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The health service and sick users This article advocates applied social research, in particular cultural sociological analyses of welfare state policies. An example of this is the author’s own research in the con-cept of user and the meaning of that concept in the public health sector. The concept of user in the health sector is socially constructed and makes sense at the politi-cal and administrative levels, but it has little relevance to everyday experience. The layperson’s view-point is deter-mined by his or her everyday circumstances, and thus influenced by subjective, experiential factors. The article concludes that despite the emphasis on a user-centered approach in the health sector, the layperson’s perspective is still stifled.