Från pärm till skärm : En kvalitativ studie om välfärdsteknik på särskilda boenden för äldre

Sammanfattning: In 2018, the Swedish government decided to invest 350 million SEK in welfare technology as a response to the increasing population of the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate implementation managers’ descriptions of their work and use of welfare technology. The interviews were conducted at three long-term facilities for the elderly in the municipality of Burlöv, Helsingborg, and Hässleholm in Skåne County. In the study, an analysis was made on how implementation managers' description of their work could be linked to their actions as an entrepreneur of change, which is a term from the new institutional organizational theory. Their actions were further linked to them creating change in the organization, but also for the institution. The study was conducted of semi-structured qualitative interviews in which six municipal representatives were interviewed. In the results of our study we found that the possibilities of welfare technology were described to enhance greater flexibility during working hours and to enable greater time efficiency. The challenges that welfare technology had brought for the implementation managers were most often described as new time-consuming tasks and new ethical dilemmas. Additionally, we found that the implementation managers, entrepreneurs of change, were important to adapting new ways of working, together with welfare technology. This was due to the fact that their actions, such as endorsing technology and therefor motivating the change, affected the norms and values of the organization and therefore also changed the institution.