A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
COVID-19 triggering homecare professionals’ change of attitudes towards e-Welfare
Authors: Kuoppakangas Päivikki, Lindfors Juha, Stenvall Jari, Kinder Tony, Talonen Antti
Publisher: Finnish Social and Health Informatics Association
Publication year: 2020
Journal: Finnish Journal of eHealth and eWelfare
Journal acronym: FinJeHew
Volume: 12
Issue: 3
First page : 241
Last page: 249
eISSN: 1798-0798
DOI: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.95131
Web address : https://journal.fi/finjehew/article/view/95131
During 2020, the COVID-19 crisis expanded the use of digital tools in public health and social care. The aim of this qualitative, single-case study was to scrutinize how homecare professionals experienced meaningfulness in their work in the midst of a crisis and with the utilization of the videophone in long-term homecare service provision. The empirical data consisted of 20 thematic interviews carried out among homecare professionals and their managers in the city of Tampere, Finland. The results indicated that the videophone can generate significance, self-realization and broader purposes among homecare professionals, thus providing meaningfulness for work in the midst of a crisis and continuous work-related changes. In addition, a crisis may support change in the meaningfulness of e-welfare in work-related tasks and aid in overcoming reluctance amongst public-sector social care (homecare) professionals towards an e-welfare initiative: the videophone (VideoVisit).