Description (eng)
Research on Case Management in Austria has been limited in its consideration of users' perspectives. As an attempt to fill this research gap, this Master's thesis aims to examine the perspective of Case Management users. The cooperation partners were the providers of the project Case Management für Bezieher:innen von Sozialhilfe in Upper Austria, which is Case Management for welfare recipients. This research aims to explore users' experiences of case management in case management for social assistance recipients and how these experiences can be systematized. The focus was on aspects of case management that are particularly important to users. In addition, the extent to which the compulsory context of case management in this project is reflected in the users' perspective was examined. Finally, a selection of user statements was compiled for dissemination. In order to achieve this, guideline-based, problem-oriented interviews were conducted with users and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. In the sense of qualitative social research, the procedure was oriented towards the statements of the users. The conducted interviews reveal some evidence from practice of both elements of lifeworld orientation and empowerment as well as advocacy. The key findings of the research relate to the collaborative nature of the working relationship between the users and the case managers. In particular, the person and personality of the case manager plays an important role. These findings are a contribution to the case management discourse in Austria and broaden its scope by including the users' perspective.