SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS' REFLECTIONS ON INTRODUCED MEASURES AND MEDIA COVERAGE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduced measures to deal with COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia affected everyday life of people. Media coverage during the pandemic played a significant role in providing verified information, protecting human health and well-being. In order to gain insight into the reactions of social work students on introduced measures and media coverage about these measures during the state of emergency in Republic of Serbia, an analysis of reflective journals is presented. Eighty reflective journals were analyzed, where students' reactions on introduced measures and media coverage related to these measures are monitored and linked to the electronic archive of the public media service Radio Television of Serbia news. Students' thoughts on several identified measures are presented and analyzed together with their reactions on media coverage about these measures. Findings indicate the important role of the content and ways of media reporting in creation of reflections, as well as the importance of using reflective journals in both education and preservation of mental health. Possible directions of mental health improvement through media coverage in crisis situations and recommenda-tions for education of social workers are presented.