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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on aged care
services. In Portugal, social workers are key frontline professionals
in aged care services. A photovoice program called
“Eyes on the Pandemic” was carried out to capture the internal
experiences of frontline social workers working in aged care
services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photovoice is a qualitative, participatory action-research
method in which participants share key experiences of their
lives through photographs and narratives (voices) presented
and discussed with others. Thirteen social workers between 24
and 41 years old participated. This article describes the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of this project. The findings
suggest that the social workers’ experiences were defined
by a reinvention of intervention, the maintenance of a balance
between personal and professional life, the crucial importance
of teamwork, management of the pandemic repercussions on
older people’s well-being, and encounters with the uncertain
future. The results illuminate the lived experience of the COVID-
19 pandemic inside aged care facilities and could inform practices
and policies by consolidating lessons learned during this
difficult period. The benefits of attending the program referred
by the participants, lead to conclude that photovoice proved to
be a good group intervention tool.
Description
Keywords
Photovoice pandemic aged care services social workers COVID-19