This paper brings together the key themes and findings from the synthesis of six literature reviews on the impact of user participation on change and improvement in social care services. Reviews on older people, children and young people, people with learning difficulties and disabled people were commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). Reviews on mental health service user participation and on general user/ consumer involvement were commissioned by NHS Service Delivery and Organisation Research and Development Programme. The aim of this work is to give an overview or synthesis of these reviews in order to provide a comprehensive, accessible account of what is currently known about the impact of service user participation on change and improvement in social care services. It will also provide a basis for SCIE Practice guides on service user participation.
This paper brings together the key themes and findings from the synthesis of six literature reviews on the impact of user participation on change and improvement in social care services. Reviews on older people, children and young people, people with learning difficulties and disabled people were commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). Reviews on mental health service user participation and on general user/ consumer involvement were commissioned by NHS Service Delivery and Organisation Research and Development Programme. The aim of this work is to give an overview or synthesis of these reviews in order to provide a comprehensive, accessible account of what is currently known about the impact of service user participation on change and improvement in social care services. It will also provide a basis for SCIE Practice guides on service user participation.
Subject terms:
learning disabilities, literature reviews, mental health problems, older people, service users, social workers, user participation, user views, children;
Health and Social Care in the Community, 27(4), 2019, pp.e257-e269.
Publisher:
Wiley
This scoping review aims to systematically map the job demands, resources, mental health problems, coping strategies and needs of staff in social work with refugees and homeless individuals. Relevant studies were identified by searching seven electronic databases from their inception until the end of May 2018, as well as Google Scholar and reference lists of included articles. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A thematic analysis was conducted. Twenty‐five studies were included in the review. Fourteen studies followed a quantitative approach, six a qualitative approach and five a mixed‐method approach. Most studies were conducted in the homeless sector (56%), in North America (52%) and published after the year 2009 (68%). Common job demands included the bureaucratic system, high caseloads, clients' suffering and little experience of success. Maintaining professional boundaries counted both as a job demand and a coping strategy. Deriving meaning from work and support from the team were identified as important job resources. The prevalence of mental health problems among staff was high, but difficult to compare due to the use of different instruments in studies. Staff expressed a need for ongoing training, external counselling and supervision. Further studies should examine the effectiveness of workplace health interventions.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This scoping review aims to systematically map the job demands, resources, mental health problems, coping strategies and needs of staff in social work with refugees and homeless individuals. Relevant studies were identified by searching seven electronic databases from their inception until the end of May 2018, as well as Google Scholar and reference lists of included articles. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A thematic analysis was conducted. Twenty‐five studies were included in the review. Fourteen studies followed a quantitative approach, six a qualitative approach and five a mixed‐method approach. Most studies were conducted in the homeless sector (56%), in North America (52%) and published after the year 2009 (68%). Common job demands included the bureaucratic system, high caseloads, clients' suffering and little experience of success. Maintaining professional boundaries counted both as a job demand and a coping strategy. Deriving meaning from work and support from the team were identified as important job resources. The prevalence of mental health problems among staff was high, but difficult to compare due to the use of different instruments in studies. Staff expressed a need for ongoing training, external counselling and supervision. Further studies should examine the effectiveness of workplace health interventions.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
literature reviews, social workers, refugees, homeless people, homelessness, conditions of employment, stress, job satisfaction, mental health problems, coping behaviour;
This report aims to explore what works to support the multi-disciplinary team to develop preventative approaches for children and young people at risk of mental health issues. It aims to capture real-life examples of improvement, recommendations for service improvement, evaluation reports, practice development, piloting and scoping initiatives. It highlights key findings from six identified reports. It is one of three linked evidence summaries from the NHS Education for Scotland Networked Evidence Search and Summary Service, which combine evidence from research, practice and improvement to inform an action plan for East Dunbartonshire.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This report aims to explore what works to support the multi-disciplinary team to develop preventative approaches for children and young people at risk of mental health issues. It aims to capture real-life examples of improvement, recommendations for service improvement, evaluation reports, practice development, piloting and scoping initiatives. It highlights key findings from six identified reports. It is one of three linked evidence summaries from the NHS Education for Scotland Networked Evidence Search and Summary Service, which combine evidence from research, practice and improvement to inform an action plan for East Dunbartonshire.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
child and adolescent mental health services, children, literature reviews, mental health problems, multidisciplinary teams, prevention, social work, social workers, young people;
This summary identifies evidence on the effectiveness of preventative therapeutic approaches to prevent children progressing to more severe mental health problems which need more intensive healthcare interventions. It also looked at the implementation of approaches, factors for success; and social services staff involvement in implementing these approaches. The review found little evidence which looked specifically at the role of social services in prevention and early intervention. Suggested reasons are that: social services tend only to get involved when a more serious level has been reached; resistance to getting involved in what is perceived as a ‘health issue’; lack of training; and difficulties of assessing specific impact. However, some examples where social services staff have worked to try and prevent serious mental health issues developing were identified. The review also found there was a lack of solid longitudinal analysis and identifies that more research is needed to assert that prevention and early intervention strategies are effective. It is one of three linked evidence summaries from the NHS Education for Scotland Networked Evidence Search and Summary Service, which combine evidence from research, practice and improvement to inform an action plan for East Dunbartonshire.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This summary identifies evidence on the effectiveness of preventative therapeutic approaches to prevent children progressing to more severe mental health problems which need more intensive healthcare interventions. It also looked at the implementation of approaches, factors for success; and social services staff involvement in implementing these approaches. The review found little evidence which looked specifically at the role of social services in prevention and early intervention. Suggested reasons are that: social services tend only to get involved when a more serious level has been reached; resistance to getting involved in what is perceived as a ‘health issue’; lack of training; and difficulties of assessing specific impact. However, some examples where social services staff have worked to try and prevent serious mental health issues developing were identified. The review also found there was a lack of solid longitudinal analysis and identifies that more research is needed to assert that prevention and early intervention strategies are effective. It is one of three linked evidence summaries from the NHS Education for Scotland Networked Evidence Search and Summary Service, which combine evidence from research, practice and improvement to inform an action plan for East Dunbartonshire.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
social workers, multidisciplinary teams, prevention, child and adolescent mental health services, children, young people, mental health problems, social work, literature reviews;
International Social Work, 61(1), 2018, pp.143-155.
Publisher:
Sage
Rural and remote communities often have complex and diverse mental health needs and inadequate mental health services and infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an array of potentially innovative and cost-effective means for connecting rural and remote communities to specialist mental health practitioners, services, and supports, irrespective of physical location. However, despite this potential, a review of Australian and international literature reveals that ICT has not attained widespread uptake into social work practice or implementation in rural communities. This article reviews the social work literature on ICT, draws on research on tele-psychology and tele-education, and provides suggestions on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Rural and remote communities often have complex and diverse mental health needs and inadequate mental health services and infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an array of potentially innovative and cost-effective means for connecting rural and remote communities to specialist mental health practitioners, services, and supports, irrespective of physical location. However, despite this potential, a review of Australian and international literature reveals that ICT has not attained widespread uptake into social work practice or implementation in rural communities. This article reviews the social work literature on ICT, draws on research on tele-psychology and tele-education, and provides suggestions on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
mental health services, mental health problems, social workers, digital technology, information technology, online services, rural areas, literature reviews;
Journal of Social Work Practice, 31(3), 2017, pp.353-368.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
This is a narrative review of the latest peer-reviewed social work literature on the child protection work with parents. Aiming to identify knowledge gaps, the study researches the mental health aspects of the implicit or explicit theoretical perspectives underpinning the assessment and intervention with parents. An electronic database search extracted 38 peer-reviewed journal articles. It was found that the theoretical perspectives the publications adopted were the managerial, the critical, the humanistic, the psychodynamic and the behavioural. The study identified mental health knowledge gaps in the assessment and intervention work with parents across all theoretical perspectives and stressed the need for process and effectiveness studies on the work with parents, under explicit theoretical perspectives. The study finally highlights the need for the social work profession to increase its mental health literacy through mental health education for students and practitioners alike.
(Publisher abstract)
This is a narrative review of the latest peer-reviewed social work literature on the child protection work with parents. Aiming to identify knowledge gaps, the study researches the mental health aspects of the implicit or explicit theoretical perspectives underpinning the assessment and intervention with parents. An electronic database search extracted 38 peer-reviewed journal articles. It was found that the theoretical perspectives the publications adopted were the managerial, the critical, the humanistic, the psychodynamic and the behavioural. The study identified mental health knowledge gaps in the assessment and intervention work with parents across all theoretical perspectives and stressed the need for process and effectiveness studies on the work with parents, under explicit theoretical perspectives. The study finally highlights the need for the social work profession to increase its mental health literacy through mental health education for students and practitioners alike.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
child protection, literature reviews, social work, parental mental health, parents, mental health problems, assessment, intervention, social workers;
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on ‘what works’ in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on ‘what works’ in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
Extended abstract:
Author
Statham, June;
Title
Outcomes and effectiveness of family support services: a research review.
Publisher
Institute of Education, University of London in association with Thomas Coram Research Unit, 2000.
Summary
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on 'what works' in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
Context
Current government policy stresses the importance of evaluation and assessing the outcomes of services that are provided or purchased by local authorities. There is a new emphasis on evidence-based practice, grounded in information from research that attempts to show what works both in individual cases and in the planning of services. Agencies in both the statutory and independent sectors are increasingly expected to demonstrate successful outcomes in order to obtain funding and meet government targets.
Method
Due to this being a research review many methodologies are laid out and explained to the reader, however due to the nature of this review it is not possible to set out a method.
Contents
This review is divided into five sections. The introduction lays out the aims of the review and provides background information. The second section sets up the conceptual framework. It investigates what is meant by family support services and evaluation. It thengoes on to explore different research methodologies as a way to assess effectiveness, and issues in evaluating family support services. Section three reviews what is known about the effectiveness of different kinds of services to support families, covering (amongst others); day care and early education, befriending and social support, and family group conferences. Section four looks at measuring outcomes and costs. Section five offers conclusions on this subject.
Conclusion
" Much of the evidence for the effectiveness of family support services comes from the USA, where there is a strong tradition of systematic programme evaluation and a particular approach to family support. The findings from this research need to be applied withcaution in different social welfare contexts, and it needs to be recognised that different policies and ways of thinking about children would lead to different ways of conceptualising the evaluation of family support."
112 references
ISBN 0 85473 627 1
Subject terms:
intervention, literature reviews, mental health problems, outcomes, parent-child relations, parents, physical disabilities, social workers, babies, children, day services, families, family centres, family group conferences, evaluation, evidence-based practice, foster care, health visiting;