title: ["My reward is being able to serve". Housemother's retrospective memories of the loss of power in their position in houses "for the sick and needy" between 1945 and 1995].
abstract: Institutional families were widespread in the 20th century. As there is very little empirical material on the function of the housemother, a qualitative study was launched to explore members' memories of the function of the housemother between 1945 and 1995 and how communal life in the institutional families of the period was possible. The study was methodologically oriented towards oral history techniques and the principles of Grounded Theory as well as towards sequential line by line analysis. For the purposes of this article, the interviews with nine housemothers were selected from the interviews conducted for the wider study (n=42). The central question concerned how housemothers experienced professional developments in retrospect and the influence these had on the function of the housemother. The interviews resulted in the definition of three phases which the housemothers passed through during their role as housemother. This article describes the third phase: "Leaving the function of the housemother - lost and frustrated power and dominance". Housemothers were not only housekeepers but also carers. Together with the husbands, they represented the heads of their institutional families. Housemothers found living in one house with the other members of the "family" a burden, but at the same time they benefitted from the great freedom they had. This aspect is described using the core categories of power and dominance.
authors: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Departement Gesundheit, Institut für Pflege, Winterthur. Daniela.Haendler-Schuster@zhaw.ch
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Händler-Schuster
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Schulz
authors: Johann
authors: J
authors: Behrens
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000266:history*; D005190:Family / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D016519:Hospitals, Religious / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000266:history*; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000266:history*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D013557:Switzerland; D017664:Uncompensated Care / Q000266:history*