Facts

Contact person:
Camilla Nordgren
Financer:
  • Norrbacka-Eugeniastiftelsen
Responsible at MaU:
Camilla Nordgren
Project members at MaU:
Time frame:
01 February 2022 - 31 December 2025
Faculty/department:
Research environment :
Research subject:

About the project

Opportunities for people with reduced mobility to become parents have changed in Sweden, from sterilization, marriage bans and forced separation from children, to support from the state through reproductive technology, social services and personal assistance. This change has helped people with reduced mobility to have children, keep them, and to exercise parenthood.

However, there is a lack of knowledge about how care is done in families with children where at least one parent has reduced mobility, for example, is a wheelchair user. How is cleaning, shopping and cooking organized? Who participates in school and leisure time activities, and what does the participation look like? Previous research has shown that the absence of support measures leads to negative consequences and vulnerability for both disabled parents and their children. However, this research is fragmented, does not focus on care practices, and needs to be deepened to examine possible marginalization and unsatisfied needs.

This project studies living conditions and everyday life with emphasis on care practices in these families. The focus is on how care and family are "done" through cooperation, division of labour and negotiations between children and parents. This study deals both with the conditions under which children and young people are growing up, and the experiences of disabled parents.

The material consists of interviews with 15-20 parents and 15-20 children/young people. The study is ultimately about welfare for these groups and their position in the Swedish welfare state. It can shed light on whether support from welfare organizations is limited, which can hamper full participation in society.