| 1. |
- Abrahamsson, Agneta, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
-
Building bridges or negotiating tensions? : experiences from a project aimed at enabling migrant access to health and social care in Sweden
- 2009
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Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422 .- 1743-4904. ; 6:2, s. 85-95
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A current challenge for many European countries is to enable forced migrants to access health and social care that meets their needs. One solution is to use paraprofessionals - that is, trained individuals who are not professionals - to act as bridge-builders between minority communities and the health and social care sectors. This paper explores the development of a quality improvement project in Sweden. The project aimed to recruit and train forced migrants who had lived in Sweden for more than five years to act as bridge-builders. The aim was to use their unique experiences and knowledge in two ways - to work with service staff in developing new ways of working, and to become culturally competent paraprofessionals working with their own communities. This paper focuses on how an understanding of the role evolved as the participants reflected on their experiences and undertook an inquiry process culminating in the development of three possible models of what the task of a bridge-builder should be in developing culturally appropriate health and social services that are responsive to the needs of forced migrants. The conclusion reflects on what was learned and how the experiences from this project may be useful for others who are struggling with the same kind of problem in Sweden and in other countries.
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| 2. |
- Abrahamsson, Agneta, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
-
Immigrants caught in the crossfire of the projectification of the welfare sector : short time solutions of long term problems
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422 .- 1743-4904. ; 7:3, s. 201-209
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we use two immigrant projects, operating in a Swedish context, as a basis for discussing and analysing the potential of joint projects as a tool for change in human welfare service organisations that target the general public. The extensive use of projects in the development of a slimmed-down public sector can be seen as originating from the contradictory promises of projects regarding flexibility and rationality in the new public management context. Projects are also used as a way to obtain more resources for specific long-term needs, but they are seldom implemented as intended in the regular 'mainstream' organisation. Therefore the long-term development of social services and healthcare for immigrants remains inadequate. It appears that politicians, managers and civil servants prefer to focus on the positive aspect of projects to legitimate the organisations and to bring about change by targeting and steering activities. However, they tend to overlook the negative consequences of using projects, and there is a risk that a backlash will undermine the legitimacy of organisations. Citizens and participants in general, and immigrants in particular, experience frustration and distrust as a result of the short-term nature of project-based action. The problems that the projects were expected to address may remain, or even increase.
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| 3. |
- Mazaheri, Monir, et al.
(författare)
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Bearing witness to life narratives : Iranian immigrant experiences of taking care of a family member with dementia
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422 .- 1743-4904. ; 8:1, s. 19-28
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Caring for a person with dementia is one of the most devastating and challenging experiences that caregivers have to face. Many studies indicate that the experience of care giving reflects cultural care values and beliefs. Even though dementia care giving is the most frequently studied type of care as reflected in the literature, few studies have focused on dementia caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore Iranian immigrant experiences of taking care of a family member with dementia.An interpretive phenomenological approach was employed to investigate the experiences of ten Iranian family caregivers, each caring for a family member with dementia and living in Sweden. Caregivers were recruited through purposeful sampling and took part in semi-structured interviews. All of the individuals who were contacted participated in the study. The participants included seven women and three men, ranging in age from 40 to 65 years, from different cities. They had all lived in Sweden for at least 20 years. Two caregivers were married to people with dementia, and eight were caring for parents with dementia. Data analysis was guided by Benner's interpretive phenomenology and revealed three key themes, namely caring as an experience of fulfillment, admitting the diagnosis of dementia, and the shock of not being recognized by their family members with dementia. Positive aspects of care giving should be recognized and supported in order to facilitate the maintaining of caregivers' involvement. The positive experiences of care giving could help to alleviate the problems that are experienced by the caregivers of people with dementia.
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| 4. |
- Abrahamsson, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
-
Building bridges or negotiating tensions? : experiences from a project aimed at enabling migrant access to health and social care in Sweden
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422. ; 6:2, s. 85-95
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A current challenge for many European countries is to enable forced migrants to access health and social care that meets their needs. One solution is to use paraprofessionals - that is, trained individuals who are not professionals - to act as bridge-builders between minority communities and the health and social care sectors. This paper explores the development of a quality improvement project in Sweden. The project aimed to recruit and train forced migrants who had lived in Sweden for more than five years to act as bridge-builders. The aim was to use their unique experiences and knowledge in two ways - to work with service staff in developing new ways of working, and to become culturally competent paraprofessionals working with their own communities. This paper focuses on how an understanding of the role evolved as the participants reflected on their experiences and undertook an inquiry process culminating in the development of three possible models of what the task of a bridge-builder should be in developing culturally appropriate health and social services that are responsive to the needs of forced migrants. The conclusion reflects on what was learned and how the experiences from this project may be useful for others who are struggling with the same kind of problem in Sweden and in other countries.
|
|
| 5. |
- Abrahamsson, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
-
Immigrants caught in the crossfire of the projectification of the welfare sector : short time solutions of long term problems
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422. ; 7:3, s. 201-209
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we use two immigrant projects, operating in a Swedish context, as a basis for discussing and analysing the potential of joint projects as a tool for change in human welfare service organisations that target the general public. The extensive use of projects in the development of a slimmed-down public sector can be seen as originating from the contradictory promises of projects regarding flexibility and rationality in the new public management context. Projects are also used as a way to obtain more resources for specific long-term needs, but they are seldom implemented as intended in the regular 'mainstream' organisation. Therefore the long-term development of social services and healthcare for immigrants remains inadequate. It appears that politicians, managers and civil servants prefer to focus on the positive aspect of projects to legitimate the organisations and to bring about change by targeting and steering activities. However, they tend to overlook the negative consequences of using projects, and there is a risk that a backlash will undermine the legitimacy of organisations. Citizens and participants in general, and immigrants in particular, experience frustration and distrust as a result of the short-term nature of project-based action. The problems that the projects were expected to address may remain, or even increase.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Lepp, Margret, 1954, et al.
(författare)
-
Jordanian nursing faculty experiences of participation in international exchange programs with Sweden.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Diversity in Health and Care. - 1759-1422. ; 8:3, s. 181-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to apply the principles of phenomenography to describe Jordanian nurse faculty members' experiences of participation in international exchange programmes (IEPs) with Sweden. Five faculty members from a large university in Jordan participated in focus group interviews. The findings highlighted the importance of careful planning before the exchange, of developing a programme, and of trying to implement the experiences gained on returning home. The findings suggest that IEPs should be well thought out, particularly in terms of selecting the right people and the right time for the exchange. Developing a programme at the host site, and clear goals, objectives, and activities that incorporate social and cultural events are also important. Participation in IEPs can enhance interest in and awareness of cultural and educational differences as well as similarities. However, sometimes it is difficult to implement experiences gained from the exchange when back at home. A plan for implementation should therefore be included in future programmes. In addition, further research is needed into the giver-receiver relationships inherent in IEPs, and how these relationships influence participants' feelings about their exchange experience.
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