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Persons with certain functional impairments apply for parenting support : a study of personal assistance assessments in Sweden

Bergman, Ann Sofie ; Melin Emilsson, Ulla LU and Järkestig Berggren, Ulrika (2022) In Nordic Social Work Research 12(1). p.46-58
Abstract

In Sweden, personal assistance is one form of support for persons with certain functional impairment. The aim of personal assistance is to give compensatory support to individuals so that they can enjoy the right to live a life like anyone else. This article explores what kind of support parents who have functional impairments and apply for personal assistance may need when they have underage children. The article is focused on the following: What support needs in parenting are expressed in personal assistance applications and by whom? How are the expressed needs in parenting met by the intervention personal assistance, i.e. how do the decisions correspond with the expressed needs? The article is based on qualitative and quantitative... (More)

In Sweden, personal assistance is one form of support for persons with certain functional impairment. The aim of personal assistance is to give compensatory support to individuals so that they can enjoy the right to live a life like anyone else. This article explores what kind of support parents who have functional impairments and apply for personal assistance may need when they have underage children. The article is focused on the following: What support needs in parenting are expressed in personal assistance applications and by whom? How are the expressed needs in parenting met by the intervention personal assistance, i.e. how do the decisions correspond with the expressed needs? The article is based on qualitative and quantitative document-analyses of 100 randomly selected applications for the right to personal assistance submitted to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency by applicants who were parents with children 0–17 years of age, during the years 2014–2017. The central concepts resulting from the analyses of the empirical material were support and care. The results show that in many cases the children were invisible in the material studied. In several investigations, there was no information at all about the applicant’s children. Many applications for assistance were refused. Few parents received assistance in their parenting role. In the documents, we found the following themes in statements about needs for support related to the role as a parent: practical support, care and supervision, support with communication, emotional support and safety, and support to be involved in the children’s lives.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
care, children, disability, parents, Personal assistance, support
in
Nordic Social Work Research
volume
12
issue
1
pages
13 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85108012286
ISSN
2156-857X
DOI
10.1080/2156857X.2020.1756387
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a0660afb-c1a6-46bc-8b36-169d3a4263cb
date added to LUP
2022-12-28 15:29:44
date last changed
2022-12-28 15:29:44
@article{a0660afb-c1a6-46bc-8b36-169d3a4263cb,
  abstract     = {{<p>In Sweden, personal assistance is one form of support for persons with certain functional impairment. The aim of personal assistance is to give compensatory support to individuals so that they can enjoy the right to live a life like anyone else. This article explores what kind of support parents who have functional impairments and apply for personal assistance may need when they have underage children. The article is focused on the following: What support needs in parenting are expressed in personal assistance applications and by whom? How are the expressed needs in parenting met by the intervention personal assistance, i.e. how do the decisions correspond with the expressed needs? The article is based on qualitative and quantitative document-analyses of 100 randomly selected applications for the right to personal assistance submitted to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency by applicants who were parents with children 0–17 years of age, during the years 2014–2017. The central concepts resulting from the analyses of the empirical material were support and care. The results show that in many cases the children were invisible in the material studied. In several investigations, there was no information at all about the applicant’s children. Many applications for assistance were refused. Few parents received assistance in their parenting role. In the documents, we found the following themes in statements about needs for support related to the role as a parent: practical support, care and supervision, support with communication, emotional support and safety, and support to be involved in the children’s lives.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bergman, Ann Sofie and Melin Emilsson, Ulla and Järkestig Berggren, Ulrika}},
  issn         = {{2156-857X}},
  keywords     = {{care; children; disability; parents; Personal assistance; support}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{46--58}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Nordic Social Work Research}},
  title        = {{Persons with certain functional impairments apply for parenting support : a study of personal assistance assessments in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2020.1756387}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/2156857X.2020.1756387}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}