Who cares for carers? Responsibilization and the discourse of self-care in health and social care literature during the COVID-19 pandemic. A critical review

Abstract

COVID-19 outbreak produced an unprecedented crisis in care sectors. Nursing home workers, healthcare, social care, and clinical social workers (HSCW) often took the burden of managing the crisis in their facilities, risking increased stress, trauma, and burnout. As a response to this issue, increased interest in self-care in health and social work literature could be observed. Yet, the concept of self-care is problematic, as it focuses attention on the individual responsibility to care for oneself, regardless of organisational and structural factors and obstacles. The article provides a critical literature review, focused on risk factors and psychological consequences of the pandemic in health and social care and clinical social work, and on the proposed response, namely, self-care. The aim of the article is to systematise knowledge about approaches to self-care in these sectors and to critically review those approaches. Critiques of self-care are considered, including those informed by Foucauldian perspective of governmentality and responsibilization. The concept of community care is introduced as an implication and an answer to these critiques.