Tilpasning, vurdering og distribution af ´behov i den kommunale hjemmepleje som omsorgsinfrastruktur

Abstract

This article explores the work involved in installing and maintaining home care as part of the care infrastructure that maintains everyday life work for people living with multiple chronic illnesses and frailty. Drawing on ethnographic fieldnotes, transcripts, and infrastructure theory, and using two cases, Ingrid and Paul, I show how home care requires a continuous adaptation and coordination of the home, routines and agreements, as well as a renegotiation of care needs in interaction with caregivers, family members, physical objects, and the conditions imposed by, for example, the organization of home care and work environment regulations. This shows how the installation and maintenance of home care in the home and daily life requires significant work, making the term 'home care recipient' misleading. Life with multiple chronic diseases and age debilitation calls for continuous and collective work to maintain daily living.