Sprutbytesprogram och den sociala omvärlden. Framväxt och utveckling av sprutbytesprogrammet i Helsingborg

The purpose of this thesis has been to shed light upon, and create an understanding of, social forces that can hamper or enable the establishment and future development of the needle exchange program in Helsingborg. More specifically, the thesis has investigated how different discourses of drug abuse and the external organizational environment, in terms of imitation and legitimization, have influenced the unit. A qualitative case study was conducted among a series of different social organizations in Helsingborg city, and 6 individuals with varying professional social work background participated in semi-structured interviews. By snowball sampling, interesting and relevant informants could be found, who collectively contributed to a series of essential thematic categories could be identified through the empirical data; “The drug abuse and medical treatment”, “The search for legitimacy”, and “To create continuity”. These have been interpreted by using theoretical lenses such as Meyer and Rowan’s theory of institutions’ dependency on adjustment to rational myths; DiMaggio and Powell’s theory of different isomorphistic processeses; and finally, Holstein and Miller’s theory of Social Problems Work. The thesis culminates in a threefold conclusion drawn about the meaning of organizational imitation of already established enterprises, the continuous search for legitimacy in the external environment, and the necessity of medicalization of drug abuse as a mediator in changing the social problem category. Social perspectives and actions still constitute clear contributors in establishing and developing the needle exchange program in Helsingborg