Enslige asylbarn og historiens tvetydighet

Denne artikkelen aktualiserer hvilke samfunnsmessige og omsorgspolitiske dilemmaer som oppstår i det norske samfunnet når det ankommer barn som er uten sine foreldres nære omsorg og beskyttelse – barn som har en annerledes kulturell og etnisk bakgrunn, og som er flyktninger fra samfunn preget av væpnede konflikter eller annen organisert vold. Artikkelen fokuserer på hvordan samfunnet har oppfattet disse barnas situasjon på ulike tidspunkt og under ulike historiske omstendigheter, og hvilken praksis som har blitt utøvet når det gjelder mottak og omsorg. Den aktuelle historiske perioden er fra 1938 og fram mot år 2000. Utvalget består av fire grupper av flyktningbarn som kom til Norge uten sine foreldre. Disse fire utvalgene er jødiske barn som ankom 1938–39, ungarske barn som kom i 1956, tibetanske barn som kom i 1964, og enslige mindreårige flyktninger med ulik etnisk bakgrunn som kom i perioden 1989–92

Using prospective methods to identify fieldwork locations favourable to understand divergences in health care accessibility

Central to this article is the issue of choosing sites for where a fieldwork could provide a better understanding of divergences in health care accessibility. Access to health care is critical to good health, but inhabitants may experience barriers to health care limiting their ability to obtain the care they need. Most inhabitants of low-income countries need to walk long distances along meandering paths to get to health care services. Individuals in Malawi responded to a survey with a battery of questions on perceived difficulties in accessing health care services. Using both vertical and horizontal impedance, we modelled walking time between household locations for the individuals in our sample and the health care centres they were using. The digital elevation model and Tobler’s hiking function were used to represent vertical impedance, while OpenStreetMap integrated with land cover map were used to represent horizontal impedance. Combining measures of walking time and perceived accessibility in Malawi, we used spatial statistics and found spatial clusters with substantial discrepancies in health care accessibility, which represented fieldwork locations favourable for providing a better understanding of barriers to health access.publishedVersio

Using locational data in a novel mixed-methods sequence design: Identifying critical health care barriers for people with disabilities in Malawi

The primary aim of this study was to determine which health care barriers were most important for people with disabilities in Malawi. To accomplish this, we devised a sequential mixed-methods research design that integrated locational survey data and qualitative data from field studies. Our secondary aim was to evaluate this research design not only as a design-solution to our particular research objective, but as a tool with more general applicability within social sciences. Malawi has one of the most underserved health service populations in the world with chronic resource shortages and long travel distances where people with disabilities are at a particular disadvantage. Nevertheless, our results show that even in a resource scarce society such as Malawi it is the interpersonal relationships between patients and health service providers that has the largest impact on the perception of access among patients. Our results also suggest that the sequential mixed-methods design is effective in guiding researchers towards models with strong specifications.publishedVersio

Same but different: meaning-making among refugee and non-refugee youths

Purpose: There is substantial research on the experiences, needs and well-being of unaccompanied refugee adolescents, but less is known about existential aspects of their lives. The purpose of the current study is to explore existential meaning-making among unaccompanied refugee children. Design/methodology/approach: The informants in this study are young unaccompanied refugees (n = 30) living in Norway, and young Norwegians (n = 46). The authors undertook a secondary analysis of in-depth qualitative refugee interview data and a quantitative analysis of questionnaire data from Norwegian informants. Findings: Both the refugee youths and the Norwegian youths expressed that social relationships and connections to others were most important for meaning. Moreover, both groups emphasized the importance of relatedness and generativity, i. e. commitment to worldly affairs beyond one’s immediate needs. The main differences between the two groups were related to the significance attached to religion and to loneliness. Research limitations/implications: The comparison between the two groups is only possible to some degree. Secondary analyses have some limitations, as well as strengths. Practical implications: The findings may be useful for supporting young refugees, as they provide insights into less-studied aspects of their lives. Originality/value: The originality of this study lies in the focus on and broad interpretation of meaning, of secondary data analyses, and of comparisons between youths that are refugees versus non-refugees.publishedVersio

Neurocognitive profiles in treatment-resistant bipolar I and bipolar II disorder depression

Background The literature on the neuropsychological profiles in Bipolar disorder (BD) depression is sparse. The aims of the study were to assess the neurocognitive profiles in treatment-resistant, acutely admitted BD depression inpatients, to compare the neurocognitive functioning in patients with BD I and II, and to identify the demographic and clinical illness characteristics associated with cognitive functioning. Methods Acutely admitted BD I (n = 19) and BD II (n = 32) inpatients who fulfilled the DSM-IV-TR criteria for a major depressive episode were tested with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, the National Adult Reading Test, and a battery of clinical measures. Results Neurocognitive impairments were evident in the BD I and BD II depression inpatients within all MCCB domains. The numerical scores on all MCCB-measures were lower in the BD I group than in the BD II group, with a significant difference on one of the measures, category fluency. 68.4% of the BD I patients had clinically significant impairment (>1.5 SD below normal mean) in two or more domains compared to 37.5% of the BD II patients (p = 0.045). A significant reduction in IQ from the premorbid to the current level was seen in BD I but not BD II patients. Higher age was associated with greater neurocognitive deficits compared to age-adjusted published norms. Conclusions A high proportion of patients with therapy-resistant BD I or II depression exhibited global neurocognitive impairments with clinically significant severity. The cognitive impairments were more common in BD I compared to BD II patients, particularly processing speed. These findings suggest that clinicians should be aware of the severe neurocognitive dysfunction in treatment-resistant bipolar depression, particularly in BD I.publishedVersio

The gap between legal protection, good intentions and political restrictions. Unaccompanied minors in Norway

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The Indirect Approach

How do we do good guesswork at meaning if our informant lives in a secret world? Doing research often includes awkward moments, unforeseen events, and incidents. Here we name some of these “happenstances.” We suggest that happenstances may offer a solution to the problem of meaning discrepancies: The happenstance is one of those moments that allow the researcher to temporarily bridge into the meanings of his or her informant. We have carried out research on marginal youth. In both of our studies, happenstances have turned interview situations upside down. Here we identify how these unforeseen events provided us with valuable insights into our informants’ contexts. We conclude by addressing how these happenstances, though they appear to be a product of pure accident, may become part of a systematic approach in discovering contextual knowledge

Omsorg for andre(s) barn - barnevern, profesjon og integrering

Artikkelen tar utgangspunkt i et forskningsprosjekt knyttet til videreutdanningen Barnevern i et minoritetsperspektiv. Som et ledd i det pedagogiske opplegget ved fire høgskoler 1) leverte deltakerne på denne videreutdanningen inn kasus fra sine respektive arbeidsplasser i barnevernet. Kasusene utgjør det empiriske grunnlaget for forskningsprosjektet og beskriver problemstillinger og utfordringer som barnevernsarbeidere kan stilles overfor i møte med barn og familier med minoritetsbakgrunn. I denne artikkelen drøfter vi omsorgsutøvelse på institusjon slik de barnevernsansatte selv forstår og framstiller den i sine kasusbeskrivelser. Omsorgsutøvelse blir i artikkelen knyttet til forhandlinger om kulturelle verdier, og disse forhandlingene gjenspeiler seg i flere av de kasusene som analyseres i forskningsprosjektet. Vi drøfter sentrale temaer som omsorgsforståelse og profesjonell omsorg, og hvordan kultur og integrering får betydning i den daglige omsorgsutøvelse

Kulturalisering og symbolsk mening i barnevernsarbeid

artikkelen drøftes hvordan barnevernsarbeidere bruker kulturelle forklaringer for å forstå minoritetsetniske barn og foreldres situasjon. Dette definerer vi som kulturalisering, en prosess der gitte situasjoner, problemer eller annerledeshet fortolkes, og påvirker handling på grunnlag av generaliserte kulturelle frtolkninger framfor komplekse individuelle, sosiale eller politiske forhold. I artikkelen pekes det i tillegg til dette også på hvordan kulturalisering vil kunne tilsløre sosiale problemer og usynliggjøre hvordan strukturelle og institusjonelle mekanismer kan føre til annengjøring og diskriminering. Artikkelens empiriske utgangspunkt er kasus, beskrevet av barnevernsarbeidere som var deltakere i videreutdanningen Barnevern i et minoritetsperspektiv, gjennomført første gang i 2008 ved fire høgskoler i Norge, som et ledd i Barne- likestillings- og inkluderingsdepartementets satsing på et mer kunnskapsbasert barnevern

Omsorg for andre(s) barn - barnevern, profesjon og integrering

Artikkelen tar utgangspunkt i et forskningsprosjekt knyttet til videreutdanningen Barnevern i et minoritetsperspektiv. Som et ledd i det pedagogiske opplegget ved fire høgskoler 1) leverte deltakerne på denne videreutdanningen inn kasus fra sine respektive arbeidsplasser i barnevernet. Kasusene utgjør det empiriske grunnlaget for forskningsprosjektet og beskriver problemstillinger og utfordringer som barnevernsarbeidere kan stilles overfor i møte med barn og familier med minoritetsbakgrunn. I denne artikkelen drøfter vi omsorgsutøvelse på institusjon slik de barnevernsansatte selv forstår og framstiller den i sine kasusbeskrivelser. Omsorgsutøvelse blir i artikkelen knyttet til forhandlinger om kulturelle verdier, og disse forhandlingene gjenspeiler seg i flere av de kasusene som analyseres i forskningsprosjektet. Vi drøfter sentrale temaer som omsorgsforståelse og profesjonell omsorg, og hvordan kultur og integrering får betydning i den daglige omsorgsutøvelse