A master thesis from Aalborg University
Handicaphjælperarbejdet - et uafdækket område
Forfatter(e)
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2011
Afleveret
2011-07-28
Antal sider
155 pages
Abstract
Abstract Aim: The disabled assistant profession has in the past decades undergone a deinstitutionalization making the organization of this profession different from other care professions. Not much research has been conducted in this kind of profession therefore research is needed to explore the psychological complexity of the disabled assistant profession. The purpose of this thesis is to examine psychological challenges in the disabled assistant profession as well as how the disabled assistant copes with these challenges. The psychological challenges in the disabled assistant profession center around 1) discourses in the disabled assistant profession, 2) the organization of the disabled assistant profession, 3) the relationship between the disabled assistant and the disabled client and 4) the role of the disabled assistant. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on a power perspective and the authors have furthermore sought inspiration in literature concerning the general care professions. Method: To explore the psychological challenges in the disabled assistant profession and how the disabled assistants cope with these challenges the authors conducted an explorative qualitative interview survey. Five disabled assistants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Four of the five disabled assistants were women and the mean age was 49 years. The interviews varied from 1 hour and 7 minutes to 2 hours and 14 minutes with a mean of 1 hour 38 minutes. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed accordingly to phenomenological and hermeneutic principles. Results: The explorative interviews revealed a high level of psychological complexity in the disabled assistant profession due primarily to different challenges in the profession and the disabled assistants’ difficulties in coping with these challenges. The discourses in the disabled assistant profession identified some opportunities and constraints within the profession and especially in the discourses concerning normality and diversity which influence the disabled assistants and the profession. Furthermore the disabled assistant and the disabled client are involved in a close and intimate relationship, where the disabled assistant’s roles are multiply and often contradictory. This is a critical challenge in the disabled assistant profession because the disabled assistants have trouble coping with this role ambivalence. This thesis is only one step on the way to understand the psychological complexity of the disabled assistant profession, but it is a step in the right direction. Keywords: Disabled assistant, disabled client, care profession, challenges, coping, power, discourses, relationships, roles
Emneord
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