youth with disabilities in RCH, and on specific interventions for this population. Based on the recommendations offered by the literature, this SLR contributes to the development of quality indicators that consider the needs of children/youth with disabilities in RCH and promote their participation in all areas of life.