This overview of four evidence maps is based on systematic reviews of assessment and interventions in social work practice. The aim was to investigate the evidence and evidence gaps within four important areas for social work research and practice. Descriptive data on search strategies and domains were collected from four evidence maps, on Social Assistance, Substance Dependence, Care for older adults respectively for persons with disabilities. The scientific quality and scientific evidence were assessed. Key findings were summarised by analyzing and discussing common and specific elements in the evidence maps. The overview was undertaken in close collaboration between researchers with expertise in the field and a government agency. The overview identified both evidence and evidence gaps with respect to effects and experiences of interventions and assessment methods in four evidence maps. Evidence maps provide a comprehensive picture of the state of social services research and can thereby be of use to both researchers and practitioners, and in the production of evidence based social work.
This study describes and analyses the kinds of support received by different categories of informal carers, and the kinds of help that care recipients receive in addition to that provided by various categories of carers. Data were collected in a Swedish county in 2000, by means of telephone interviews. The net sample consisted of 2,697 individuals 18-84 years old, and the response rate was 61%. The results showed that relatively few carers in any care category received any kind of support aimed directly at them as carers. The most widespread form of support received by providers of personal care was relief services. Those most likely to be receiving care from the public care system were people also receiving personal care from an informal caregiver. Nevertheless, the majority of those receiving personal care from an informal carer did not receive any help from the public care system or from voluntary organizations or for-profit agencies. These results indicate that social policy and social work need to clarify the aims of the services they provide. They also need to take the needs of both caregivers and recipients into account when discussing support systems.
This article analyses informal caregiving and volunteering in organizations over 17 years in Sweden, with a focus on links between these two forms of unpaid activities. The discussion is based on results from a national survey that was repeated four times in the period 1992–2009. Links were found between the different types of activities. In all four studies a substantial group of the population was involved both in informal caregiving and volunteering. This group of ‘active citizens’ are commonly also engaged in informal social networks. This ‘double active’ group had increased over time and they provide a substantial amount of hours of involvement. Patterns outlined in this article demonstrate that unpaid activities represent a multifaceted phenomenon, and that the boundaries between informal caregiving and volunteering as forms of engagement may be more fluid than has previously been acknowledged. The results challenge the literature in which informal caregiving is viewed as a major obstacle to volunteering. At the same time, however, informal caregiving in general was found to be increasing. There might be reasons to be cautious about the possible risk that too much pressure on citizens for informal caregiving might jeopardize the type of double involvement that is outlined in this article.
Integrated treatment is recommended for users with a comorbidity of mental illness and substance misuse. However, due to a divided support system, coordinated individual care planning (CIP) and user participation are emphasised to provide users with the necessary support. One way of increasing user participation is through shared decision making. However, the challenges are evident why coordination and user participation are not used in practice as intended. To contribute with knowledge to bridge the gap between the intended CIP process and practice, this study examined the problems and solutions perceived by staff. Future workshops were conducted with 17 staff members from social services and health care. Problems and solutions were identified within three main areas: organisation and staff knowledge, coordination among staff, and staff attitudes and user participation. The problems are in agreement with previous research, but this study contributes with knowledge regarding solutions. Overall, the solutions expressed relate to improving collaboration between providers and users and having more resources to conduct this work. However, the study also assents to the question if CIP is the best way to coordinate support or if integrated treatment should be the future. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Artikeln behandlar hur samtal i socialt arbete bidrar till att konstruera mäns och kvinnors positioner i genussystemet. Samtalsanalys har använts för att studera svenska socialarbetares samtal med manliga och kvinnliga klienter. Resultaten visar att kvinnorna ges relativt lite stöd för att få arbete. Mycket mer uppmärksamhet ägnas männen och deras möjlighet att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden.
The aim of the present study is to deepen the understanding of over-indebted persons’ ways of describing the causes of their debts and the part they and others played in the emergence of the problematic situation, in their written communications with public authorities with influence over the debt-reconstruction process. The method was a qualitative multiple-case-study design with a purposive, cross-sectional sample consisting of personal letters attached to debt reconstruction applications submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Agency. The results reveal three main ways that applicants present their cases: Attributing responsibility to oneself, Avoiding the question of responsibility, and Attributing responsibility to others. The authors suggest that the results can be used in social work to help over-indebted people to understand and present their problems in a way that restores their vulnerable identity and allows them to counteract interpretations of them as having acted irresponsibly regarding their finances.
In this article we would like to introduce a three-year Research Project called 'New Local Policies against Social Exclusion in European Cities', financed by the Targeted Socio-Economic Research Program (TSER) of the European Union. We will briefly highlight the entire research project that aims to make a contribution to European debate about social exclusion within social work (see also Washington and Paylor 1998), as well as social work's theoretical knowledge and field projects. The specific emphasis is on analysing the significance of the eco-social environment and citizen participation in disadvantaged residential areas, but related work aims to develop new kinds of action models and research methods. The project started in January 1998 in Finland, Germany, and Great Britain, and it will be completed by the end of 2000. Our research is a unique kind of cross-national comparative case-context research, based on classic ideas of action research and comparative research. Overall, the project aims through a European exchange to develop innovative models of local policies, particularly within community-based social work.