The purpose of this study is to critically reflect on what is represented to be the problem in harm reduction interventions directed towards drug users. The study is based on five qualitative, semi-structured interviews with professionals in the social services administration of Stockholm. With assistance from Carol Bacchi's theoretical approach "What's the problem represented to be", we critically assess how the problem is constituted in harm reduction interventions. Four themes are addressed. First, our data indicate that the problem is assumed to be that some drug users fail or neglect to comply with the social services' demand for drugabstinence, despite multiple attempts, and are considered to be untreatable. Second, we show that there is an assumption that drug users who receive harm reduction interventions must change and become stabilized, although they are categorized as untreatable. Third, we show how professionals in our study fail to problematize the conditions and checkups people who are subject to harm reduction interventions must follow. Fourth, we illustrate the effects of the problem and show examples of drug users who dare say that they do not aim for abstinence, in an institutional context where abstinence is still the default.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-201918 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Egeltoft, Hanna, Andersson, Stina |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete |
| 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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