Open comparisons of social services in Sweden—Why, how, and for what?

Figures & data

Table 1. Schematic overview of meetings and interviews

Purpose	Social assistance	Child and youth care	Treatment of alcohol and drug abuse
1. Discussion of indicators	P + F	–	–
2. Examination of results	P	P	P
3. Continued examination of results, proposals and development issues	P + F	P + F	P + F

Notes: Role of researcher: P = participatory observer; F = conducted focus group interviews.

A total of seven meetings have been held. At meetings 1 (to amend interpretations of indicators regarding social assistance) and 2 (review of the results in all fields) NBHW and SALAR representatives also participated.

Table

Research questions (RQ) (to the right)	RQ1: How do professionals judge Open Comparisons and what role do they believe that Open Comparisons plays in the local development of social services?	RQ2: How do professionals view the opportunities to implement the Open Comparisons results to achieve concrete effects in their own administration?	RQ3: Does the use of Open Comparisons fulfill the objectives to promote democracy, improve quality, contribute to social services development and provide the basis for an evidence-based practice in the municipalities involved?
Themes based on focus group questions (below)
What does “quality” stand for in your work with social assistance? Merged with question Is it possible to use the same measures of quality in Open Comparisons even when conditions between municipalities differ?	X	X	X
How has Open Comparisons been used so far and what may be its future use?	X	X	X
What hopes and fears do you have about the use of Open Comparisons? Merged with question What are the merits and drawbacks with Open Comparisons compared to other information that the municipalities usually use for development work?	X	X	X
Do you plan to share Open Comparisons results with the public? Why /why not?			X
Has Open Comparisons resulted in turning up new areas for development? If so, which?		X	X
Has Open Comparisons influenced your direct work with clients?	X	X	X
How do you view the NBHW/SALAR reporting with red/green coding?	X	X	X
Are there areas that are missed/not made visible (or even rendered invisible) by Open Comparisons?		X	X
Open Comparisons reflects what the state considers to be important in public services. Can you see a clear direction/ideology in what is being asked?			X