title: Dispensing emotions: Norwegian community nurses' handling of diversity in a changing organizational context.
abstract: Since the mid-1990s, public sector health care services in Norway have been restructured, in line with New Public Management ideas. This restructuring has coincided with demographic changes that have led to a more culturally diverse patient population. Both developments have created new challenges for community nurses in managing their work. This qualitative study applies the concept of "emotional labor" to examine nurses' experiences in working with ethnic minority patients in the context of pressures arising from organizational reforms. The analysis sheds light on the nurses' attempts to comply with system-induced efficiency considerations, while catering to the special situation of patients with language barriers and unfamiliar cultural traditions. The article demonstrates how efficiency requirements and time constraints either aggravate the nurses' insecurity in dealing with minority patients or, in some cases, compel them to assume more work responsibilities so as to mitigate the effects of such constraints.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 4, St. Olavs Plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: Jonas.Debesay@hioa.no.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Debesay
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 4, St. Olavs Plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: ivan.harslof@hioa.no.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Harsløf
authors.affiliation: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, United Kingdom; Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Bernd.Rechel@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rechel
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo, Postboks 1091, Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: halvard.vike@sai.uio.no.
authors.forename: Halvard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vike
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003144:Communication Barriers; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups; D009664:Norway; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D064691:Nurses, Community Health / Q000523:psychology*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D017150:Public Sector; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Community nurses; Emotional labor; Migration; Minority patients; New public management; Norway