Non-take up i det svenska välfärdssystemet : Om betydelsen av social position för kvinnors beslut kring mammografiscreening

Non-take up in the Swedish welfare system: On the impact of social position on women’s decision-making regarding mammography screening Central to a well-functioning and effective welfare system is that benefits reach the people to whom they are intended. By focusing on an example of so called non-take up – namely women’s decision not to attend mammography screening – this article discusses decision making in relation to living conditions, i.e. social position, and to the public health intentions of the welfare state. The main theoretical basis for the analysis is Rogers’ humanistic/existential theory. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were made with 18 women who had abstained from mammography screening. Their decision was described, analyzed and problematized focused on whether their living conditions, leading to a strong or weak social position, is of relevance to their decision to refrain from this health promoting examination. The women’s own experiences clearly showed how their social position was of great importance for how they explained their decision to abstain. Furthermore, social position affects how women handle different impact from living conditions, society’s expectations and personal experiences of mammography screening. This study makes visible the gap between public health intentions of the society and individual conditions.  

När kallet ställs på sin spets : Pensionering ur ett existenssociologiskt perspektiv

When the calling is brought to a head: Retirement from an existential sociology perspective In this article we analyze how the meaning and value of work can emerge, be defined and redefined in relation to the coming of retirement, by focusing individuals with dedicated work approaches interpreted as a calling. By relying on an existential sociology framework we analyze the retirement process as an existential imperative, e.g. life phases or processes where questions on meaning and life quality become prominent. For the interviewees, the day of retirement becomes a sort of a road sign that – depending on the distance of time to the point of retirement – has intensified existential questions and the meaning of work. The article explores the defining dimensions of a calling as found in the interviewees dedicated work approaches. We address the types of problems and opportunities that arise when the interviewees are soon to retire and their associated strategies: listening to a calling on ”standby”; learning not to listen to one’s calling, listening to a calling from a private sphere and project the calling’s commitment to other activities.