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Combating Alzheimer's disease: immediate concerns and implications for social workers
- Authors:
- SINHA Debotosh Sinah, DEY Namita
- Journal article citation:
- Indian Journal of Social Work, 67(4), October 2006, pp.410-422.
- Publisher:
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences
This article attempts to discuss exactly what Alzheimer's disease is, its causes, the extent of the problem, diagnosis and prognosis, and treatment. The different stages of the disease, role of the caregivers, and the personal and emotional stress they face is also covered. The role of professional social workers are also highlighted.
Dementia: supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care: full guideline
- Author:
- NATIONAL COLLABORATING CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH
- Publishers:
- National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 417p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Produced by NICE and SCIE, this joint guideline makes recommendations for the identification, treatment and care of people with dementia and the support of carers within primary and secondary healthcare, and social care. The guide is for health and social care staff who work with people with dementia and their carers, and those who work with older people and people with learning disabilities. This includes GPs, nurses, geriatricians, psychiatrists, social workers, care home managers and care staff. It also includes recommendations relevant to commissioners, managers and coordinators of health and social care. Published as NICE Clinical Guideline 42.
Dementia: supporting people with dementia and their carers: understanding NICE-SCIE guidance
- Author:
- NATIONAL COLLABORATING CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH
- Publishers:
- National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 19p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Produced by NICE and SCIE, this guideline makes recommendations for the identification, treatment and care of people with dementia and the support of carers within primary and secondary healthcare, and social care. The guide is for health and social care staff who work with people with dementia and their carers, and those who work with older people and people with learning disabilities. This includes GPs, nurses, geriatricians, psychiatrists, social workers, care home managers and care staff. It also includes recommendations relevant to commissioners, managers and coordinators of health and social care.
‘This is still all about love’: practitioners’ perspectives of working with family carers affected by the harmful behaviour of the older person for whom they care
- Authors:
- ISHAM Louise, BRADBURY-JONES Caroline, HEWISON Alistair
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, early cite October 2020, p.bcaa129.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores a hidden and under-acknowledged dimension of caring in family life: when older people with care needs act in a harmful, abusive or violent way towards the family member(s) who cares for them. Thirty-eight health and social care professionals, working in the UK, took part in five focus groups to explore their experience of working with families in this situation. The group discussions were stimulated by vignettes developed from interviews with carers affected by harmful behaviour, and the data generated using this method were analysed using a thematic approach. There were two principal findings: (i) ‘carer harm’ is a serious and under-acknowledged problem, which practitioners have extensive experiential knowledge of and (ii) practitioners face considerable practical and ethical challenges working with affected families. Drawing on Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice, we discuss how contemporary social, legal and policy systems can make it difficult for practitioners to identify and meet the needs of affected families. Finally, we explore the role of social workers - and the support they need as a professional group - to work alongside a ‘hidden’ group of families seeking to manage the intersection of care, harm and intimacy in later life. (Edited publisher abstract)
Commentary on “Older carers of people with learning disabilities: their experiences with local authority assessment processes and personnel”
- Author:
- GANT Valerie
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 26(2), 2021, pp.114-119.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Older carers of people with learning disabilities: their experiences with local authority assessment processes and personnel” written by Rachel Forrester-Jones. Design/methodology/approach: This commentary considers the experiences of older carers in the context of research, legislative and policy changes over the past 30+ years. Findings: The needs of older carers of adults with learning disabilities are well recognised within the (limited) literature. Less attention has been given to practical strategies to identify and support such carers or to their broader family context. Originality/value: This commentary highlights that assessors carrying out carers’ needs assessments should consider whether adults with learning disabilities are providing care to their older relative. The recognition of possible mutual or reciprocal care needs to be acknowledged and appropriate support offered. (Edited publisher abstract)
“Time is more important than anything else”: tensions of time in the home care of older adults in Ireland
- Authors:
- MCDONALD Anne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Care and Caring, 3(4), 2019, pp.501-515.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
This article explores perceptions of time reported by service users, family carers, care workers, nurses, social workers and agency managers across home support services for older adults in Ireland. The findings are organised around: time spent waiting for care; time spent ‘processing’ care across primary and secondary care boundaries; time and person-centred care; and time, technology and communication. Time emerges as a problematic aspect of all processes and structures around formal home care, suggesting that addressing issues around time is central to resolving systemic challenges. Greater flexibility in time allocation and effective communication among stakeholders could improve experiences of care. (Publisher abstract)
Social workers can use sense of coherence to predict burnout of end-of-life care-givers (research report from Japan)
- Authors:
- HIYOSHI-TANIGUCHI Kazuko, BECKER Carl B., KINOSHITA Ayae
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2014, pp.2360-2374.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Social workers are deeply involved in supporting elder persons' home care-givers, who frequently border on burnout or nervous breakdown. Since social workers cannot fully assist every family caring for frail elders at home, it is valuable to pre-identify those care-givers in greatest need of social work support. Previous research suggests that care-givers' sleep interruption is a major factor in their sense of burden, but this alone proves inadequate to discriminate those in need of extra social work support. This study hypothesised that caregivers' Sense of Coherence (SOC) was the major factor in their sense of burden. With co-operation of social workers in rural and urban Japan, a survey was conducted of caregivers' SOC and sense of burden. The study of 177 family caregivers showed that a high SOC substantially mitigated their sense of burden, while caregivers with low senses of meaning felt more burdened. This suggests that social workers should administer a simple SOC test to home caregivers in order to predict those caregivers most needful of social work assistance during end-of-life home care. Moreover, if social workers could elevate home caregivers' SOC through social support or programmes of exercise or meditation, this might reduce home care-givers' sense of burden, ultimately reducing burnout, neglect and abuse of homebound elderly. (Edited publisher abstract)
Professional decision making on elder abuse: systematic narrative review
- Authors:
- KILLICK Campbell, TAYLOR Brian J.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 21(3), July 2009, pp.211-238.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Nine bibliographic databases were searched for studies on professional decision making regarding abuse of older people. The findings of the 19 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were synthesised using a structured narrative approach. Common themes identified were abuse factors, situational factors, and broader contextual factors. Abuse factors relating to risk levels and client vulnerability were central; age, gender, and health status were considered as key indicators of vulnerability. The opinion of adult protection workers about the potential effectiveness of their intervention was a factor in deciding about responding to alleged or suspected abuse. Professionals struggled with complex ethical dilemmas created by elder abuse, particularly when the victim did not want an investigation. A structured approach to narrative synthesis of a diverse range of studies retrieved through an explicit search and inclusion process provided a useful summary of key issues for practice and identified gaps in the research literature.
'There are wonderful social workers but it's a lottery': older people's views about social workers
- Authors:
- MANTHORPE Jill, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 38(6), September 2008, pp.1132-1150.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This paper draws on the evaluation of the impact of the English National Service Framework for Older People (NSFOP) on the experiences and expectations of older people, four years into its ten-year programme. The NSFOP focuses on achieving cultural changes so that older people and their carers are treated with respect, dignity and fairness. The evaluation took a mixed methods consultation approach in ten localities. This paper focuses on what was said by older people, their carers and in voluntary sector groups about social workers’ roles and activities. The data suggest that they find social workers’ roles unclear and variable. They appreciate a person-centred approach, informed about older people’s needs in a confusing social care system. Their perceptions tally with those of social workers that the tasks of care management can be reductionist, but older people also desire specialist knowledge combined with a relationship that is ‘on their side’. Social workers’ roles in rationing support and means-testing did not seem to promote such models. At a time of rising expectations about the skills of social workers and of changes to social work roles in England and Scotland, this study provides one of the few examples of information directly gathered from older people themselves.
Geriatric care management: spiritual challenges
- Author:
- NOWITZ Leonie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(1/2), 2005, pp.185-202.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Geriatric care managers face a complex task of helping families negotiate challenges of caring for frail elders and meeting everyday practical needs. At the same time care managers can respond to clients and families with acknowledgment of the spiritual dimension of caregiving. By being fully present to the suffering of families and elders, care managers can experience their own spiritual growth and can offer help to others at the same time. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).