Life stories in care work
Challenges and opportunities for the use of life story documentation in nursing homes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/sjvd.5115Keywords:
Livshistorier, profesjonelle relasjoner, omsorgsarbeid, sykehjem, velferdspolitikkAbstract
Recent health- and care policy documents in Norway highlight the potential of life stories as a key source of knowledge in care for the elderly, and a relevant tool in professional care work in the nursing home. What challenges and opportunities lie in life stories as a tool for care professionals? This article emerges from an interdisciplinary collaborative project between researchers in the fields of healthcare, social science, health sciences and the humanities, as well as students in nursing education. Our aim is to gain new knowledge about life stories as a tool for care workers in nursing homes, and what characterizes their design. Through a mapping of the prevalence of life stories as a tool for documentation and communication in nursing homes in a region of Vestlandet, we found great variation in the design of the forms used to document patients’ life stories. Through a comparative close reading of the forms’ stylistic designs and communication styles, we discuss the implications of what we see as a challenging blending of instrumental and relational purposes when using life stories in professional care.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Ingvil Hellstrand, Nora Simonhjell, Birgitta Haga Gripsrud, Ragnhild Margrete Finnesand Michaelsen, Ellen Ramvi, Ingrid Leiknes
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