Caritas et veritas 2021, 11(1):173-187 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2021.016

COVID-19 in a Day Care Centre from the Perspective of the Employees

Josef Nota

Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Teologická fakulta, Katedra pedagogiky, Kněžská 8, 370 01 České Budějovice

The researched issue is the impact of infection caused by a new type of coronavirus in the environment of a day care centre. The importance of the issue is given by the fact that the topic directly concerns the lives of all actors connected with the environment offering social services. The purpose was to use the stories obtained from the helpers in order to look at the subjective picture which shows the current situation of the actors. With the onset of the pandemic and the introduction of anti-pandemic measures, they are coming into a specific situation and are facing (up to now) an unknown challenge. The aim of this paper was to use qualitative research tools in order to capture the authentic statements of respondents in a particular environment and try to avoid purposeful interpretations to which the topic may lead. In addition to the description of the stories of the respondents, the study also presents seven key topics arising after data collection and subsequent coding. The argumentation depends on the attitude of the interviewed respondents. The conclusions of the qualitative study offer a starting point for understanding the current serious situation, give the opportunity to understand the phenomenon in a more comprehensive form of authentic statements, and can be used for research into possible impacts of coronavirus crisis on actors in day care centres.

Keywords: COVID-19, employees, day care centre, social services, helping professions, senior, anti-pandemic measures, qualitative research

Published: October 1, 2021  Show citation