Understanding the practice and developing the concept of welfare bricolage (UPWEB). Study Report

This study report describes the qualitative research data generated within the Welfare Bricolage research project „Understanding the practice and developing the concept of welfare bricolage” (UPWEB). The project aimed to understand the functioning of health care provision in so-called diverse urban neighbourhoods, in which people from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds live. It investigated how residents living in superdiverse neighbourhoods use and access healthcare services according to their needs, including formal and informal sources of advice, treatment and support. This includes for example, local counselling services or courses, information from the internet, as well as help and advice from family members, friends and acquaintances. Additionally, it explored how various service providers identify and address the healthcare requirements of the neighbourhood’s residents.
The UPWEB research project combined both qualitative and quantitative methods including street mapping, ethnographic observation and a community participatory research approach, qualitative interviewing and a standardised health survey (n=900). This comparative and interdisciplinary study was carried out in eight deprived and upwardly mobile superdiverse neighbourhoods in four European countries, defined as national welfare states (Germany, Portugal, Sweden and UK). The dataset archived with Qualiservice, originates from the sub-project carried out in Germany and contains 60 interview transcripts with structured summaries and visual timelines, collected from in-depth interviews with residents (n=40) and neighbourhood service providers (n=20) in Bremen.
Findings indicate that residents of superdiverse neighbourhoods use a range of formal and informal sources of support and treatment. The outcomes of the research show patterns and strategies of assembling and combining health or welfare related knowledge (“bricolage”) in dealing with health-related problems. The results also show inequalities and differences in the distribution of need and access to health.