In my master's thesis, I research the ethical dilemmas of social workers when working with people in nursing homes and how their tasks changed during the COVID-19 epidemic. In the theoretical introduction, I present social work with the elderly, social work in homes for the elderly, social work with people with dementia, social work with the elderly and in homes for the elderly during the COVID-19 epidemic, long-term care, human rights, ethics of social work and ethical dilemmas.
In the empirical part, I was interested in how the work in homes for the elderly changed after the declaration of the epidemic; which procedures, services, activities could no longer be carried out, and how they compensated for this deficit. In addition, I researched if there had been any violations of human rights when working with people with dementia during the epidemic, and if the measures introduced by the state led to ethical dilemmas for social workers employed in nursing homes. I conducted mixed-methods research; first, I carried out qualitative and empirical research, followed by an analysis of secondary material. To obtain data, I interviewed 6 social workers who are employed in homes for the elderly in Slovenia and were already employed there during the COVID-19 epidemic.
I came to the conclusion that the epidemic had a great impact on the work of social workers in homes for the elderly and on the lives of the residents. Moreover, it has led to new ethical dilemmas in the work of social workers.
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