Efterlivets politiska berättelse' beskriver både kända och okända kvinnor i Sverige under tre sekel. I boken beskrivs hur socialpolitiska kvinnor gestaltade, kommunicerade och kämpade för olika socialpolitiska frågor i samhällsdebatten. Bokens ramberättelse handlar om tio kvinnors verksamhet, däribland Amelie Posses antinazistiska engagemang och Anna Lindhagens fredssträvanden. De var våra socialpolitiska kvinnor. Vilka socialpolitiska frågor och problem har varit mest centrala och hur har de socialpolitiska kvinnorna blivit hågkomna i eftervärlden?
I "Pennskaften inifrån - ideologiska krafter om modern funktionshinderspolitik i Finland och Sverige" skildras såväl samtida som historiska röster och perspektiv på funktionshindersdebatt, mänskliga rättigheter och opinionsbildning i sociala frågor. Även klassperspektivet i Finland och Sverige tas upp
Abstract Social workers have an important role to play and a voice to make heard in the public debate. They can make a difference both by working in preventive social work and by taking part in the shaping of public opinion. Being visible and active in the public debate about social work and social policy is a matter of democracy and participation, and provides many opportunities for social workers to explain different welfare terms, forms of support and new treatment methods. This article investigates the extent to which Swedish social workers make themselves visible in the public debate by writing opinion pieces in newspapers and social work journals. Publishing opinion pieces is only one alternative social workers have for contributing to public debate in society. A total of 1,583 social workers responded to an electronic online survey covering their experiences of active participation in the public opinion. The results show that only a limited proportion of these social workers participated in the public debate. Amongst those who had written opinion pieces, the emphasis was above all on the social workers' own work environment and working conditions. Some of the survey participants had experienced disapproval, disparagement and threats directed at them.
Solidarity is expected to be expressed in concrete action in specific situations. In modern welfare states, however, it has been made abstract in order to appeal to all citizens. Abstraction increases the risk that solidarity is drained of its meaning. Our hypothesis is that the extent of this risk differs between the two dominant political blocs in Sweden, the Social Democratic and the Conservative. It is examined through an analysis of how often solidarity is invoked in traditional newspapers representing these two blocs. When invoked in newspapers from the Social Democratic bloc, we interpret solidarity as being "inclusive", which is what their ideology refers to. When invoked in newspapers from the Conservative bloc, we interpret solidarity as "exclusionary", which is implied in their ideology. According to our theory inclusive solidarity is reciprocal and thereby reduces the drain risk, while exclusionary solidarity is characterized as a one-way relationship, which increases the drain risk. The study was carried out during a period when the government changed from Conservative to Social Democratic. According to our hypothesis this would increase the appeal of inclusive solidarity. However, our findings indicated the opposite, an increase in exclusionary solidarity. The conclusion is that the risk of solidarity drain is independent of which political ideology is in power.
Health social workers, like social workers in general, have been found to utilise research knowledge to a low degree. No previous study has made comparisons based on the following: higher education, job tenure and workplace. This article is based on statistical comparisons between 1236 health social workers in Sweden working in various healthcare contexts. The central finding was that higher education was the factor with the largest impact. Workplace and especially job tenure were found to be less influential. An implication for practice is to raise the knowledge requirements in terms of research knowledge utilisation already from bachelor's degree level.
Introduction: People with visual impairments (those who are blind or have low vision) are exposed to risks in everyday life, especially injury risks. This study aimed to examine experiences and practical knowledge among hospital social workers in Sweden concerning meetings with patients with visual impairments who have been affected by injury events in residential environments. Methods: Swedish hospital social workers specializing in patients with visual impairments ( n=30) answered a questionnaire comprising 14 questions. Both fixed and open-ended questions were included, allowing an analysis of both comparable numeric data and subjectively perceived experiences and opinions. Results: A majority of the respondents had met patients who had been injured in the residential setting; the most common injury mechanism reported was tripping or falling on the stairs, or accidentally stumbling into furniture. The hospital social workers acknowledged that they could work more preventively in their professional role by encouraging patients to use orientation and mobility devices such as long canes, increasing collaboration with other professions, and conducting home visits to enable trustful dialogues with both patients and relatives. Discussion: According to these specialized hospital social workers, the provision of education and information to patients with visual impairments could potentially prevent future injury. However, in order to achieve this, there is a need to first enable a trustful dialogue between social workers and patients. Implications for practitioners: This study provides a better understanding of the importance of trustful dialogue between hospital social workers and patients with visual impairments, from the point of view injury prevention. It also offers a summary of the knowledge of hospital social workers about risks and injury events in residential settings for patients with visual impairments.
AbstractFood insecurity is not a term that is traditionally utilized in relation to Sweden, which has a well‐established welfare state. In fact, the discussion around this issue appears to be predicated on the notion that it is a concept existing outside the country. However, European countries are in no way immune to the issue of food insecurity. The Food and Agricultural Organisation to the United Nations holds data on the levels of food insecurity gathered from the Gallup poll and this indicated increasing levels of moderate‐to‐severe insecurity among the population. This indicated a need to review the research and literature on food insecurity in Sweden. This was carried out using two of the largest databases SCOPUS and Public/Publisher MEDLINE (PubMed) as well as a search for gray data using Google Scholar. Following backward and forward searches, in total only five articles were deemed relevant for inclusion. These were discussed and show very limited analysis of the issue, with their connection to food insecurity in Sweden being either abstract or unfocussed on the issue directly. This demonstrates a fundamental gap in this area of research and leaves open questions as to why this is the case.
There have been numerous research studies stating the fact that the pandemic affected people with disabilities' working lives. Less research has been conducted on how people with disabilities coped with and learned from these challenges. This scoping review maps research conducted in the field of disability research and multidisciplinary research, published from the outbreak of the pandemic until October 31, 2022. The focus is on how people with disabilities adapted their working lives to the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and what working practices and strategies they applied to manage the situation. From an extensive search in bibliographic databases, eight research articles were identified. The review results reveal both challenges and new openings for the working life of people with disabilities post-pandemic. Implications for future research are identified, addressing intersectionality, hybrid work environments, digital gaps and increased participation of people with disabilities in research.
Objective: According to the European Union, fatal road accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) are equal in proportion to fatal car road accidents (46%). VRUs include individuals with mobility challenges such as the elderly and Powered Wheelchair (PWC) users. The aim of this interdisciplinary qualitative study was to identify obstacles and risks for PWC users by exploring their behaviour and experiences in traffic environments. Methods: Videos and in-depth interviews with 13 PWC users aged 20–66 were analysed for this study. The interviews and videos, which include real-life outdoor observations, originate from a qualitative study exploring experiences of PWC use on a daily basis in Sweden. Underlying causal factors to identified risks and obstacles were identified, based on human, vehicle (PWC) and environmental factors in accordance with the Haddon Matrix. Results: The results show significant potential for improvement within all three perspectives of the Haddon Matrix used in the analysis. Participants faced and dealt with various obstacles and risks in order to reach their destination. For example, this includes uneven surfaces, differences in ground levels, steep slopes, as well as interactions with other road users and the influence of weather conditions, resulting in PWC users constantly accommodating and coping with the shortcomings of the vehicle and the environment. Conclusions: There are still major challenges with regard to preventing obstacles and risks in the traffic environment for PWC users. To discern PWC users in traffic accident and injury data bases, a start would be to register type of aid used for persons involved in an accident. Furthermore, to emphasise PWC users' role as VRUs, it may also be advantageous to describe them as drivers rather than users when navigating the traffic environment. Given the limited sample, further research covering more data from a broader perspective would be beneficial. By incorporating emerging knowledge of PWC users' prerequisites and needs, and including them in research and traffic planning, the society will grow safer and more inclusive, and become better prepared for meeting future demands on accessibility from an aging population.
