Apart from the significant amount of research based in the perspective of social service workers, parents’ viewpoints of their experiences with children in long-term foster care is notably underrepresented within social science literature. To address this lack in coverage this paper discusses parents’ experiences of compulsory care (LVU) using content analysis drawing on selected comment sections from two internet-based discussion forums, Flashback and Familjeliv. Our main objective was to analyse parents’ descriptions of their relations with the social services and changes in the perceptions of the role of parenting after the emergency removal. Applying the theoretical framework of social trust we sought to achieve a deeper understanding for the parents’ situation. The social trust theory aims at analysing individuals’ trust for the state and state institutions, especially in relation to different social groups. The study shows that the high levels of trust between citizen and authorities, one of the Swedish society’s central trademarks, was not reflected in the material collected concerning parents’ experiences of the so-called social safety net. In line with previous research, parents’ narratives demonstrated a significant distrust for the social services and their descriptions indicated a sense of neglect. Parents’ comments also suggested a lack of understanding for the judgements made by social service workers and the resulting compulsory care.

Domestic violence does not disappear with age. In Sweden, domestic violence is as common in relationships between elderly as it is younger people, however, statistically elderly are underrepresented. Cases of domestic violence in elderly couples are more rarely reported and one reason is that elderly themselves do not report being victims of abuse. Another is a lack of legislation such as mandated reporting for professionals working with elderly. Sweden has an aging population and the fact that the amount of elderly is increasing may lead to new challenges for professions specialized in elderly care and for society at large. Two professions that work with the care and health of the elderly is care managers and homecare staff and have been chosen to study, and how these two identify domestic abuse involving elderly. The purpose of this research has been to study what efforts are made by the care managers and homecare staff at the management of health and care in Sweden, to help the elderly who are victims of domestic violence. Earlier research shows a lack of knowledge by professionals and staff on how to address the elderly's needs. One reason for this is because of ageism where it is presumed that the elderly are not in need of help or involved in, or victims of, domestic violence. Studies show how the elderly might feel ashamed talking about their experience of violence as the subject is more considered taboo for persons of their generation. Research also shows how Sweden lacks laws to deal with violence at the elderly’s homes.A qualitative research method was used when writing this study and three care managers and three home care staff have been interviewed. The results of our study conclude a strong need for better knowledge of how to identify signs of domestic violence within elderly couples, especially regarding staff working as homecare staff. The results also show that no specific measures are made to meet the elderly's needs and this study concludes that more measures need to be enforced, focusing on elderly victims of physical violence.

This study examines the convoluted challenges of different professions and their duty to report to Social Services if suspicion or knowledge of a child being in physical or mental danger occurs. In Sweden this is regulated by the law 14:1 SoL that requires personnel in their work with minors to report the slightest concern of danger without any circumstances. Previous research studies have found that there are noticeable lack of reports within the professions covered by this law. The degree of reporting differs between the professional groups that have a reporting obligation, but what all have in common is that the reporting rate is low in all. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to examine different professionals’ experiences of being in the process of reporting concern of a child, with focus on possible contexts that put professionals in ethically difficult situations. To answer these questions we’ve performed semi-structured interviews with six different professionals from four different organisations in Malmö. The analysis is based on two theories which are professional ethics and normative ethics. The final conclusions were that these theories combined with the empirical data generated in three different themes that causes difficulties within the process of reporting to Social Services. These themes were: relationships and trust, policies and guidelines, and norms and values. In decision-making, an internal ranking arises between norms, values ​​and obligations in relation to the policies and guidelines that are relevant in the workplace. In the event of disruptions within these factors, it can be difficult to maintain a good and a legally safe work ethic which could lead to a lack of reports to Social Services.

I denna studie har sambandet mellan en individ dömd till rättspsykiatrisk vård och dennes kontakt med den psykiatriska vården och socialtjänst innan tiden för gärningen undersökts. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka relationen mellan individer som lider av psykisk ohälsa och socialtjänsten samt den psykiatriska vården. I studien har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod applicerats där en tematisk analys varit huvudsaklig analysmetod. Det huvudsakliga material som undersöktes var förundersökningsprotokoll. De teman som bestämdes inför analysen var kontakt med den psykiatriska vården innan gärningen begåtts, kontakt med socialtjänsten innan gärningen begåtts och svårare form av psykisk ohälsa innan gärningen begåtts. Resultatet visade bland annat på att det genomgående har funnits kontakt med socialtjänsten och den psykiatriska vården men att de här kontakterna har varit bristfällig på grund av flera faktorer. En av studiens slutsatser är att många av de individer i fallen som undersöktes skulle ha kunnat undvika rättspsykiatrisk vård om en adekvat och meningsfull relation med inblandade verksamheter hade prioriterats. / In this study the aim was to research how mental illness correlates to the acts of crime and how social services and psychiatric care collaboration works in order to prevent clients from committing crime because of mental illness. The aim was also to find understanding in why collaboration does not always work and why clients get sentenced to treatment in forensic psychiatry due to a crime they committed while under the influence of severe mental illness. In this study a qualitative research method was applied where seven preliminary investigation protocols where the main source of material. Three main themes were conducted from the materials and the themes were Contact with psychiatric care before the crime, Contact with social services before the crime and Severe mental illness before the crime. The results show that in the majority of cases,  contact was established with both social services and psychiatric care but the contact was sporadic. The results also show a general distrust for organisations that have a determining role in decisions from the clients perspective. One of the conclusions of this study is that if clients got adequate help from social services and psychiatric care they wouldn’t commit crime with mental illness as the reason why.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att utifrån socialsekreterares perspektiv undersöka hur de arbetar för att uppnå barns delaktighet i barnavårdsutredningar. Sex intervjuer har hållits med utredande socialsekreterare inom barnavården. Det framgår av resultatet att socialsekreterare anpassar sig efter barnet för att skapa trygghet i mötet. Därutöver framkommer att socialsekreterarna använder olika samtalsverktyg, vid behov i mötet med barnet. Resultatet belyser också betydelsen av att väga in det barnet har sagt när ett beslut ska fattas i utredningen. Det framgår även att barn inte bjuds in att närvara under de beslutsfattande mötena. Därmed att de inte heller tilldelas någon direkt makt eller ansvar över det beslut som ska fattas. Resultatet klargör försvårande faktorer i arbetet med barns delaktighet i form av tidsbrist, hög arbetsbelastning och föräldrars inställning till utredningen. Slutsatser dras härav att socialsekreterare under utredningen lyssnar på barnet, hjälper barnet att komma till uttryck och beaktar barnets åsikter inför ett beslut. En ytterligare slutsats som dras är att barn inte görs delaktiga vid själva beslutsfattandet samt att de inte heller tilldelas någon faktisk makt. Vad gäller de försvårande faktorerna konkluderas att förändringar behöver ske för att underlätta arbetet med barns delaktighet. / The purpose of this study has been to, from the perspective of social secretaries, examine how they work to achieve children's participation in child care investigations. Six interviews have been held with the investigative social secretary in child care. It is clear from the results that the social secretary adapts to the child to create security in the meeting. In addition, it appears that the social secretaries use various conversation tools, if necessary in the meeting with the child. The result also highlights the importance of considering what the child has said when a decision is to be made in the investigation. It also appears that children are not invited to attend at the decision-making. Thus, they are also not assigned any direct power or responsibility over the decision to be made. The results clarify aggravating factors in the work with children's participation in the form of lack of time, high workload and parents' attitude to the investigation. Conclusions are drawn from this that during the investigation, the social secretary listens to the child, helps the child to express himself or herself and takes the child's opinions into account before making a decision. Another conclusion that is drawn is that children are not involved in the actual decision-making and that they are not assigned any actual power either. With regard to the aggravating factors, it is concluded that changes need to be made to facilitate the work with children's participation.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Parenting children with a hearing loss presents hearing parents with unique parenting challenges. Adapting to and managing these challenges is dependent on parents’ personal and social support as well as the resources available to them. There is limited research regarding hearing parents’ personal and social support and access to appropriate resources. In order to bridge this gap, the aim of the study was to develop guidelines for hearing parents parenting children with a hearing loss. A mixed methods approach with a sequential explanatory design using a two-phased approach was employed in this study. Phase 1 endeavoured to identify the problem and explore the needs of parents by using a staged approach. The sample in this phase included 103 participants in the quantitative study and 13 participants in the qualitative study. Phase 2 applied a consensus workshop made up of two rounds: Round 1 comprised a panel of experts, namely, academics in the field of child, family, and disability studies, and Round 2 included a panel of stakeholders comprised of hearing parents, professionals, Deaf mentors, and leaders working within the field of hearing loss. The purpose of the workshop was to reach consensus on the development of guidelines. From this research, a number of guidelines emerged for parents, focusing on:1) early intervention programmes for hearing parents and children diagnosed with a hearing loss, highlighting guidance and counselling for parents on early identification and screening programmes; 2) the need for social and emotional support to deal with the emotional impact of the diagnosis on the family, the parents, as well as the child with a hearing loss; 3) access to resources and information which is comprehensive and unbiased, allowing parents to make informed choices; and 4) support for communication intervention whereby parents are offered unbiased support in terms of communication options for their children. This study has important implications for the collaboration and partnerships between parents, social services (social workers), and health and family practitioners for the provision of family-centred practices.

De organisatoriska villkoren för ledarskap inom den offentliga sektorn har förändrats kraftigt sedan slutet på 1980-talet. Socialtjänsten ställs ständigt inför nya utmaningar i form av exempelvis budgetåtstramningar, effektiviseringar och nu även en pandemi (covid-19). Dessa utmaningar ställer höga krav på socialtjänsten som organisation och på dess ledare samt deras ledarskap. Syftet med studien är att söka reda på, sammanställa och analysera kunskap om ledarskap inom svensk socialtjänst. Vidare syftar studien till att undersöka vad det innebär att vara ledare inom socialtjänsten, vilka utmaningar ledaren ställs inför samt om det finns ledarskapsideal inom socialtjänsten. Men även att undersöka hur ledarskap påverkar organisationer inom socialtjänst samt att kunna bidra med bredare kunskaper inom fältet. Metoden är en kunskapsöversikt med 24 analyserade artiklar. Resultatet visar att det inte finns en entydig definition av vad ledarskap är i socialt arbete. Det transformativa ledarskapet anses i flertalet av artiklarna som ett eftersträvat ideal inom socialt arbete. / The organizational conditions for leadership in the public sector have changed dramatically since the late 1980s. The social services are constantly faced with new challenges in the form of, for example, budget cuts, efficiency requirements and now also a pandemic (covid-19). These challenges place high demands on the social services as an organization and on its leaders as well as on their leadership. The purpose of the study is to research, compile and analyze knowledge about leadership in Swedish social services. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate what it means to be a leader in the social services, what challenges the leader faces and whether there is an ideal of leadership in the social services. But also, to investigate how leadership affects organizations in social services and to be able to contribute with broader knowledge in the field. The method is a knowledge overview that consist of analyzing 24 articles. The result shows that there is no clear definition of what leadership is in social work. In most of the articles, transformative leadership is considered a sought-after ideal in social work.

Thesis (M.A. (Nursing)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Background: The utilization of primary health care (PHC) facilities has declined as most patients are using the hospitals for minor ailments. The study aimed to investigate factors that contribute to non-utilization of PHC services by the community in Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Mopani District, Limpopo Province. Methodology: quantitative research method was used, and data was collected using self-designed questionnaire. Total of 101 respondents out of 135 population participated in the study. Simple random sampling was used. The questionnaire was piloted to ensure reliability in a different setting. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. The outcome of the analysis was presented as frequencies and percentages in tables, pie charts and bar graphs. Ethical standards were adhered to throughout the study. Results: Demographic results indicated that the most of the respondents were females, aged between 26-35 years, speak the Sepedi language unemployed, went up to secondary school level using public transport, and have used their local clinic before more than. Many indicated that they have visited the hospital for reasons other than maternal and child health, chronic diseases and medication and minor illnesses. 25 factors recorded and the respondents reported six major factors that contributed to non-utilizing their PHC services. Factors included long queues and waiting times, no drugs and essential medication, PHC not operating for 24 hours and not operating for 7 days per week and nurses’ negative attitudes toward the community. Conclusions: Demographic results did not impact on the non-utilization of PHC services, but community-related, administrative factors and health-related factors contributed to non-utilization of PHC services

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis and evaluation of existing methods of evaluating the quality of social services in a particular organization. As part of the analysis, a change in the process of improving quality will be proposed, primarily by proposing innovative methods of involving clients of sheltered housing in the evaluation of the service. The aim of this work is to propose methods of effective involvement of clients of sheltered housing in the evaluation of the quality of social services. These innovative methods with elements of social service user participation can serve as specific recommendations for creating a methodology for user participation in the process of evaluating and improving services. As part of the provision of social services, it is necessary to look for ways to work with the specific abilities and needs of clients and find innovative ways to involve service clients in the entire process of evaluation and measurement of quality. The basis of the innovative method is the empowerment, cooperation, and integration of clients into the entire process, which can then positively affect the direction of social services. Keywords: evaluation of the quality of social services, participation, empowerment, sheltered housing

Home should be a place where I live, where I feel safe, where I have privacy, where I can always return and like to return. It is my refuge from which I go out into the world every day. At home, I will find comfort, warmth, love, respect, understanding ... Having a home has been one of the basic needs of every human being since the beginning of humanity. It is possible to lead a full life only if it is fulfilled not only but also of this need. The analytical part of the work deals with the possibilities, needs and requirements of people for housing from the age of 60 and their application in architecture. The design of a residential building not only for seniors in the facility is part of the practical part. Combining several generations and functions in one place supports the creation of interpersonal relationships and the integration of seniors into society. In the building, there is a facility for the elderly connected with daycare for seniors, a dining room and a pensioners' club in connection with general rental flats for young families. The project is proposed for the municipality of Važec, located in the district of Liptovský Mikuláš in Slovakia.