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From back-to-face to face-to-face? : Video visits slowing down the pace in homecare

Scaramuzzino, Gabriella LU (2026) In Social Work & Society 23(2). p.1-15
Abstract (Swedish)
There is a belief that the pace of society is accelerating due to digital technologies, but there is also concern that these technologies will replace care staff and negatively impact the quality of care for older people. In 2023, a Swedish municipality began offering video visits to homecare users, yet little is known about the implications of this digital technology on the perception of time. This article explores the temporal effects of video visits in homecare, based on a qualitative study of 33 interviews with a digital homecare team and care users. The findings show that although video visits were generally shorter than home visits, both the digital homecare team and care users felt that video visits slowed down the... (More)
There is a belief that the pace of society is accelerating due to digital technologies, but there is also concern that these technologies will replace care staff and negatively impact the quality of care for older people. In 2023, a Swedish municipality began offering video visits to homecare users, yet little is known about the implications of this digital technology on the perception of time. This article explores the temporal effects of video visits in homecare, based on a qualitative study of 33 interviews with a digital homecare team and care users. The findings show that although video visits were generally shorter than home visits, both the digital homecare team and care users felt that video visits slowed down the pace of conversations, as the digital homecare team could focus entirely on the care users. During home visits, care staff had to perform practical tasks while conversing, leading to 'back-to-face' communication. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
home care, hemtjänst, video vistits, videomöten, tid, face-to-face, Sverige, närvaro, presence, Welfare technologies, välfärdsteknik, older adults, Sweden
in
Social Work & Society
volume
23
issue
2
pages
15 pages
publisher
Di P P - N R W
ISSN
1613-8953
project
Digitala fjärrmötesverktyg och värdet av tid: En etnografisk studie av digital hemtjänst
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
73b8b21d-30c2-4b28-b99b-82f84423adda
alternative location
https://ejournals.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/sws/article/view/1250/1589
date added to LUP
2026-06-17 17:54:15
date last changed
2026-06-18 08:22:00
@article{73b8b21d-30c2-4b28-b99b-82f84423adda,
  abstract     = {{There is a belief that the pace of society is accelerating due to digital technologies, but there is also concern that these technologies will replace care staff and negatively impact the quality of care for older people. In 2023, a Swedish municipality began offering video visits to homecare users, yet little is known about the implications of this digital technology on the perception of time. This article explores the temporal effects of video visits in homecare, based on a qualitative study of 33 interviews with a digital homecare team and care users. The findings show  that  although  video  visits  were  generally  shorter  than  home  visits,  both  the  digital  homecare team and care users felt that video visits slowed down the pace of conversations, as the digital homecare team could focus entirely on the care users. During home visits, care staff had to perform practical tasks while conversing, leading to 'back-to-face' communication.}},
  author       = {{Scaramuzzino, Gabriella}},
  issn         = {{1613-8953}},
  keywords     = {{home care; hemtjänst; video vistits; videomöten; tid; face-to-face; Sverige; närvaro; presence; Welfare technologies; välfärdsteknik; older adults; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{1--15}},
  publisher    = {{Di P P - N R W}},
  series       = {{Social Work & Society}},
  title        = {{From back-to-face to face-to-face? : Video visits slowing down the pace in homecare}},
  url          = {{https://ejournals.bib.uni-wuppertal.de/index.php/sws/article/view/1250/1589}},
  volume       = {{23}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}