En kvalitativ undersøgelse af følelses- og omsorgsarbejde i social- og sundhedsuddannedes arbejde med plejekrævende borgere

The purpose of this study is to explore challenges in the work of certified social- and healthcare workers with care receiving people regarding coping with emotional- and caregiving work. The study also explores the consequences of emotional- and caregiving work and how it affects the social- and healthcare workers. The investigation takes its offset in a hermeneutical approach. The method of this study is semi-structured qualitative interviews which is analyzed by a theory informed analysis method. The study consists of interviews with three certified social- and healthcare workers attached to a homecare unit in the Copenhagen area and one pilot interview with a manager of a healthcare center. The findings suggest that emotional- and caregiving work is very complex, which appears as challenges regarding coping with the feelings of citizens receiving care and coping with their own feelings. This is managed by coping strategies, which can lead to burnout, stress or cynicism. The findings also suggest social- and healthcare workers are embedded in an expected care role that may conflict with their personal boundaries. Furthermore, the findings suggest that emotional work and caregiving work lead to challenges as not complying with the organizational rules and regulations. This can result in conflicts between colleagues, which can make it even harder coping with emotions of others. Finally, the findings suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic reinforces the challenges regarding emotional- and caregiving work. This can demonstrate how important it is to ensure enough health service capacity in the future, due to growth of elderly population.