Mediation, disability and social work: A systematized review

Abstract

Introduction. The goal of the systematic review presented here was to understand the scope of scientific production in the field of mediation, Social Work, disability and functional diversity. The review pursued four specific objectives: 1) to determine which institutions were generating the scientific production in the field; 2) which type of mediation was most addressed in the literature; 3) which types of disabilities or functional diversities were more present in the studies; and 4), to what extent the professional perspective of Social Work was incorporated in this field. Methodology. The review was based on the SALSA Framework, which structures the review process in four phases: Search, evaluation, synthesis and analysis. Nine databases in the social field were analysed and 302 citations were identified. After eliminating duplicates, reviewing abstracts and applying inclusion and quality criteria, the final document sample consisted of 17 articles and grey literature from both national and international journals. Results. The main results revealed how disability and mediation appeared in scientific production since the beginning of the twenty-first century. A country that stood out regarding the extent of publications on this subject was Spain. The studies reviewed were clearly feminine in terms of authorship. The literature has been intermittent and mostly generated from academic circles rather than from other institutions linked to professional practice. Paradoxically, most of the works reviewed addressed practical experiences and mediating projects. The results did not indicate any prevalence of a specific type of disability. The types of mediation most present in the sample were educational and labour mediation. Discussion. Mediation processes applied to people with functional diversity or disability seek access to informal, legal and juridical processes. They also pursue the acquisition of strategies, tools or personal and institutional mechanisms that enable including people with disabilities into community, educational and work environments, and their integration in the circles of people with whom they interact daily. As far as the disability typology was concerned, works were lacking on physical or organic disabilities, while cognitive functional diversity was mostly approached based on educational, interpersonal and community mediation. On the other hand, results were found for sensory disability relating to labour mediation, regarding a group of people with hearing impairment. Worthy of note was the convergence between Social Work, mediation and the inclusion of people with disabilities, such as the defence of human rights, equality and self-determination. Conclusions. Based on the findings of the study, additional research is needed in the field of disability within the discipline of Social Work, from both epistemological and professional lines of intervention. Studies on the presence of educational mediation in the field of disability could be especially relevant in this regard, given the current debate in Spain on inclusive education and the professional calls for a greater role of Social Work in educational settings.