Being a manager in health and social care for older persons

There are several studies within this project with the aim to study how elder care managers perceive their leadership role and the needs for competence in elder care. Data collections with an eleven year interval are now compiled with a focus on the importance of Person-centered care. In addition there is an ongoing compilation of managers' knowledge and experiences on how a meaningful everyday life can be developed for older people within municipal care. The studies focus on the opportunities and obstacles that exist. Preliminary results show that according to the participating managers the introduction of the guidelines leads to a clear shift of power to the older person. This imposes increased demands on the managers to hire the right person, to abandon a work culture characterized by routines that are task centered and to move towards a flexible culture where the older person is at the center. A unique database has been assembled that evolved from the discussions with the participating managers (N=93) surrounding the opportunities and obstacles in elder care. We will analyse this data and attempt to identify the quality indicators for the implementation of our research in elder care.