Socialklinisk sygeplejepraksis: en kvalitativ undersøgelse af hospitalsansatte socialsygeplejerskers praksisformer i mødet med socialt udsatte patienter

Background:
Socially vulnerable hospitalized patients are low positioned in health care system. Bilateral negative expectations among patients and health care professionals are well documented. However, knowledge about appropriate actions is requested.
Purpose:
To investigate which nursing practices encompass social vulnerability in a somatic hospital context.
Methods:
Ethnographic field work, semi-structured interviews with 12 social nurses at 12 different hospital settings.
Theoretical framework:
Elements from Bourdieu’s practice theory, (the concept of strategy), Goffmann’s concept of stigma, and Mauss’ logic of the gift.
Result:
Six specific social clinical nursing practices are identified.
Conclusion:
Social clinical nursing practices function to anti-stigmatize socially vulnerable patients. However, they are not unconditioned. In return for nursing patients are expected to refrain from discharge and remain in treatment trajectory. Social clinical nursing has traits from case management- and bridge-building functions which were meant to overcome strong specialization. Social clinical nursing seems to contribute to further specialization.