Social Professionals in the Face of the Health Crisis

Abstract

Due to the crisis generated by COVID-19 at a global level, many professionals are working under harsh conditions, and the Basque Country is no exception. On 14 March 2020, the head of the government decreed a state of alarm at the state level, which forced us all to be confined to our homes. This situation directly affected the profession of social educator. In fact, these professionals work with the most vulnerable groups, so working on the front line is mandated, even if this results in a significant risk. The situation of the groups in residential resources cannot be easy due to the stress produced by living together and being locked up, and this directly affects the educators who necessarily work in it. However, the over-exertion that all of this requires, which is a risk, has not been detected nor recognized at the social level. For this reason, the objective of this investigation is to measure the stress of social educators of advanced age who work in residential resources in different zones of the Basque Country (northern Spain). Sixty-seven social educators participated in the case study. Qualitative and quantitative methods were combined for data collection. This questionnaire was conducted through the Google Forms platform. The quantitative data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed by descriptive analysis and frequency contrasts were performed through the SPSS V25 program. We can conclude that it is necessary to take into account the difficulties of this sector and the professionals both at the governmental and social levels. Future research should include responses from both groups and workers in order to guarantee adequate inclusion.