Denna artikel undersöker kunskapens roll i det sociala arbetet. Med utgångspunkt i fokusgruppsintervjuer med socialarbetare och ett intra aktivt kunskapsperspektiv (Barad 2007) problematiseras traditionella uppdelningar mellan vetenskaplig evidens och beprövad erfarenhet. I undersökningen analyseras hur kunskapen i det sociala arbetet formas, aktiveras och legitimeras i den vardagliga praktiken som utgör socialtjänsten. Utifrån empirin och det teoretiska perspektivet visar analysen att kunskap är något som uppstår relationellt i möten mellan professionella, klienter, materiella villkor, organisatoriska ramar och så vidare. Resultaten visar att professionell identitet och trygghet är nära sammanvävda med hur socialarbetare mobiliserar olika former av kunskap i komplexa situationer. Kunskapen ska därmed inte bara ses som ett problemlösningsverktyg, utan en central del av den professionella identiteten och den jurisdiktion man besitter. 

In recent years, researchers in the Nordic countries have increasingly come to adopt the label “medical humanities” to describe existing academic turfs on the intersections of health, culture, and society, and to bring forth new initiatives to engage with medicine from a theoretical and socio-cultural viewpoint and build collaboration with colleagues in biomedicine. Increasingly, the designation has proven to be useful in communicating to funders, university boards, and across faculties the potential of such interdisciplinary work. This is shown not least in how there are now several centers, research groups, and educational initiatives across the Nordics that use the term.

In recent years, researchers in the Nordic countries have increasingly come to adopt the label “medical humanities” to describe existing academic turfs on the intersections of health, culture, and society, and to bring forth new initiatives to engage with medicine from a theoretical and socio-cultural viewpoint and build collaboration with colleagues in biomedicine. Increasingly, the designation has proven to be useful in communicating to funders, university boards, and across faculties the potential of such interdisciplinary work. This is shown not least in how there are now several centers, research groups, and educational initiatives across the Nordics that use the term.

Background:

Antibiotic resistance is a critical global health challenge, necessitating judicious antibiotic use across all medical disciplines, including dentistry.

Methods:

This qualitative study explored the attitudes and decision-making processes of Swedish dentists regarding antibiotic prophylaxis in dental implant surgery. A qualitative inductive research design was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with 17 dentists across Sweden. Purposive and snowball sampling ensured diverse perspectives.

Results:

Three key themes emerged: Perception of antibiotic resistance, Attitudes on antibiotic prophylaxis, and Need for clear guidelines. Participants demonstrated an awareness of antibiotic resistance as a significant public health concern but often perceived it as abstract compared to the immediate risks of postoperative infection. Their antibiotic prophylaxis practices varied widely, influenced by patient-specific factors, procedural complexity, and personal clinical experience. While some advocated selective use of antibiotic prophylaxis for high-risk cases, others routinely prescribe it to minimize complications, reflecting an ongoing tension between patient safety and antibiotic stewardship. A common frustration among dentists was the lack of evidence-based guidelines, which left decision-making subject to individual interpretation and contributed to practice variability. This underscores the need for standardized protocols that balance effective infection prevention with minimal antibiotic use.

Conclusions:

This study shows that while dentists recognize the importance of addressing antibiotic resistance, this awareness often feels secondary to the immediate clinical risks of postoperative infections. Practice around antibiotic prophylaxis varies depending on individual clinical judgment, surgical protocol, patient factors, and the absence of clear, evidence-based guidelines. The study highlights the need for evidence-based guidelines that balance patient safety and antibiotic stewardship.

Pain affects people’s quality of life and is an important issue for equal health. How professions within social work deal with other people’s pain is therefore a central question. Previous studies on pain among groups unable to self-report have mainly focused on the role of the nurse (Hemsley, Balandin & Worrall, 2012; Martin, Connor-Fenelon & Lyons, 2012). A few studies have focused on housing, but knowledge of the Swedish context is lacking. This literature review presents the findings of previous research on professionals working closely with people with disabilities who, due to their disabilities, have difficulties communicating pain. Such disabilities may include intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and severe and persistent intellectual disability following brain injury in adulthood or mental disability not due to normal ageing.

The aim of this scoping review is to summarize and communicate the state of the art and the results of earlier studies. It will also identify gaps in the existing research on – in this case, the application of – pain detection methods in people with disabilities who have communication difficulties in user-centred work. The report is based on a scoping review (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005). Four databases were searched: PsycInfo, Cinahl, Swepub and Sociological abstracts, between the years 2010-2023. Only peer-reviewed articles were included. The results of the included studies are presented under themes corresponding to the research questions of the report:

• Pain occurrence and expression

• Pain recognition - experiences and practitioners

• Tested or validated pain assessment tools

• Challenges and recommendations in clinic and practice and

• Future technical solutions.

The scoping review shows that there is no validated tool that covers multiple disabilities/ diagnoses. It also shows that several of the tools used require medical training and are time and resource consuming. Further, the results show that there is a lack of training and knowledge about pain among staff and that they often rely primarily on verbal and explicit communication of pain, even when users have limited communication skills. Increased knowledge of pain physiology is therefore essential for those working to support and care for people with disabilities that result in reduced communication skills. Studies on different types of disabilities are missing as most studies focus on intellectual disabilities. Also, studies from a Swedish context are few.

A range of emerging biomedical technologies are reshaping the landscape of clinical sexology – for example advanced ultrasound imaging, stem cell therapies, CRISPR gene editing, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), artificial intelligence, fetal diagnostics, improved laboratory techniques. These developments are not only altering the clinical conditions under which professional clinicians operate, but also challenging the boundaries of their roles and responsibilities. At the same time, patients often express a strong desire to access the latest treatments. It can be of hope or urgency. This places considerable pressure on clinicians to respond to rapidly evolving scientific knowledge and technological possibilities. Professionals must navigate this terrain while also adhering to national and regional regulations, ethical frameworks, and economic constraints. In this context, modern biomedicine is today not only transforming clinical practice but also prompting a reconfiguration of professional identities. This paper explores how clinicians in the field of sexology negotiate their professional identities in relation to increasingly informed and demanding patients. 

The study is based on eleven in-depth interviews with professionals—primarily gynaecologists and researchers—working in Sweden and Denmark. These participants possess extensive expertise in clinical sexology and offer critical reflections on the implications of emerging biomedical technologies for their practice. The interviews are analysed from a theoretical perspective that views knowledge and professional identity as deeply intertwined.

The findings suggest that it is essential for professionals to reflect on how new biomedical technologies are not merely tools to be implemented in clinical routines, but forces that fundamentally reshape professional identity – particularly in the encounter with patients. A deeper understanding of this transformation may contribute to more responsive and ethically grounded interactions within healthcare.

Hur ser kunskapsarbete ut mitt i LSS-verksamheten? I det här kapitlet undersöks hur tjänstemän hanterar, förmedlar och formar kunskap i en vardag präglad av styrning, samverkan och krav på kvalitet. Med hjälp av observationer och intervjuer synliggörs hur kunskap tar plats och får betydelse i mötet mellan styrdokument och praktik. Kapitlet belyser även hur nya roller växer fram i den kommunala organisationens ”mitt”, där uppgiften ofta blir att översätta generella modeller till lokala sammanhang och att skapa förutsättningar för gemensamt lärande

Pain affects people’s quality of life, and is an important issue for social justice in equal health. This paper will present the preliminary analysis on professionals working closely with people with disabilities who, due to their disabilities, have difficulties communicating pain. Such disabilities may include intellectual disabilities, disabilities on the autism spectrum, and severe and persistent intellectual disability following brain injury in adulthood or mental disability not due to normal ageing. Previous studies on pain among groups unable to self-report have mainly focused on the role of the nurse (see for example Hemsley, Balandin & Worrall, 2012; Martin, Connor-Fenelon & Lyons, 2012). Few studies have focused on housing, and knowledge of the Swedish welfare context is lacking. By conducting interviews with professionals working in LSS-housing for people with, for example, intellectual disabilities and disabilities within the autism spectrum, this study explores how the professionals’ work to detect and interpret pain in the residents who have difficulty communicating pain. Through a critical disability perspective we analyses and identifies what barriers and what resources exists, what models that are currently used and what strategies the professionals have, as well as discusses how these insights can engender social justice in health.

The development of replacing human organs with those from genetically modified pigs holds immense potential for alleviating the shortage of organs necessary for patients in need of transplants. This medical advancement is also accompanied by significant social changes, including the emergence of a bioeconomy, new modes of biotechnology governance, altered human-animal relations and increased public engagement. Some aspects, such as the impact on the transplant allocation system, effects on clinical practice and healthcare provision, global trajectories and most importantly the consequences for patients and their families remain unpredictable. Given that xenotransplantation occurs within a societal context and its success or failure will not be confined to technical feasibility alone, it is essential to engage a social sciences perspective to highlight the social implications and emphasise the importance of social research in accompanying future developments.

This study uses a critical disability perspective to investigate how individuals with disabilities encounter and navigate uncertainties within the Swedish healthcare system. Previous research shows that healthcare professionals often lack specific knowledge about life with disabilities, leading to medical paternalism and the objectification of patients. To contribute to the body of knowledge, I apply a sociomaterial perspective, which understands these barriers as interwoven material and immaterial entities. By analyzing interviews with 15 individuals with disabilities, the significance of both material and immaterial aspects in shaping healthcare accessibility is highlighted. The interviews reveal that healthcare interactions often involve navigating various barriers, which can lead to significant health inequalities. The barriers are not isolated but interconnected, creating a complex landscape of inaccessibility, with the understanding that a more inclusive healthcare environment requires both structural changes and increased awareness among healthcare professionals about the specific needs of individuals with disabilities.