CULTURE SENSITIVITY IN CLIENT WORK A video-guide for Espoo city social service workers

Abstract

Alba Kokki Culture sensitivity in client work. A video-guide for Espoo city social service workers Pages 71 and attachments 4 Published (Fall, 2022) Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Master’s degree in social services. Master’s Degree Programme in People-Centered and Innovative Leadership in Health Services

The thesis is developed for the city of Espoo, specifically for the social service sector. As the multilingual population grows in Espoo, there is also a need to implement different approaches in social services. In a global world, client work methods are continuously evolving, therefore the existing methods should be periodically revised.

The theoretical framework of the thesis is culture sensitivity and how its knowledge can improve the relationship between the caseworker and the multilingual client. The aim of the research was to get a deeper understanding about social service sector workers and their interaction with multilingual clients.

Then, based on their experiences, a short video-guide about culture sensitivity was tailored using cross-cultural approaches for the worker’s use. During this qualitative research, it was applied participatory research methods and content analysis. For this, a total of ten social service workers were interviewed.

The major output of the research was the worker’s need to learn how to cope with their own prejudices, they felt there is not enough support in their workplace about this subject, and there is a lack of awareness related to certain cultures. Hence, these topics were reflected in the video-guide. On the other hand, the workers shared already common knowledge about some culturally friendly approaches.

Keywords: Multilingual clients, culture sensitivity, social service sector, Espoo city, video-guide