During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals received care and support while in home isolation, often with the help of digital solutions. This created significant challenges for how person-centred care could be realised when physical encounters were limited or entirely absent. At the same time, home isolation became a concrete setting in which digitalisation, professional responsibility, and organisational preparedness in health and social care were tested under new and uncertain conditions.

This presentation is based on the project Innovations for Pandemia Isolation (PANDA), a Nordic research project that explored clients’ (n=27) and healthcare professionals’ (n=11) experiences of supporting individuals in home isolation through qualitative interviews conducted in Finland and Sweden in 2021. Using home isolation as an analytical point of departure, the presentation analyses how key aspects of person-centred care emerge in remote care and support, drawing on both clients’ and professionals’ experiences.

The findings show that person-centred care in home isolation is not solely a matter of access to digital technologies or information channels. Instead, person-centredness emerges as a relational, ethical, and organisational responsibility, where continuity, professional presence, adapted communication, and opportunities for participation are crucial—even in the absence of physical meetings. At the same time, risks were identified in which insufficient digital infrastructure, unclear responsibilities, and low organisational preparedness may lead to a shift of responsibility for care and self-care from the organisation to the individual. The results further suggest that personnel-intensive, traditional support methods do not always succeed in maintaining person-centred care under these conditions, whereas well-organised support may, in some cases, strengthen person-centred care for this population.

The contribution of this presentation consists of experience-based insights into how digital forms of support can be used to provide care and strengthen person-centred care in home isolation. The findings are relevant for the future development of eHealth, virtual care, and crisis preparedness in health and social care.