Tekijät

• University of Helsinki
• University of Eastern Finland
• University of Lapland

Asiasanat

COVID-19, ageing, care of the elderly, elderly, old age, social problems, social services, social work, social workers

Sisällön kuvaus

The data includes 30 group interviews and 19 individual interviews conducted in the Gerontological social work responding to complex needs of older adults (GERIT) research project. Due to the timing of the interviews, several of the interviews discuss the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the lives of older people and the services provided to them.

Group interviews with client and service advisors cover the reasons for becoming a client, the typical service process, and counselling and guidance. They also discuss service needs assessments, post-assessment interventions and the challenges of meeting service needs. Discussions also cover the identification of specific support needs and cooperation with different service providers.

The group interviews with third sector workers ask what kind of services the organisation offers to older people and in what situation older people seek these services. They also discuss the challenges faced by older people, such as financial problems, and their resources. The interviews also discuss training of volunteers and referral of older people to other services, as well as cooperation with social services in the area.

The group interviews with social workers in client counselling ask about successful and challenging client relationships and reflect on trust and the authority of the parties in a client relationship. The interviews also discuss how the client's motivation or attitude affects the relationship and how the worker can influence these factors. The interviews also discuss how to act if the client does not perceive or understand that they need support, but the worker sees an obvious need for support.

The group interviews with diaconal workers focus on the participants' own diaconal work backgrounds and the diaconal responsibilities of their churches. Participants describe how and why older people come to the diaconal work. They also describe different types of challenging client situations and assess the impact of diaconal work in responding to the support needs of older people. The interviews also cover cooperation with other service providers.

The group interviews in outreach work with older people focus on the characteristics of the work and ways of reaching clients. The interviews discuss the reasons for older clients' support needs, such as loneliness, isolation and lack of networks. The interviews include discussions on the practices of outreach work for older people and its relevance as part of services for older people.

The group interviews with gerontological social workers explore the ways in which and the reasons why clients come to the service counselling. Participants describe the content of the client counselling process and the practices used to identify service needs. Interviewees are asked about the situations in which the expertise of a social worker is needed and examples of these situations. The identification of specific support needs and cooperation with providers of services for older people are also discussed.

Group interviews with social welfare and income support workers discuss the referral of older people as clients and the assessment of their service needs. Participants also discuss the challenges of the work, the specific support needs of clients and how to identify them. Finally, cooperation with gerontological social work is discussed.

The individual interviews with clients of diaconal work and gerontological social work go through the life situation, everyday life, living environment, home conditions and family relationships of the interviewees. The interviewees talk about their life history, the work they have done, their current concerns and problems. They are asked how they feel they have been able to seek and receive help, and they also share their thoughts about the future.

In the individual interviews, the background information included client group, age, gender and regional data. For group interviews, background information included the professional or expert group represented by the interviewees, the time of the interview and the number and gender of the interviewees.