The challenges that social work is facing while coping with the impacts of Covid-19 epidemic in the homes for older people

V magistrskem delu sem raziskovala izzive socialne delavke pri spopadanju z vplivi epidemije covida-19 na življenje in doživljanje stanovalcev Doma za stare Šmarje pri Jelšah. Zanimalo me je, kako je epidemija covida-19 vplivala na vsakdanje življenje starih ljudi v domu za stare, kako so stanovalci doživljali ukrepe za zajezitev epidemije, s kakšnimi ovirami so se stari ljudje soočali v času epidemije in na kakšne načine so jih presegali, kdo je starim ljudem v domu za stare v času epidemije nudil oporo, kako je potekalo socialno delo v domu za stare ljudi v času epidemije, kakšna je bila vloga socialnih delavcev in delavk v domovih pri reševanju stisk starih ljudi zaradi epidemije in njenih ukrepov, s kakšnimi ovirami so se srečevali socialni delavci in delavke pri svojem delu zaradi epidemije in na kakšen način so jih presegali. Odločila sem se za kvalitativno raziskavo, s pomočjo katere sem namesto številčnih podatkov pridobila izčrpne, bolj subjektivne in gostobesedne odgovore. V prvem delu magistrskega dela sem predstavila teoretične koncepte o starih ljudeh v institucionalnem okolju, opisala potrebe starih ljudi, predstavljeno pa je tudi socialno delo s starimi ljudmi, socialno delo v domovih za stare ljudi in značilnosti socialnega dela s starimi ljudmi v času epidemije covida-19. V empiričnem delu so prikazani rezultati raziskave, v kateri je sodelovala socialna delavka doma za stare, ki je svoje delo tam opravljala tudi v času kriznih razmer in šest stanovalk doma za stare, ki so v domu živele že v času epidemije. Ugotovila sem, da so ukrepi za zajezitev epidemije covida-19 na stanovalce različno vplivalimedtem ko so eni doživljali hude stiske, so se drugi zelo hitro prilagodili in sprejeli situacijo. Večina stanovalcev je zaradi ukrepov za zajezitev epidemije občutilo spremembe v vsakdanjem življenju in pri domskih rutinah. Največje stiske so stanovalci doživljali zaradi premestitev v drugo sobo, s čimer se pogosto niso strinjali. Edini stik s stanovalci so bili zaposleni, ki jih zaradi zaščitnih varovalnih oblačil niso prepoznavali. Stanovalci so se s posledicami zaradi ukrepov epidemije covida-19 spopadali na različne načine (kvačkanje, branje knjig ..). Stike s sorodniki in prijatelji so ohranjali s pomočjo informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije. Stanovalcem so v času epidemije oporo nudili vsi zaposleni, vsak na svoj način. Socialna delavka je v času epidemije občutila spremembe pri svojem delu, saj se je zmanjšal obseg individualnega dela s stanovalci ter medosebni stik, zato je bilo delo socialne delavke oteženo in se je morala situaciji in razmeram sproti prilagajati, njene naloge so bile povsem drugačne kot v času pred epidemijo. Socialna delavka je stanovalcem v času epidemije covida-19 nudila ustrezno čustveno oporo. Pri svojem delu je v času kriznih razmer zaznala ovire na področju neskladnosti in nejasnosti navodil s strani pristojnih institucij, stiske pa je občutila tudi pri sporočanju informacij stanovalcem glede smrti njihovih sostanovalcev ali potrebnih selitvah. Zaznane ovire je reševala s pomočjo dolgoletnih izkušenj ter z zaupanjem, ki si ga je pridobila s strani stanovalcev in ostalih zaposlenih. Na podlagi pridobljenih rezultatov sem v zaključnem delu naloge zapisala predloge, ki naj veljajo kot smernice za načrtovanje dela socialne službe v smeri uspešnega soočanja s posledicami, ki pestijo stanovalce tudi po končani epidemiji covida-19.In my master\u27s thesis, I researched the challenges of a social worker in dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on the lives and experiences of the residents of the Šmarje pri Jelšah Home for the Older people. I was interested in how the COVID-19 epidemic affected the daily lives of residents in the home for the older people, how residents experienced measures to contain the epidemic, what obstacles old people faced during the epidemic and in what ways they coped with them, who provided support to the older people in the home for the older people during the epidemic, how social work functioned in the home for the older people during the epidemic, what was the role of social workers in the home for the older people in resolving the distress of the older people due to the epidemic and its measures, what obstacles were encountered by social workers in their work because of the epidemic, and in what way they coped with them. I decided on qualitative research through which, instead of numerical data, I gained comprehensive, more subjective, and hospitable answers. In the first part of the master\u27s thesis, I presented theoretical concepts about the older people in the institutional environment. I described the needs of the older people and also presented social work with the older people, social work in homes for the older people, and the characteristics of social work with the older people during the COVID-19 epidemic. In the empirical part, the results of a survey are presented. In the survey, a social worker from a home for the older people participated. She also worked there during the critical circumstances. Six residents of a home for the older people who lived in the home during the epidemic also participated in the survey. I found that measures to contain the COVID-19 epidemic affected residents differently. While some experienced severe distress, others adapted very quickly and accepted the situation. Most residents experienced changes in their daily lives and home routines as a result of measures to contain the epidemic. Residents experienced the greatest distress because of being moved to another room which they often disagreed with. The only contact with the residents was with employees who were not recognized due to protective clothing. Residents coped with the consequences of the measures of the COVID-19 epidemic in various ways (crocheting, reading books, etc.). They kept in touch with relatives and friends with the help of information and communication technology. During the epidemic, the residents were supported by all employees, each in their own way. During the epidemic, the social worker felt changes in her work because the volume of individual work with residents and interpersonal contact decreased. Therefore, the work of the social worker was more difficult and she had to adapt to the situation and circumstances. Her tasks were quite different from those in the time before the epidemic. The social worker provided adequate emotional support to the residents during the COVID-19 epidemic. During the critical circumstances, she noticed obstacles in the field of inconsistencies and ambiguity of instructions from the competent institutions while working. She also felt distressed in communicating information to residents about the death of their roommates or the necessary relocations. She solved the perceived obstacles with the help of many years of experience and with the trust she gained from residents and other employees. Based on the obtained results, in the final part of the thesis, I wrote down proposals that should be considered as guidelines for planning the work of social services in the direction of successfully dealing with the consequences that plague residents even after the COVID-19 epidemic