Sjuksköterskors uppfattning om patienters behov av kuratorskontakt : intervjuundersökning bland sjuksköterskor på ett länssjukhus

The aim was to find out how nurses at a county hospital, came to the conclusion to bring about contact with the hospital social worker. A qualitative method was used. Unstructured interviews focused on different themes connected to the aim of the study. The questions at issue intended to shed light on what it means that the occupational field of the nurses is nursing when it comes to understanding the social and psychosocial needs of the patients and estimating who will best meet these needs. The study was connected to theories of nursing and of psychosocial work. The results showed that the medical and nursing perspective, organizational elements and lack of resourses tend to limit the observations of the nurses. Many patients could get their needs fulfilled by psychosocial nursing. For other patients the disease may be part of a broader group of problems which demand theories for a deeper understanding and knowledge of methods of psychosocial treatment Key words: Hospital social worker, social/psychosocial work, nursin