User Participation in Social Housing Work and Practices: A Scoping Review of Qualitative Studies from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

Abstract This scoping review maps qualitative research on user participation in social housing work and practices in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. User participation has become a central value in Nordic welfare states, promoted as a means of strengthening empowerment, improving services, and reinforcing democratic ideals. While all Nordic countries share some features, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden represent the core of the Social Democratic welfare regime, providing a more coherent basis for comparative analysis of housing policies and practices.Drawing on studies published between 2015 and 2025, this review identifies how user participation is conceptualized and enacted across individual, service, and system levels. Eleven included studies highlight that participation extends beyond formal involvement in service plans: it is embedded in everyday relationships, the degree of control residents exercise, and opportunities for co-production. Practices that foster meaningful participation include relational continuity, flexible routines, recovery- and citizenship-oriented perspectives, and open collaboration with user organizations. Yet participation is constrained by organizational mandates, professional discourses on “suitable housing,” and structural pressures. Persistent dilemmas—care versus control, plans versus lived realities, and provision versus participation—shape frontline practice.Across contexts, people with mental health and/or substance use challenges remain stigmatized and marginalized, often excluded from genuine influence over housing and services. The findings underscore the need for approaches that translate universalist welfare principles and human rights commitments into concrete practices supporting housing stability, quality of life, and social inclusion.