Go In and Out and Turn Inside Out : A Qualitative Study Regarding How Professional Caregivers in Homecare Organisations Work to Insure a Life with Dignity for the Elderly

The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge about if and how the National Value System’s goal of a life with dignity for the elderly pervades the work in home care organisations. The study was based on a qualitative research method and was conducted through interviews with professional care givers in home care organisations, there were five individual interviews and one pair interview. The background for this study was the National Value System for the eldercare that was introduced in 2011. The theory of New Public Management and the concept of Rationality of Caring were used to analyse the result. New Public Management introduces a strategy of competition tendering by signing deals with the company that give the best offer, in order to increase the quality and efficiency of organisations. An important part of New Public Management is that the leaders in organisations have control of what is happening in the organisation in order to further increase the quality and efficiency. The Rationality of Caring is about having the care recipients’ needs and wishes as a primary force of action. The study shows that professional care givers work in a way that promotes a life with dignity for the elderly and that they act with a rationality of caring, but the rationality that rules the organisations in which they work precludes their way of working. The Politicians definition of rationality, which is about the efficiency and quality that can be measured, is the one that is prioritized. It also shows that the organisation priorities small time-consumption and standardized services in order to increase the efficiency. It is found that the professional caregivers perceive that the demand for documentation and other administrative tasks has increased and as a result of this the elderly does not receive the time they have been granted