Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2007.

SUMMARY   Aim: Dignity is a concept that is very central in the care of elderly in Sweden. Many studies have tried to define dignity but very few have focused on the deeper meaning of dignity. The aim of this study was to explore a deeper understanding of dignity by looking at the public documents which are the foundation of the national values of dignity in elderly care.   Methods: This study has used a qualitative approach while analyzing the documents. The documents were chosen through a strategic selection which resulted in five public documents, all of them related to dignity in some way. An own interpretation of discourse analysis was used as the method to analyze the empiric material. When studying the results we have weighed the analysis against a theory we believed best suited to the aim of the study.   Results: The study resulted in three types of themes. The first theme that was found showed that dignity could be constructed through a person’s identity whilst another showed a view on dignity as a human right. The third construed dignity in the interactions between the people who work with elderly and the elderly. In the discussion we conclude that the result may provide a deeper understanding of the view on dignity that is presented in the empiricism.   Keywords: Social constructionsim, dignity, elderly care / SAMMANFATTNING   Syfte: Värdighet är ett begrepp som är mycket centralt i vården av äldre i Sverige. Många studier har försökt att definiera värdighet men väldigt få har fokuserat på den djupare innebörden av värdighet. Syftet med denna studie var att få en djupare förståelse av värdighet genom att titta på offentliga handlingar som ligger till grund för de nationella värdegrunden inom äldreomsorgen i Sverige.   Metod: Denna studie har använt sig av en kvalitativ ansats för att analysera de dokument som ligger till grund för studien. Dokumenten valdes ut genom ett strategiskt urval som resulterade i fem offentliga handlingar som alla berörde värdighet. En form av egentolkning inspirerad av diskursanalys, användes som metod för att analysera det empiriska materialet. När vi studerade resultaten använde vi oss den teori vi ansåg bäst lämpade för syftet med studien.   Resultat: Studien resulterade i tre typer av teman av sociala konstruktioner. Ett tema visade att värdighet konstruerades genom en persons identitet och människovärde medan en annan visade en syn på värdighet som en rättighet. I det tredje temat skapas värdighet i samspelet mellan de människor som arbetar med äldre och de äldre. I diskussionen kan vi dra slutsatsen att resultatet kan ge en djupare förståelse för synen på värdighet som presenteras i empirin.   Nyckelord: Socialkonstruktionism, värdighet, äldreomsorg

In order to support a standardized and uniform documentation one can use different types of aids such as influencing attitudes, provide training and customize tools for documentation. This study looks at documentation in elderly care from the personnel’s perspective and seeks to better understand their view of and experience with documentation in relation to the aids described above. By holding semi-structured interviews with 12 people working with elderly care qualitative data were obtained and later analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). A range of different thoughts and attitudes towards documentation were found, some that could facilitate documentation, but also some that could hinder a good documentation practice. Also different insecurities were found such as lack of experience/knowledge about documentation, technology or language. Colleagues are a great resource for helping and educating personnel but it might be hard for them to explain some things they do if they aren’t aware of how they do it. It might also take time to readjust to new procedures such as a common information structure, especially for the experienced workers that have formed routines for how to do things. Contextual factors are important and the documentation systems have the ability to make or break the users.

Abstract Elderly people, because of the frail health condition and consequent problems, have in most cases substantial difficulties living at home. Despite the need for widened nursing home custody, the field of quality institutional elderly care in Slovenia in the past did not undergo comprehensive research. The purpose of this two-part study was to investigate the quality of institutional elderly care and elderly care offered in Slovenian nursing homes. Additional purpose was to evaluate nursing staff members about their willingness, knowledge, skills and importance to meet residents’ physical and psychosocial nursing care needs. Also, a part of this research was bound for recognition of maltreatment and nursing staff members’ well-being. The qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. The quality of institutional elderly care and elderly care offered were researched by interviewing the parties involved in elderly care, residents, relatives and nursing staff members (N=48). The data for quantitative research was collected by surveying nursing staff by using a structured questionnaire (N=148). All data have been collected in three public and one private nursing home located in two major cities of Ljubljana and Maribor. Collected data was examined by content analysis method and statistical analysis, to corroborate findings across data sets, reducing the impact of potential biases that can exist in a single study. Triangulation was used to approach to data analysis to synthesize data from multiple sources. Main categories of quality institutional elderly were formulated as attentive care, optimal custody and holistic approach. The most important issue of quality institutional elderly care was formulated as meeting needs on time. Nursing staff members were found to be better skilled in meeting physical than psychosocial needs of residents. Maltreatment was recognised as neglect of care due to postponed duties or hastiness in nursing interventions resulting in discomfort of residents. Factors in connection to quality of institutional elderly care were expressed as quality of nursing care, friendly relationship, meaningful activities, pleasant dwelling environment and versatile assistance. The obtained findings were presented in form of proposals to improve quality of institutional elderly care in Slovenian nursing homes, and could be used to develop institutional elderly care and improve dwelling. In addition many specific terms have been extracted during the analysis process that may contribute to development of gerontological nursing care rationale in Slovenia.

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According to the United Nations, by the year of 2050, 16% ofthe world’s population will be over the age of 65, that is one in six people.¹ Considering this, there is more need than ever to bridge the generation gap. Prior research on the theme of different kinds of domestic efficiency, led me to a comparative study between mass produced housing and collective living. I spoke in favour of the values of social sustainability at the price of economically superior construction methods. Departing then from the subject of social isolation and involuntary loneliness versus togetherness, I landed on the topic of elderly care and intergenerational interdependence. This paper proposes the need of intergenerational housing and therefore my method for approaching this theme is through designing a combined elderly care home, student housing and preschool. My findings suggest that the environment which surrounds us impacts us in a number of ways, as does the ambiance, the people, and the relationships we have with them. Therefore, I aim to create a space with a warm and familiar feel as opposed to an impersonal and institutional one and a place where relationships between different age groups can naturally blossom.

Stockholm is growing very fast and many new housing investments are under construction outside of the city center. Suburbs are getting densifed and readjusted to modern needs as this is where many of us live today and be living in the future. At the same time our society is aging. Sweden today has 1,6 million inhabitants over 64 years old. This number is expected to raise up to 2,7 million in 2060, which means that approximately 1 in 4 people will be aged over 64*. Current urbanization rate of Sweden is oscillating around 85%, therefore the vast majority of Swedish elderly will be living in cities. We are also expected to live and work longer, changing our professions few times during our lifetime. We will have to be fast learners and flexible employees to keep up with technological development and changing job market. We will have to compete with robots and smart technologies in order to keep our positions. This equals being a “lifelong student”, even in the older age. Looking towards the future, where the demographic structure of the society will shift, it is already time to start planning our cities for an aging population, where regardless date of birth everyone can feel important and integral part of our society

The aim of this study was to describe how the concept of everyday rehabilitation (ER) is perceived in municipal elderly care. Data was collected through individual interviews with nurses assistans, occupational therapists, department managers and politicians, five to six respondents in each group of professionals. The study design was qualitative and based on content analysis inspired by phenomenography. The analysis resulted in two categories: 1) ER implies communication, co-operation and resources, and 2) ER implies that in all situation enable and support training by activity. All respondents stated that the concept of ER means that the elderly within municipal long-term care should have the opportunity to perform activities according to their own ability. Other significant aspects were that ER is considered to imply good communication and be an obvious approach not in need not be discussed. Finally, education is considered important but not a prerequisite to be able to work according to everyday rehabilitation. / <p>Validerat; 20120613 (anonymous)</p>

Poor standards of care are unacceptable, but solutions are far from being straightforward. This is a complex issue that is influenced by individual attitudes, perceptions and cultural norms

The group of elderly people in Sweden will increase significantly in the future and science point out that the future elderly people will not accept today’s standards and offers of assistance in today’s public elderly care. Therefore public elderly care stands before a significant challenge in terms of development that has to be sustainable. New research also points out that middle managers can be a great strategic resource, and a founder of success, in the challenge of sustainable development. The aim of the report was to increase the knowledge about what middle managers in public elderly care think sustainable development has to embrace, when it comes to quality and personnel administration, in order to meet the needs of the future elderly people. The aim was also to deepen the knowledge of how formal and informal organizational factors facilitate or limit middle managers possibilities to work with development in general and sustainable development in specific in their units. Interviews, as a qualitative method, were used to gather empirical data and the result was analyzed with theories as Domain theory, New Public Management and Situational leadership. Our findings showed that middle managers have little possibilities to work with sustainable development in their units and that formal factors as budget had a great impact of the middle managers overall possibilities in their work. According to the result it seemed that development and long term planning in this particular organization were tasks mainly for the management and political domain. According to our findings it seemed as if the introduction of New Public Management increased the underlying initial problems of human service organizations. According to Domain theory these problems consists of disjunction, discordance and conflicts due to the differences between the three domains when it comes to principles, success measures, structure and work modes.