1.
Jegermalm, Magnus
(författare)
Carers in the Welfare State : On Informal Care and Support for Carers in Sweden
2005
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The general aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyse patterns of informal care and support for carers in Sweden. One specific aim is to study patterns of informal care from a broad population perspective in terms of types of care and types of carer. A typology of four different care categories based on what carers do revealed that women were much more likely than men to be involved at the ‘heavy end’ of caring, i.e. providing personal care in combination with a variety of other caring tasks. Men were more likely than women to provide some kind of practical help (Study I).Another aim is to investigate which support services are received by which types of informal caregiver. Relatively few informal caregivers in any care category were found to be receiving any kind of support from municipalities or voluntary organizations, for example training or financial assistance (Study II).The same study also examines which kinds of help care recipients receive in addition to that provided by informal carers. It appears that people in receipt of personal care from an informal caregiver quite often also receive help from the public care system, in this case mostly municipal services. However, the majority of those receiving personal, informal care did not receive any help from the public care system or from voluntary organizations or for-profit agencies (Study II).The empirical material in studies I and II comprises survey data from telephone interviews with a random sample of residents in the County of Stockholm aged between 18 and 84.In a number of countries there is a growing interest among social scientists and social policymakers in examining the types of support services that might be needed by people who provide informal care for older people and others. A further aim of the present dissertation is therefore to describe and analyse the carer support that is provided by municipalities and voluntary organizations in Sweden. The dissertation examines whether this support is aimed directly or indirectly at caregivers and discusses whether the Swedish government’s special financial investment in help for carers actually led to any changes in the support provided by municipalities and voluntary organisations. The main types of carer support offered by the municipalities were payment for care-giving, relief services and day care. The chief forms of carer support provided by the voluntary organizations were support groups, training groups, and a number of services aimed primarily at the elderly care recipients (Study III).Patterns of change in municipal carer support could be discerned fairly soon. The Swedish government’s special allocation to municipalities and voluntary organisations appears to have led to an increase in the number of municipalities providing direct support for carers, such as training, information material and professional caregiver consultants. On the other hand, only minor changes could be discerned in the pattern of carer support services provided by the voluntary organizations. This demonstrates stability and the relatively low impact that policy initiatives seem to have on voluntary organizations as providers (Study IV).In studies III and IV the empirical material consists of survey data from mail questionnaires sent to municipalities and voluntary organizations in the County of Stockholm.In the fields of social planning and social work there appears to be a need to clarify the aims of support services for informal carers. Should the support be direct or indirect? Should it be used to supplement or substitute caregivers? In this process of reappraisal it will be important to take the needs of both caregivers and care recipients into account when developing existing and new forms of support. How informal caregivers and care recipients interact with the care system as a whole is undeniably a fertile field for further research.
2.
Kassman, Anders
(författare)
Polisen och narkotikaproblemet : från nationella aktioner mot narkotikaprofitörer till lokala insatser för att störa missbruket
1998
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The subject of this study is the policing of the drug problem during the period between the nationalization of the police force in 1965 and the introduction of imprisonment as a penalty for drug consumption in 1993. The influence of four key factors are discussed: legislation, organization, the conception of and the attention paid to the drug problem. Qualitative and quantitative data from police archives, the prosecutor general, parliamentary publications, a public TV newsroom and various statistics from other sources are combined. The analysis shows four important stages in the process towards a substantially increased drug control:By the end of the 1960s, all data indicate increased attention to the drug problem. The penal law on narcotics was passed in 1968. It laid the foundation for subsequent policing activities. The police was also given increased possibilities to use telephone-tapping to combat serious crimes.By the end of the 1970s, the creation of a special narcotics police organization at the medium level of police hierarchy institutionalized, emphasized and assigned manpower to combat serious crimes.Since the beginning of the 1980s new target groups have been added. The "street dealer" is a new direct target. With the strengthening of the preventive role of the police new indirect target groups emerged: the police also emphasized their work against recruitment of new drug users.The main objective of the new penal law on narcotics of 1968 was to help drug addicts recover and merge back in society again. Addiction was seen as a disease. Drug dealing by the addicts was reprehensible but not a priority matter to the police. Over time, this attitude changed and in 1989 the police saw distinct actions against street dealers as the most important element in the repressive policy.
3.
Börjeson, Martin, 1959-
(författare)
"Vi vet inte vilka metoder vi ska använda" : om relationen mellan kunskap, praktik och politik när det gäller det sociala arbetet med hemlöshetsfrågor
2005
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation examines the relationship between knowledge, practice and policy within a specific area of social work, namely, social intervention to ameliorate the problem of homelessness. In the thesis, the ambition shown in recent years to lay the ground for an evidence-based practice in social work is discussed as an expression of late modern attempts to deal with the contradictory character of scientific knowledge.The work is composed of four separate studies along with an introduction. The first study considers the present state of knowledge concerning those groups readily described as “the most vulnerable” in that they often have a diffi¬cult complex of problems. The social conditions of these groups can only be examined to a limited extent with the help of traditional methods, however, so that our knowledge of their situation is poor. The group of the homeless seems largely to have remained unchanged during the most recent decade; but results of various studies suggest that the vul¬nerability of the group has increased, which is to say that even if the group has not increased in size, their social situa¬tion has definitely become worse.In the second study, a more in-depth discussion is advanced of methods and definitions concerning the charting of groups with a weak position in the housing market. Starting from a review of the various research methods presently in use, a model is sketched for future investigations that might more adequately provide the evidence-based information for making informed decisions.The third and fourth studies deal above all with the effectiveness of social interventions being made to come to grips with homelessness; how these strategies have evolved and the role of knowledge in them. The goal of the third study has therefore been to describe how knowledge and social work practice have developed respectively, and above all, to shed some light on their relationship. A review of social work journals dated 1965-2000 shows that only a very few of the relatively small number of articles dealing with homelessness could in any way directly form a basis for the planning and implementation of social interventions. In Stockholm Municipality, also during this period, several special programs were instigated to boost the development of knowledge in the field; but the connections between this accu¬mulation of knowledge and any implementation in actual social interventions remains unclear.The fourth study uses interview material to describe the social work being carried out to combat homelessness in four Swedish local government districts and to discuss any differences between them, where a clear difference did emerge between the larger and the smaller districts. The larger local governments had created special organisations for work with homelessness issues, which had even brought with it the allocation of special resources for the build-up of knowledge; but not even here is it possible to state that any cumulative build-up of knowledge has taken place. An in-depth case study of the discussion carried out in Stockholm Municipality concerning a proposal to create a special knowledge centre suggests that these questions are also deeply influenced by the local political context in which it would be used.In the introductory section of the dissertation, the aim is to relate the four studies to a broader discussion. The vari¬ous strategies being developed for increasing the evidence basis for social work with the homeless are discussed, taking a point of departure in Ulrich Beck’s contention that in spite of contrary intentions, more knowledge tends to involve the risk of added uncertainty. Also treated in this context is how an earlier dominant tradition of knowledge – inspired by social medicine – has come to diminish in importance, while another – more directed towards the results and effects of social interventions – has grown.
4.
Forssell, Emilia
(författare)
Skyddandets förnuft : en studie om anhöriga till hjälpbehövande äldre som invandrat sent i livet
2004
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation aims to examine and deepen the knowledge of family member caregiving where the care recipient is an elderly person who immigrated late in life. It also aims to contribute to the knowledge of the complexities underlying informal care giving and add to our understandings of what it means to be an immigrant in Sweden. The caregiver is in focus. The research conducted is explorative and partly inductive. The main material used is a qualitative interview study carried out with family members from different countries who are providing informal care to elderly immigrant relatives. The analysis gives three patterns of caregiving. One shows help from informal caregivers only who are not compensated economically. Another shows help from family members who are compensated. The third shows help from family members and staff from the public care system. Three ideal-typical informal caregiver roles show different positions vis-à-vis the new: “guardian”, “filter” and “reinterpreter of traditional care ideals”. Swedish born and immigrated informal caregivers are also compared through analysis of data gathered in telephone interviews with a representative selection of inhabitants in the County of Stockholm.A philosophy of action together with theory on integration and multiculturalism serves as theoretical frameworks to understand discrepancies and ambiguities in the data. Young immigrants experience different integration processes than do the older ones. They strive to protect older family members from changes linked to the migration experience. Talk about dependence on culture underlines family feelings and legitimates the processes of protection. Preconceptions about great differences between Swedish born and immigrant families are not supported by quantitative data. A conclusion is that protection can be understood in relation both to the traditional and the new, the latter in the forms of meetings with Swedish society where unequal relations prevail. It is a kind of counter-strategy where the range of actions is diminished, and thus it has its own logic. Protection can be loosened up when the circumstances change and the range of actions grow.
5.
Grosse, Julia, 1982-
(författare)
Kommer tid kommer tillit? : Unga vuxnas och medelålders erfarenheter
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Even though Sweden is considered a high trust society, research on this topic is primarily based on a few standardized survey questions. It is also known that there is a robust pattern of less trustful young people compared to older ones. Still, a satisfactory explanation of this fact is lacking. Thus, the first aim of this dissertation is to map trust among young adults and middle-aged individuals. The second aim is to examine by which factors and in what way different dimensions of trust are determined, focusing on individuals’ life course and consequently experiences. Analytical principles from the life course tradition are used as a theoretical framework.Data is derived from a Swedish cross-sectional nationally representative postal survey on trust, and qualitative interviews using a mixed-methods approach.A multi-dimensional concept of trust is suggested. Participants report relatively high levels of trust in known and unknown people, confidence in institutions, normative notions of trust, security, and trustful behaviour. Trust also seems to be structured according to a closeness principle. Young adults display lower trust levels in general. However, in some respects the pattern is reversed, particularly regarding domains they are expected to be more familiar with.Contrary to the well-established idea of generalised trust derived from predispositions and primary socialization, and particularised trust originating from experiences in adulthood, the results of this study suggest that unique combinations of factors, both individual characteristics and experiences, might explain each of the different dimensions. Often there is a sphere-specific relationship between experiences and later trust, i.e. experiences from one sphere of life seem to exclusively affect trust within the same sphere. It is suggested that as people grow older they accumulate what is called experience capital, which might benefit trust and contribute to an explanation of the age differences.
6.
Hammare, Ulf, 1961-
(författare)
Mellan löften om särart och krav på evidens : En studie av kunskap och kunskapssyn i socialt inriktade ideella, privata och offentliga organisationer
2013
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Between the Promise of Specificity and the Demand for Evidence – A study of knowledge and the approach to knowledge in socially oriented non-profit, private and public sector organizationsIn the social work field it is possible to identify two parallel processes in time. On the one hand a qualitative developmental process―even towards a form of standardization―where central concepts are academisation, professionalization, scientifically produced knowledge, expertise and evidence based methods. Simultaneously, there is a drive to create the conditions for increased diversity, where hopes are especially being pinned on the non-profit sector. In spite of representations and expectations concerning the non-profit sector and its so-called specificity, however, much of existing research lacks a comparative perspective, i.e., studies where non-profit organizations are related to comparable activities in the private and public sector.The aim of the study―with special focus on issues concerning evidence based knowledge in social work―is to compare and analyse whether and in that case how employee conceptions differ between the sectors, and whether and in what way non-profit employees and their activities can be said to fulfil the expectations of contributing to increased diversity. Data is from a questionnaire directed to about 1300 social work employees.The results show a greater interest in research and more marked efforts at professionalization in the public sector, while above all in the non-profit sector there was skepticism about science paired with reservations about work carried out in a professional way. In the non-profit, but also in the private sector, issues of ethics, views of humanity and values were paid greater attention. Also stressed here was the importance of creating relationships, the unique human encounter, genuine commitment, and human kindness. However, there was significant uniformity across all sectors in the use of methods, where three dominated: solution focused measures, network support/therapy, and psychosocial work.
7.
Karlsson, Magnus
(författare)
Själv men inte ensam : om självhjälpsgrupper i Sverige
2002
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
In this thesis, self-help groups are defined as small, autonomous groups of people that meet regularly to cope with a shared problem through mutual aid. There is reason to believe that self-help group activity is increasing in Sweden. Since no general attempts to map self-help group activity have been made in Sweden, one aim of this study was to map such activities in ten strategically selected geographical areas. A second aim was to analyze the internal and external circumstances of these groups in order to improve our knowledge about Swedish self-help groups in general.The thesis builds on four empirical studies. The first study aimed to map self-help group activity in the ten selected regions, using a questionnaire sent to vicars in the Church of Sweden, heads of welfare offices, head counselors in the health service and representatives of voluntary organizations (n=599). The second study sought a broader understanding of the internal and external circumstances of self-help groups. Eight groups, strategically selected from the outcome of the first study, were group interviewed. The aim of the third study was to examine whether the results of the group interviews were valid for all the groups found in the initial mapping. A questionnaire (27 items) was sent to key persons (n=73) in the groups. The fourth and final study had a partially deductive approach. One aim was to improve our understanding of the roles played by different kinds of knowledge in the groups. A second aim was to test whether the participants in the groups were “peers” or whether there were leaders in the groups in terms of creating, upholding and representing different kinds of knowledge. Four groups, comprising 18 migraine sufferers, were examined by means of a personal questionnaire, a network test and group interviews.The results of the studies showed that 0.5 percent of the population in the selected regions belonged to a self-help type of group at the time for the study. The most common problems among the 228 groups found were related to alcohol (44), illness and physical disorder (41), grief (22) and parenthood (21). Group members emphasized the importance of mutual understanding in their groups, and in the thesis the groups are understood on the theoretical basis of sociology of knowledge. The thesis argues that a specific kind of knowledge - experiential knowledge - is developed in self-help groups. This kind of knowledge is based on mutual understanding and contributes to a deeper understanding. Some differences between experiential knowledge and professional knowledge are highlighted. Besides mutual understanding, the participants valued the spirit of community and the information given in the groups. Finally, the results indicate that groups that had a formal leader (representing professional knowledge) tended to value information more, while groups where the participants were peers (relying on experiential knowledge) primarily valued mutual understanding.In this thesis, self-help groups are seen as belonging to the third sector, and therefore as related to voluntary organizations. However, it is argued that self-help groups may be a contemporary phenomenon with the participants often being consumers rather than members. Despite the group constellation, self-help groups may sometimes have the value of an individual project.
8.
Lagerlöf, Hélène, 1973-
(författare)
Samhällsvård och välfärdsresurser : En studie av skolgång, fritid och kamratrelationer bland unga i familjehem och institutioner
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The dissertation analyses access to welfare resources within the areas of schooling, leisure and peer relations for youth in out of home care. The study was conducted in three counties in mid Sweden and is a replication of the recurrent Swedish surveys of living condition of children in general populations. By using the same design, children aged 13–18 (n=272) in foster care and residential care were approached. Throughout the analysis results are compared with conditions for peers living at home, based on data from the 2004/2005 survey on living conditions for children (Child-ULF). Furthermore the results are linked to the young people’s experience of psychosomatic complaints and emotional wellbeing and discussed within the theoretical framework of childhood sociology. Questions regarding society’s ability to convey resources to youth while in care as well as young persons’ potential to exercise determination while in care are also discussed. The study shows that youth in care in general have access to fewer resources than those in general populations in the studied areas. For youth in residential care the differences compared to peers living at home are substantial, while conditions for youth in foster care are more alike those of young people in general. Youth in residential care have fewer school related resources and fewer contacts with friends than peers living at home. Youth in foster and residential care are more subjected to bullying than the general population. The overall conclusions are that society, in the form of foster parents and residential staff fails in certain areas to convey resources to youth in care. The young people’s lack of resources poses limitations to their potential to exercise self-determination while in care. The study points out areas where targeted efforts might be needed to improve the living conditions for youth in out of home care and perhaps broaden their potential to exercise self-determination while in care as well as after.
9.
Sundh, Kenneth
(författare)
Socialtjänstens strukturinriktade arbete : utveckling, möjligheter och hinder
1999
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The dissertation is based on two empirical studies that have the common aim of expanding our knowledge of the possibilities available to social workers to develop and carry out structurally oriented community work within the municipal social services. The first study, conducted in 1982-1984, was part of a larger study of the implementation of the Social Services Act. It was designed as a case study of four municipalities in Sweden, each of which had different structural characteristics (Suburbia, Bigtown, Middletown and Countryside). In the beginning of the 1990s (1991-1993) a follow-up study was made of these four municipalities. The study as a whole can be characterised as an example of the qualitative case study research approach. Three central problems are treated in the dissertation: a) What were the extent and direction of the structurally oriented interventions carried out in the four municipalities during the 1980s? b) What effect did the actors themselves and the municipal organisation have on the possibility of the social services to develop and carry out such interventions? c) What effect did the purchaser-provider model have on this endeavour? The concepts of power, welfare state and profession are discussed as being of central importance to the conclusions reached in the study. The development that took place in the municipalities can, in summary, be described as a professionalisation of the strategies for participatory community planning and a de-professionalisation of community and neighbourhood work. The dissertation shows that the social services were both successful and unsuccessful in the 1980s in their attempts to develop methods to effect changes on the structural level of the municipality. The analysis shows that both the successes and the failures depend on the complex interplay of various sources of power: the power of specific individuals and interest groups, the power of ideology, the power of the profession, and the power of the organisation.
10.
