Care management in practice: on the use of talk and text in gerontological social work

Cedersund E, Olaison A. Care management in practice: on the use of talk and text in gerontological social work Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 339–347 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This is a study of encounters between social workers and citizens in one type of welfare organisation, the municipal elder care system. The article sheds light on how older people's claims are dealt with in the processing of home care applications. Twenty encounters between social workers and older people were studied using discourse analysis. The findings reveal that discursive practices are part of the routine when the applications are processed. The application handling follows an agenda‐bound pattern that is visible in the encounters. In these standardised procedures, oral discourse is embedded in routines that also include the use of texts. However, within this institutional order, there is also an important element of negotiation between the parties. It is therefore claimed that the encounters include a negotiated order that does not exist on its own, but is achieved in the ongoing interaction.