Staying home, connecting care: Infrastructures and experiences of home care and voluntary support given and received at home during the UK covid 19 lockdown and beyond.

The UK covid 19 lockdown and ongoing social distancing has increased the dependence of many older people on care services provided to them in their homes. This has brought additional pressures to home (domiciliary) care provision in the social care sector and volunteer services for people at home provided by charities and non-profits, both of which were already financially stretched and operationally disconnected from each other. This research project will investigate in detail how these two strained infrastructures of care are responding to increased demand, focusing on experiences of care providers (volunteers, their coordinators, care workers and their managers) as well as care recipients who rely on both types of service. This research will inform scholarly and policy dialogues about the interface between home care and volunteer support to people at home, by considering how these separate services could be strengthened through greater cooperation.