Enhetschefers syn på arbetet med äldre hemtjänstmottagare med alkoholmissbruk

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to investigate how unit managers reason about elderly home care recipients who are considered to have a harmful alcohol consumption. The purpose is to shed light on how unit managers construct alcohol abuse as a problem, how they reason about the purchase of alcohol and their view of the home care service's responsibilities and solutions. Elderly people's alcohol consumption is a well-researched area, however, there are no guidelines for what responsibility the home care service has for elderly addicts. The essay is a qualiative studie based on semi-structured interviews with six unit managers in elderly care from six different municipalities. The analysis was inspired by Håkan Jönson's perspective analysis and Andreas Liljegren's theory of boundary work. The results show that there is great variation in managers' views on the role of the home care service in relation to the alcohol abuse of the elderly. Furthermore, the thesis shows that the alcohol abuse of the elderly was constructed as two very different types of problems: partly as a problem for the individual care recipient and partly as a work environment problem for the staff. Perceptions about alcohol purchases also differed; from seeing it as something that the staff absolutely did not help with, to seeing it as the right of the elderly that could not be denied. The unit managers described the solution to the alcohol abuse of the elderly in terms of other actors taking responsibility and in terms of collaboration. The essay discusses how unclear guidelines and approaches risk leading to negative consequences both for home care staff and for the elderly with alcohol abuse problems.