ABSTRACT

Settings in social work may be associated with spatial stigma. This study uses the case of a highly stigmatised setting to investigate ways of ascribing positive characteristics to tainted contexts. Guided by symbolic interactionism, the aim is to analyse how residents in ‘wet’ eldercare facilities manage to view these in a positive light. Wet eldercare facilities are designed for older people with long-term substance use problems, where abstinence is abandoned for well-being. Forty-two residents of four such facilities were interviewed, revealing how the hybrid status of these places enabled residents to frame their situation as being ‘in the right place’, but for different reasons. Some framed the place as a care home, others as an ordinary flat. Both frames were made credible by the formal hybrid organisation: Swedish wet eldercare facilities are part of the eldercare system, and residents’ rooms are formally regarded as flats. The study suggests that it is social work’s (often neglected) responsibility to counter spatial stigma and improve residents’ sense of dignity. Based on promising practices in the Swedish system, the study presents three strategies that enable residents in nominally tainted settings to ascribe positive characteristics to the place where they live.

摘要

社会工作环境可能与空间污名有关。本研究使用高度污名化环境的案例来调查将积极特征归因于受污染环境的方法。在象征互动主义的指导下，目的是分析“湿”老年护理设施中的居民如何以积极的态度看待这些。湿式老年护理设施专为有长期药物使用问题的老年人设计，为了健康而放弃禁欲。采访了四个此类设施的 42 名居民，揭示了这些地方的混合状态如何使居民能够将他们的情况描述为“在正确的地方”，但出于不同的原因。一些人把这个地方定为养老院，另一些人把这个地方定为普通公寓。正式的混合组织使这两个框架都可信：瑞典湿式养老设施是养老系统的一部分，居民的房间正式被视为公寓。该研究表明，消除空间污名和提高居民的尊严感是社会工作（通常被忽视）的责任。该研究基于瑞典系统的有希望的实践，提出了三种策略，使名义上受污染的环境中的居民能够将积极的特征归因于他们居住的地方。