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Continuity and Change in Norwegian Nursing Homes, in the Context of Norwegian Welfare State Ambitions

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Abstract

The high investment by the Norwegian state and the Norwegian municipalities in terms of material and human resources enhance the opportunities for achieving a homelike and meaningful environment for the residents at the same time as offering high quality professional care. However, obstacles which may be overcome without an increased economic spending, hamper developments. The present work, based on ethnographic fieldwork over a time span of 25 years (1988–2013), supports the view that care for residents in Norwegian NHs is characterized more by historical continuity than by change, for good and for worse.

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Notes

  1. Medium size, around 60 residents.

  2. At Bergen University College, Bergen, Norway

  3. Translated to English by the author.

  4. The name of the facility has been altered.

  5. Study not yet published.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Professor Anneli Hujala at University of Eastern Finland and PhD student Gudmund Ågotnes at Centre for Care Research - Western Norway, Bergen University College, for valuable comments.

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Correspondence to Frode F. Jacobsen.

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Jacobsen, F.F. Continuity and Change in Norwegian Nursing Homes, in the Context of Norwegian Welfare State Ambitions. Ageing Int 41, 79–88 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-015-9231-5

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