Recognizing But Not Acknowledging : On Using Research Information in Social Work with Elderly People Suffering from Dementia

In English The gap between theory and practice in social work continues to be great, and research results seem to live a life of their own, far from the field they were intended to improve. This article considers research information as a useful contribution to the practice of social work with elderly demented people and to qualitative methods used in the area of social scientific research. Arising out of a project aimed at studying the usefulness of research information through an interactive exercise within focus groups, the author discusses how the results of research can be used to improve practice. When the researchers’ theoretical- oriented perspectives meet with the practitioners’ action-oriented perspectives, two different models enrich each other in the process of developing integrated knowledge.