Digitalisation and Client-Orientated Services: Examples from Norway

• Published in: Nordic journal of social research Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Authors: Bjørkquist, Catharina, Hansen, Gunnar Vold
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Norwegian
• Published: Universitetsforlaget 12.10.2022
• Subjects: clients; digitalisation; management logic; professional logic; professionals; service providers
• ISSN: 1892-2783; 1892-2783
• DOI: 10.18261/njsr.13.2.4

This article examines how we can understand clients’ and service providers’ experiences of using new tools, mainly digital, based on the perspectives of professions and institutional logics and client involvement. There are strong expectations that digitalisation will lead to better and more effective health and social services. For instance, clients are expected to learn more about data and decision-making processes related to their health and treatment. At the same time, the introduction of digital tools can present a number of challenges for both service providers and clients, partly because this requires new ways of working that are not always implemented. Here, we examine the introduction of three tools: a digital assessment tool in the Norwegian Correctional Service, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease monitoring and digital medicine management in home nursing. Data were collected through interviews with clients, relatives and service providers. Home nursing clients responded to a short questionnaire. The results show that clients have a positive view of the information about their situation provided by the digital tools. However, service providers are more ambivalent and do not necessarily make use of the additional information now available.