Den svåraste frågan - En kvalitativ studie om sjukhuskuratorers upplevelse av att ställa frågan om våld i mötet med patienter och anhöriga

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to analyze hospital social workers experiences of asking patients and relatives about violence within the family. This study was based on a qualitative research design where we interviewed six hospital social workers at two children's hospitals located in the southern part of Sweden. We analyzed the collected data with selected theoretical perspectives about professional ethics. To analyze the material we used concepts such as professional ethics as judgment, the ethical requirement and the concept of integrity zones. The study also presented previous research about the research object. The results in this study showed that the question about violence within the family is difficult to ask. The interviewed hospital social workers only ask about domestic violence when there were explicit indications or signs of violence. The professional obligations of the hospital social workers can be helpful in making an assessment, whether the question should be asked. The results showed that the hospital social workers are experiencing a resistance to ask the question because they do not know if it will cause more harm than good for patients and relatives. The hospital social workers also described patients and relatives crisis as an impediment when asking about violence within the family. Another outcome was that the organization did not have any explicit requirements in this context, which some of the hospital social workers described as beneficial while others thought it created uncertainty.