In the master's thesis, I have researched the execution of home help during the COVID-19 epidemic. In the theoretical introduction, I present the ageing of the population, social status and needs of older people, long-term care, home help, including for people with dementia, social work with the older people, and social work with people with dementia. In the research, I included social workers working in the field of home help in Slovenia. My research goal was to find out how have home help providers adapted the provision of care due to the epidemic, how the epidemic affected social work in organizations providing home help, the opinions of social workers regarding measures and guidelines for home help during the epidemic, and changes in the distress and well-being of those receiving home help during the epidemic. In a qualitative survey involving eight social workers, I discovered that the execution of home help during the epidemic has changed in all areas. The direct provision of care has changed, and home help providers have changed the provision of some services. Cooperation with beneficiaries and relatives has also changed, as has social work in organizations providing home help and cooperation with other institutions. Certain adopted measures and instructions affected the implementation of home help. There were some measures that made providing care even more challenging, while guidance for home help providers was provided late, leading to early formulation of guidance by the providers themselves based on general recommendations. Beneficiaries of home help experienced distress and changes in well-being due to changes caused by the epidemic, for which they required additional assistance. I propose devoting more attention to home help as the provision of the service is significant for the lives of older people in the community. The service must be provided according to the principles of social work.
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