Sosial omsorg − fra blind flekk til sentralt innsatsområde i hjemmebasert eldreomsorg?
Sammanfattning
Health-related services have for a long period been prioritized in Norway at the expense of other services in home-based elderly care. The intention of the new Law on Municipal Health and Care Services from 2012, however, was to promote social security, prevent social problems and ensure that individuals get the opportunity to have an active and meaningful everyday life together with others. This requires that social care as a phenomenon and as a relational and situational practice should be put on the agenda. This article, drawing on qualitative data from two municipalities in Norway, analyzes the potentials of social care, by examining the care work of home-helpers as a case. Based on our findings, we suggest defining social care as ‘recognizing the user as an individual (rather than as a patient), and facilitating, or creating opportunities for, meaningful activities and social relationships’. Finally, we argue that it is necessary to take professional, cultural and structural measures in order to promote social care as a key area of action in municipal elderly care.