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'Would you have sandwiches for tea every night?': older people's views of social care in Northern Ireland
- Author:
- AGE NI
- Publisher:
- Age NI
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 23p.
- Place of publication:
- Belfast
The aim of this research project, commissioned by Age NI (an independent charity for older people in Northern Ireland), was to consult directly with older people to ascertain their views on all aspects of social care. 3 focus groups were run across Northern Ireland, in Belfast, Cookstown, and Irvinestown. 24 older people attended the focus groups, all aged over 65 years. The discussions focused on 2 main areas: views and experiences of the present arrangements for social care in Northern Ireland, and vision for a future social care system (covering views on what good care would look like and proposals for improving the provision of social care). This report provides the background to the project, and presents its key findings. It sets out the recommendations made, covering: entitlement, services and limitations; quality of care; workforce issues; carers and family support; and finances.
Research partnerships – embracing user involvement: practical considerations and reflections
- Author:
- O'SULLIVAN Roger
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 19(4), 2018, pp.220-231.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Academic researchers are increasingly required, and rightly so, to demonstrate the impact of their work beyond the gates of the university. This has led to an increasing focus, especially in response to funded calls, on developing research partnerships that cross disciplines, sectors and borders to help address our grand societal challenges. The purpose of this paper is to set out learning from the work of the organisation the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) and reflections on how to bring forward effective research partnerships involving users. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on reflections and learning from the organisation CARDI which delivered a highly successful programme of interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and cross-country research partnerships in both rural and urban areas between 2007 and 2015, across the island of Ireland. Findings: Research partnerships that wish to involve users require time, commitment, support, understanding and a willingness to change and be challenged. This paper highlights that there are methodological, philosophical, moral, economic and of course, practical aspects to be considered. Research limitations/implications: This reflective paper is based on a case study from the island of Ireland during the period 2007–2015 working in the area of ageing and older people. Practical implications: The author emphasises that for research partnerships involving users to be successful, they need to not only consider the most effective research methods but also focus on the overarching purpose of the work and adopt an ethos and practice that maximises each partner’s knowledge and expertise to their full potential. Social implications: This reflective paper focused on the characteristics associated with partnership success, i.e. communication style, values, philosophy and practice and argues that establishing effective and inclusive partnerships requires time, the appropriate framework and reviewing the process on an ongoing basis. Originality/value: The issue of user involvement in research partnerships requires much more consideration. Researchers, government, funders, businesses and service providers are increasingly recognising the benefits of “user” involvement to help design programmes and services that are most effective. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘I shall miss the company’: participants’ reflections on time-limited day centre programming
- Authors:
- HAGAN Robert J, MANKTELOW Roger
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 41(12), 2021, pp.2933-2952.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The social needs of frail or isolated older people are sometimes aided by referrals to day centres in the United Kingdom. Since the late 1940s, day centres have had a role to play promoting socialisation in later life. Additionally, attendance at day centres is often open ended, with participants only leaving due to moving to a nursing home or dying. In this study, the views of those attending time-limited day centre programmes in seven day centres in Northern Ireland have been sought in relation to their thoughts about the service as well as how they feel when it ends. Seventeen participants completed diaries for the programme duration and/or engaged in an interview process. Participants reflected on the social and educational benefits of attending but also recognised impositions in the centres that impinged upon individual choices and also the length of time they could remain. This study reveals that, in order to maintain socialisation, time-limited programmes must have clear follow-on strategies for participants. Additionally, respondents’ experiences reflect that a paternalistic model of care delivery remains in place that, whilst restrictive, reveals that access to the service is more specialised and not universal. Nevertheless, should day centres wish to remain relevant, it is important that service users are fully consulted about their desires and choices within the setting. (Edited publisher abstract)
Comparing how to compare: an evaluation of alternative performance measurement systems in the field of social care
- Authors:
- CLARKSON Paul, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Evaluation, 16(1), January 2010, pp.59-79.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article provides an overview of performance measurement systems and compares the different performance measurement systems in practice for older people receiving community care services in England, Northern Ireland and Japan. Over time, there have been changes in England with current systems concentrating on national systems of regulation with top-down implementation of standards and measures. In contrast, Northern Irish organisations are compared descriptively without the use of national targets. A third type of approach used in Japan, with organisations providing similar services utilising local information collected in a bottom-up manner, used service user generated data. The authors use the Performance Indicator Analytical Framework, a ‘logic model’ which compares the different systems in use, concentrating on aspects of system design and the use of measures. Comparing how to compare must, say the authors, be sensitive to the different aims ascribed to performance evaluation in the three countries. In England, the aim is one of control of subordinate agencies by central government while in Northern Ireland description of the complexity of outputs allow local Trusts to compare their provision with others and plan locally. In Japan, monitoring of the long-term insurance system by the municipalities provided detailed data at the local level. The authors conclude the choice of performance measurement system can constrain or enhance relationships with other evaluative activities, thereby affecting social care provision.