Introduction: The COVID-19 epidemic has brought many changes, the biggest challenge was the work in the health and social care sector worldwide. The epidemic has had a major impact on health and social care workers. Nursing staff were subjected to great physical and mental strain during the COVID-19 epidemic. Purpose: The purpose of this diploma work is to explore the experiences and concerns of health care workers in two selected social care institutions during the epidemic. Methods: For the purpose of the thesis, a self-administered questionnaire was developed based on a literature review on employees’ experiences of working during the COVID-19 epidemic. A survey of employees was conducted in the two selected social care institutions between 28 April 2023 and 5 May 2023 using the online tool 1ka. A link to the survey with a request for participation was sent to the employees’ e-mail addresses. The data were analysed using basic descriptive statistics with frequency and percentage calculations. Results: The results showed that 74% of the staff in the selected social care Institutions were adequately trained to work during an epidemic and had protective equipment available more than half of the time. However, the epidemic brought with it a lot of stress and fatigue, which was confirmed by 70% of the respondents. The main causes of stress were staff shortages and fear of infection, as well as new ways and forms of working. Discussion and conclusion: The COVID-19 epidemic has brought many changes in health and social care institutions. In comparison with the literature reviewed, we found that staff shortages, overwork and the resulting stress and fear of infection were the biggest problems.
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