Skills used in practice of family support workforce are implemented in different settings and frameworks worldwide, and often same names are used for different skills and vice versa - different skills are covered by the similar name. A challenge for the field of family support is diversity in conceptual assumptions and epistemological frameworks. Several paradigms of intervention, different sectors and disciplinary involvement and a diversification of services indicates the need for systematization and clarifications of knowledge in the field. In particular, since many disciplines and professionals are working in the family support field there is a need to map and gain a deeper insight in the skills for the workforce in this field.
Using PRISMA guidelines a systematic review was conducted, including qualitative, quantitative and mix method studies on skills in practice of family support. Studies were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in English, from 1995 to 2020. The literature was collected in an exhaustive search from several databases: PsycInfo, MedLine, PsycArticles, ERIC, Web of Science, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, where a set of 8,489 papers was selected. Forty studies from five countries met the inclusion criteria.
Eleven studies were literature reviews, one a theoretical reflection and 28 were empirical studies. The workforce referred on the studies were manly social workers, followed by psychologists. The workforce skills described were the qualities of the professionals, technical skills, and specific knowledge. Although most of the studies were empirical studies, they do not define specific skills, had very small samples and present bias problems. We discuss the identified workforce skills, as well the gaps to be covered in further research of family support.