Care Descriptions at Work
Forms and documents play significant roles in the context of care work for older people. One type of form that care workers use on a daily basis is individual care descriptions (ICDs). An ICD is a text that is written on a piece of paper or on a computer, and specifies the care tasks to be carried...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Stavanger
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Comparative Social Work |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uis.no/index.php/JCSW/article/view/248 |
| _version_ | 1811322746508935168 |
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| author | Kjetil G. Lundberg |
| author_facet | Kjetil G. Lundberg |
| author_sort | Kjetil G. Lundberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Forms and documents play significant roles in the context of care work for older people. One type of form that care workers use on a daily basis is individual care descriptions (ICDs). An ICD is a text that is written on a piece of paper or on a computer, and specifies the care tasks to be carried out. How do ICDs operate in local settings of care work for older people? Anchored in insights from institutional ethnography, I investigate care work practices from the standpoint of care workers in care settings in Norway. In the empirical analysis, I identify and pay attention to two particular ICDs and how they enter the everyday care work practices. The findings indicate that ICDs contribute to standardizing care work practices that are related to changes in the cultural and institutional foundations of the welfare state. Furthermore, ICDs coordinate practices in different ways, and promote several forms of coordination. Hence, when analysing care descriptions at work, awareness of contextual sensitivity is called for. This paper contributes to research on management and power relationships in home care and nursing care work by illustrating different dimensions of textually based coordination.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:41:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ade44e1b6b70451d8d29b8fc4a602f85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0809-9936 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:41:33Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Stavanger |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Comparative Social Work |
| spelling | doaj.art-ade44e1b6b70451d8d29b8fc4a602f852022-12-22T02:44:38ZengUniversity of StavangerJournal of Comparative Social Work0809-99362019-10-0114210.31265/jcsw.v14i2.248248Care Descriptions at WorkKjetil G. Lundberg Forms and documents play significant roles in the context of care work for older people. One type of form that care workers use on a daily basis is individual care descriptions (ICDs). An ICD is a text that is written on a piece of paper or on a computer, and specifies the care tasks to be carried out. How do ICDs operate in local settings of care work for older people? Anchored in insights from institutional ethnography, I investigate care work practices from the standpoint of care workers in care settings in Norway. In the empirical analysis, I identify and pay attention to two particular ICDs and how they enter the everyday care work practices. The findings indicate that ICDs contribute to standardizing care work practices that are related to changes in the cultural and institutional foundations of the welfare state. Furthermore, ICDs coordinate practices in different ways, and promote several forms of coordination. Hence, when analysing care descriptions at work, awareness of contextual sensitivity is called for. This paper contributes to research on management and power relationships in home care and nursing care work by illustrating different dimensions of textually based coordination. https://journals.uis.no/index.php/JCSW/article/view/248care workprofessional discretionaccountabilitytextual technologiesinstitutional ethnography |
| spellingShingle | Kjetil G. Lundberg Care Descriptions at Work Journal of Comparative Social Work care work professional discretion accountability textual technologies institutional ethnography |
| title | Care Descriptions at Work |
| title_full | Care Descriptions at Work |
| title_fullStr | Care Descriptions at Work |
| title_full_unstemmed | Care Descriptions at Work |
| title_short | Care Descriptions at Work |
| title_sort | care descriptions at work |
| topic | care work professional discretion accountability textual technologies institutional ethnography |
| url | https://journals.uis.no/index.php/JCSW/article/view/248 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kjetilglundberg caredescriptionsatwork |