What is good care?

Card workshops 

What does good care mean for care workers and care recipients in care homes and mobile care in Austria? We familiarized ourselves with these contexts first to develop a better understanding of care practices and relations. We conducted observation studies, did card workshops on existing care practices with pairs of care workers and residents, and interviewed care workers in mobile care and care homes in Vienna, Austria.  

The data that was collected from the interviews and card workshops was then analyzed, which led to five themes on good care, highlighting (1) how trustful care relationships are built over time through consistent care routines and (2) that performance of care practices is negotiated between the involved stakeholders. Moreover, (3) care practices involve emotional care and reciprocity, (4) self care is required for care workers to be able to provide good care, and (5) the socio-material circumstances of care (such as existing care practices and technologies) mediate performance of good care. 

The themes on good care and care observations informed the development of speculative vignettes. These vignettes illustrate tensions that arise when robotic technologies would be introduced in care practices. The results of this first exploratory phase are presented in the master thesis of Ralf Vetter and in a publication (currently under review). 

Vetter, R. (2022) Participatory design of care robots: conducting card-based workshops on good care and roles for robotic care technologies [Master Thesis] https://eplus.uni-salzburg.at/urn/urn:nbn:at:at-ubs:1-37722