The aim of the study was to understand the processing of sickness benefit cases concerning mental illness from the perspective of the social insurance officer in order to contribute with knowledge about legal certainty and expressions of power in relation to the processing of sickness benefit cases concerning mental illness. To achieve this aim, six social insurance officers from one social insurance agency were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. The interviews were then transcribed and analysed thematically. The authors found, among other things, that cases concerning mental illness were more difficult to process mainly because physicians struggle to formulate sufficient medical certificates. The authors also found that the legal certainty can be questioned because the vast majority of cases that are granted do not go through quality assurance. Furthermore, the rejection rate of cases differed between social insurance officers. Thus, implying that cases are not processed in a similar manner, which is required in order to achieve legal certainty. Expressions of power were found between the social insurance officer and the insured. Instances of officers withholding crucial information from the insured were found, which is an expression of power/knowledge. The authors also found that social insurance officers tend to use a language of power that is difficult for the insured to comprehend in the letters that notify the decision.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-101257 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Österberg, Isak, Garsten, Måns |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA), Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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