The article examines older people's perceptions of quality of life from the perspective of access and use of health and social care services. The data include focus group discussions with older people living alone. The data were analysed using thematic analysis focusing on the older people's collective views on health and social care services as supportive or restrictive factors for their quality of life. Two central themes were present in all the focus group discussions: the importance of accessing services and information regarding the services, and need for recognition within the services/by the professionals. Both themes were connected to the older people's desire to maintain autonomy in their everyday life despite increasing functional disabilities, which was seen as an important factor of quality of life. The older people felt that accessing and finding information about the services was difficult, and dependent on the professional's good will and the older person's own financial resources. Within the services, older people experienced a lack of recognition of their own personhood and individual needs. The participants felt that they were easily bypassed and left out of negotiations regarding their own care. The article highlights the importance of developing health and social care services and practices towards a more holistic approach recognising older people's individual needs.

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Purpose While studies on service users’ participation and their perceptions on the quality of services exist, agreement between family members’ and practitioners’ assessments of the family’s situation has received less interest. The purpose of this paper is to investigate agreement and its effect on outcomes by comparing the viewpoints of three groups of informants (children, mothers and practitioners) in the context of statutory child protection in two study groups – one applying a systemic approach (SPM) and a service-as-usual control group (SAU). Design/methodology/approach A quasi-experimental repeated-measures study design was applied. Outcome data comprised 112 cases (SPM cases n = 56 and SAU cases n = 56) at three sites. Data was collected from all participants at baseline and six months later. Findings First, practitioners’ analyses of a child’s need for protection did not meet family members’ expressed need for help. Second, child–mother agreement on the need for service intervention at T1 predicted a decrease in practitioner-assessed abuse or neglect from T1 to T2. In this sample, no differences were found between the two groups. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of making explicit the viewpoints of children, parents and practitioners in casework and research to improve understanding of how their perspectives differ over the course of the process and how possible initial disagreements affect outcomes.

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan lasten ja tutkijoiden välisiä sukupolvisuhteita tutkimustoiminnassa. Tutkimusmenetelmänä ja tutkijoihin kohdistuvana pedagogisena menetelmänä käytetään kollaboratiivista autoetnografiaa. Artikkelissa hyödynnetään Pierre Bourdieun episteemisen refleksiivisyyden ajatusta eli tutkijan ja tutkittavien suhteiden ja asemien kriittistä arviointia. Lisäksi tutkimustoiminnassa toteutuvia sukupolvisuhteita tarkastellaan eksistentiaalisen, episteemisen ja juridis-eettisen ulottuvuuden avulla. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu tutkijoiden kirjoittamista autoetnografisista teksteistä sekä lapsille suunnattujen työpajojen litteraateista. Analyysi osoittaa, miten tärkeää on hahmottaa lasten tieto eksistentiaalisesti arvokkaana ja ymmärtää samalla, mikä merkitys tutkijuuteen liittyvillä vastuilla ja eettisellä harkinnalla on. Lapset toimivat tutkijoiden luomissa puitteissa, mutta tutkijat ovat lapsista olennaisesti riippuvaisia, sillä muutoin he eivät kykene tekemään tutkimusta lapsista tai lasten kanssa. Tutkijoiden sukupolvinen asema, ammatillinen tieto ja historia aktualisoituvat etenkin nopeita eettisiä päätöksiä vaativissa tutkimustilanteissa. Analyysi korostaa tilannekohtaisen eettisen tarkastelun tärkeyttä.