The materiality of home visits at the margins of community care before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The emergence of COVID-19 led to restrictions in face-to-face interaction and an increase in remote contact, creating challenges, in particular for social services in which home visits are integral. This longitudinal study concentrates on one such service: community care among vulnerable adults, which aims to safeguard their housing and living in the community. Based on a re-analysis of 120 home visits before the pandemic, we demonstrate the significance of materiality in the visits, which manifest as home-space talk and body work. We then analyse data from two focus group interviews with workers to determine what happened to this materiality during and after the pandemic. During the pandemic, home visits were carried out (1) in the usual face-to-face manner in home spaces, (2) as visits in homes without the service users present, (3) as short visits on the doorsteps of homes, (4) as outdoor (home) visits and (5) contacts via phone calls and instant messaging applications. Carrying out home visits as usual or in a manner that enabled face-to-face contact or workers’ presence in homes signal the importance of materiality as well as the workers’ return to previous home visit practices after the acute phase of the pandemic.