Data Transparency as a Tool for Accountability: Norwegian Municipalities’ Approaches to Elderly Care Information, and Broader Implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.33214Keywords:
investigative journalism, freedom of information, public administration, health care managementAbstract
This paper presents an investigative analysis of Freedom of Information (FOI) compliance among Norwegian municipalities, focusing specifically on requests for elderly care data. Norway presents a particularly intriguing case, ranking first globally on the World Press Freedom Index whilst achieving only moderate performance on citizen access to public data. Through systematic FOI requests to all Norwegian municipalities, seeking data on reported accidents in elderly care, we assess transparency levels and institutional willingness to share information under the FOI Act. Our findings reveal compliance gaps, with significant variations in data quality and format. While the results underscore the need to improve transparency and accountability in order to foster high-quality elderly care, the research additionally provides valuable insights for understanding the practical limitations of the FOI legislation in democratic governance.
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