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A review of the international evidence of the effectiveness of the use of CCTV in care home settings: a rapid evidence assessment: full report
- Authors:
- DAVIDSON Gavin, McCARTAN Claire, BEST Paul
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 90
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
Findings of a review of the international evidence of the effectiveness of the use of CCTV in care home settings. The report begins with the rationale for this review which is in response to concerns regarding the quality of care and the potential for abuse in care home settings. It then considers the range of technology used to monitor people within such settings, with particular reference to Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) based technology. The report then considers the complex ethical debates relevant to the use of monitoring technology in care home settings and the policies and guidance developed for the use of such technology in Northern Ireland and internationally. Next, it focuses on the rapid evidence assessment of the research on the effectiveness of the use of CCTV in care home settings for service users, carers/families and service provides. The methodology used to conduct the evidence assessment is presented followed by the key findings, including a table summarising all the included studies. The final section of the report considers the possible implications of the current debates and evidence for law, policy, service provision and practice in Northern Ireland. The key themes emerging from the evidence include: the tension between the needs of residents, their family members and those providing care; issues relevant to relationship-based care, cultural change and the institutionalisation of care settings; the potential for CCTV to improve care; the possible impact of creating a culture of mistrust, the negative impact on staff; data security relevant to the recorded information; issues of accountability; CCTV's uses in identifying and monitoring health behaviours; CCTV's uses as a crime solving tool; issues of consent, capacity and best interests; the importance of consulting with all stakeholders; and, in the context of limited resources, cost effectiveness. (Edited publisher abstract)
Family Group Conference: a scoping study of self-referral processes
- Authors:
- MACDONALD Mandi, HAYES David
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 30
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
Family Group Conferences (FGC) provide a model of participatory decision-making and are often used in the fields of child protection and planning for children at risk of entering state care. While the FGC is intended to be family-led, most FGC referrals are made by social care professionals and few services accept referrals directly from families. This scoping study, commissioned by Family Group Conference Northern Ireland, aimed to identify best practice in self-referral models for accessing Family Group Conferencing (FGC) and barriers and enablers to implementing a self-referral model. It involved an audit of referral information from FCG providers in the UK, an online survey completed by 29 FGC providers in the UK and telephone interviews with 15 FGC providers who operate a self-referral process. The results of the scoping exercise found a keen interest among Family Group Conference providers across the UK in self-referral as a process whereby families can access Family Group Conferencing services directly. The numbers of providers offering a self-referral option are low, with most of those who do offer self-referral receiving the majority of their referrals from a social worker or other professional. Drawing the findings from survey responses and telephone interviews with NI statutory providers, the report identifies key considerations for any FCG services seeking to develop a self-referral process. (Edited publisher abstract)
Understanding and addressing antisocial behaviour: a rapid evidence review
- Author:
- WALSH Colm
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 54
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
A review of research related to anti-social behaviour (ASB) and prevention, with a particular focus on outreach as an engagement tool. The review was commissioned by the Belfast City Policing and Community Safety Partnership, as part of a project to review its ASB strategy. It covers interventions or approaches undertaken in the community rather than clinical or criminal justice settings. The review identified a number of themes: most forms of ASB are low level with no significant risk to the community, a number of approaches have been found to be effective in tackling low level ASB; ASB strategies should be gender conscious and integrate approaches specifically designed to engage young men; most of those engaged in ASB during adolescence will ‘age out’ of the behaviour; however, a number of young people who engage in ASB earlier than their peers, engage in more persistent, more serious and risky ASB behaviours as they grow older. The review concludes that youth work outreach is important in engaging young people, but insufficient for reducing more serious forms of anti-social behaviour. It also found few high quality studies examining prevention of ASB in Northern Ireland. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supporting children and families with complex needs: an exploration of the risks and benefits of voluntary sector service provision as an alternative to statutory services
- Authors:
- BUTLER Michelle, et al
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 69
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This research provides an overview of issues emerging in the international literature on the benefits and risks of using the voluntary sector to provide services and supports to children and families with complex needs. It also examines the extent to which these potential benefits and risks are evident in the Northern Ireland context. Specifically, the research looks at the main issues with the commissioning, governance and delivery of services by the voluntary sector, what is known about how voluntary sector services can influence family outcomes; and whether the voluntary sector supplements, hinder or substitute statutory social work services. Reviewing the learning reviews of the voluntary sector services funded by the Early Intervention Transformation Programme in Northern Ireland, the study found that the potential exists within the local community and voluntary sector organisations in relation to the provision of quality services to children and families with complex needs. It found services provided by the voluntary sector are well liked by service users; can be more flexible and agile in responding to the complex needs service users; reduce the barriers to service access and the stigma and labelling that often accompanies contact with statutory agencies. It concludes that there is a strong case for the inclusion of the voluntary sector within the range and mix of service providers for families and children with complex needs. The research also found that the organisational culture of individual service providers, the structure of the commissioning and governance structures, and level of interagency cooperation and communication are more built into and promoted within the commissioning and governance structures is more important in determining service effectiveness than the type of service provider used. It identifies a number of conclusions in relation to maximising the potential of the voluntary sector towards meeting the needs of children and families with complex needs. (Edited publisher abstract)
Early key findings from a study of older people in Northern Ireland: the NICOLA Study
- Editors:
- CRUISE Sharon Mary, KEE Frank
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 99
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This report summarises early findings from The NICOLA study, a longitudinal study of the health, lifestyles and socioeconomic circumstances of more than 8,000 people over 50 years of age. The report refers specifically to some of the key findings from NICOLA Wave 1, focusing primarily on the results from interviews conducted in the person’s own home by Ipsos MORI. Chapters discuss the findings across the following areas: the socio-demographic characteristics of older people in Northern Ireland; participation in the labour market; social connectedness, including relationships with family, friends and the wider community; social engagement, including social relationships, involvement in organisations, and leisure activities; alcohol use, smoking and physical activity; variations in self-reported health status; and health service utilisation. The findings show that a quarter of participants live alone, and this increases with age with over half of those aged over 75 live alone. Whilst survey data found many NICOLA participants were socially engaged and participated in religious, social and leisure activities, the data also indicate that social isolation remains a significant problem for many older people in society. (Edited publisher abstract)
A study of health and social care professionals': family focused practice with parents who have mental illness, their children and families in Northern Ireland. Main report
- Authors:
- GRANT Anne, et al
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2018
- Pagination:
- 245
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This two-year baseline study looks at health and social care (HSC) professionals’ family focused practice (FFP) when working with parents with mental illness or substance misuse and their children and families. Specifically, it set out to measure the extent and scope of FFP; the factors that predict, facilitate and, or hinder FFP; and how it could be further promoted. The research involved surveys and interviews with HSC professionals’ in both adult mental health and children’s services and interviews with service users. It also included a systematic review of the literature and the development of a logic model of the relationships between the resources, activities, outputs and outcomes. Overall, the survey findings from participating HSC professions indicated low levels of FFP. Although the study identified examples of good practice in line with Think Family NI initiatives; including family engagement, inclusive assessments and collaborative working to support the needs of parents, children and other family members, there were variations in the extent of HSC professionals’ FFP across disciplines, sectors and services. The results also found that compared to adult mental health services, children’s services reported a greater number of higher scores on a number of FFP subscales. The report makes recommendations for the HSC Board to develop a Think Family Northern Ireland Strategy, which includes an integrated plan for service development and guidance on how it should be implemented. In addition, the HSC should provide an overall theory of change and the specific outcomes for the overall strategy. (Edited publisher abstract)
Using the voluntary sector to provide services to children and families with complex needs as an alternative to social work services: what are the benefits and risks?
- Authors:
- BUTLER Michelle, et al
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 47
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
Using a rapid review methodology, this research aimed to examine the role of the voluntary sector in meeting the needs of families and children with complex needs and how this compares with available social work services. This review has been carried out at a time of reduced state welfare service provision and policies which emphasising the role of the free market in providing economic services. The review focuses on three questions: What are the main issues with the commissioning, governance and delivery of services by the voluntary sector?; What is currently known about how services provided by the voluntary sector can influence family outcomes and does this differ depending on the model of delivery and/or governance used?; Does the voluntary sector supplement, hinder or substitute statutory social work services?; Are there gaps in our knowledge, policies and/or data collection which may need to be addressed in order to develop an effective, efficient and economical model of service provision in this area? The review found that voluntary sector service providers were no more likely to deliver more effective or less effective services than their statutory counterparts. It also identified benefits associated with using the voluntary sector to delivery social services, especially in providing services to 'hard to reach' groups. However, some evidence indicates the commissioning of the voluntary sector by statutory organisations can undermine the independence of those voluntary sector organisations and also impact on service quality. The evidence also highlights the importance of effective interagency collaboration for improving outcomes for children and families with complex needs. (Edited publisher abstract)
Child welfare inequalities in Northern Ireland, 2015. Child welfare inequalities project April 2015 - March 2017
- Authors:
- BUNTING Lisa, McCARTAN Claire, DAVIDSON Gavin
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 30
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This report is about the connection between social inequality and child welfare interventions in Northern Ireland. It draws on an analysis of routinely collected administrative data relating to children on child protection registers and in care (looked after) on 31 March 2015. The data were linked by postcode identifiers to area-level indicators of multiple deprivation. These are the key findings: there is a clear social gradient whereby, for every level of deprivation, the rates of children on child protection registers and looked after children increase – children living in the most deprived areas in NI have a six times higher rate of being placed on a CPR and a four times higher rate of becoming LAC than those in the least deprived areas; there are statistically significant differences in CPR and LAC rates between different age groups – after controlling for deprivation, 16-17 year olds are less likely to be on CPRs than other age groups and more likely to be LAC; although deprivation has a significant effect on child welfare interventions the gradient is less steep in NI than other UK nations, despite NI having significantly higher levels of deprivation. There are a number of possible explanations for this: the fact that NI has the highest referrals rates across the UK may lead to higher thresholds for intervention, reducing CPR rates and the potential association with deprivation; the operation of NI’s integrated health and social care system, together with the presence of a strong community sector and developments in integrating and co-ordinating family support services across the region, may act to ameliorate some of the impact of deprivation by better meeting the support needs of families without recourse to statutory intervention. (Edited publisher abstract)
A review of the legislative and policy context in relation to looked after disabled children and young people in Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- KELLY Berni, DOWLING Sandra, WINTER Karen
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 101
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
This review looks at legislation and policy in Northern Ireland (NI) relating to looked after disabled children and young people. Chapters cover: international rights-based legislation, including relevant United Nations policy documents; rights-based legislation in Northern Ireland; the local legislative context for disabled children in Northern Ireland; Irish policies relating to disabled children and young people who are looked after across children and family, disability and mental health policy areas. Key policies in youth justice and education are also discussed. The review then considers key trends identified, including whole child and family centred approaches; early intervention, multi-agency working, and user participation. The final chapter brings together the broad themes of the review indicating areas of commonality and difference across legislation and policy relevant to the lives of disabled children and young people who are looked after. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mind your health: the physical and mental health of looked after children and young people in Northern Ireland
- Authors:
- McSHERRY Dominic, et al
- Publisher:
- Queens University Belfast
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 200
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
Reports on research to profile the health needs of looked after children and young people (LACYP) in Northern Ireland and examine the approaches and interventions being used to meet their needs. The study, which ran from May 2012 to April 2015, used a mixed-methods approach, including: a review of policy and practice documents; five focus group interviews with senior social work managers in each of the Health and Social Care Trusts; 233 telephone interviews with carers (foster, kinship, and residential); 25 semi-structured interviews with young people; and multi-disciplinary focus group interviews with professionals in four HSC Trusts. In relation to health needs, the findings are discussed under a number of broad themes: long-standing illnesses and disabilities; prevalence of mental health problems, behavioural difficulties, and risk-taking behaviours; proportion of LACYP who are considered to be healthy; and contributing factors to healthy children and young people. In relation to services, findings are discussed under the following themes: similarities and differences among HSC Trusts in their practice; help-seeking and engagement; access to services; what works well; and gaps in service provision. Key findings include that behavioural and mental/emotional health problems were the most common health issues suffered by LACYP. LACYP in residential care also had a much more negative physical and mental health profile than those in foster or kinship care. In relation to services and approaches: many LACYP had difficulties in accessing the services they needed; professionals found engaging young people with services challenging; and gaps in service provision were also identified due to lack of resources, capacity issues and the organisation and coordination of services. (Edited publisher abstract)