For a graph $G=(V,E)$, a Roman $\{2\}$-dominating function (R2DF)$f:V\rightarrow \{0,1,2\}$ has the property that for every vertex $v\in V$ with $f(v)=0$, either there exists a neighbor $u\in N(v)$, with $f(u)=2$, or at least two neighbors $x,y\in N(v)$ having $f(x)=f(y)=1$. The weight of a R2DF is the sum $f(V)=\sum_{v\in V}{f(v)}$, and the minimum weight of a R2DF is the Roman $\{2\}$-domination number $γ_{\{R2\}}(G)$. A R2DF is independent if the set of vertices having positive function values is an independent set. The independent Roman $\{2\}$-domination number $i_{\{R2\}}(G)$ is the minimum weight of an independent Roman $\{2\}$-dominating function on $G$. In this paper, we show that the decision problem associated with $γ_{\{R2\}}(G)$ is NP-complete even when restricted to split graphs. We design a linear time algorithm for computing the value of $i_{\{R2\}}(T)$ for any tree $T$. This answers an open problem raised by Rahmouni and Chellali [Independent Roman $\{2\}$-domination in graphs, Discrete Applied Mathematics 236 (2018), 408-414]. Chellali, Haynes, Hedetniemi and McRae \cite{chellali2016roman} have showed that Roman $\{2\}$-domination number can be computed for the class of trees in linear time. As a generalization, we present a linear time algorithm for solving the Roman $\{2\}$-domination problem in block graphs.