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Reshaping care for older people: a programme for change 2011-2021
- Authors:
- SCOTLAND. Scottish Government, CONVENTION OF SCOTTISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Government
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 34p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Providing high quality care and support for older people is a fundamental principle of social justice and is an important hallmark of a caring and compassionate society. Demographic changes coupled with a decade of difficult public finances means this is one of the 3 biggest challenges facing Scotland – alongside economic recovery and climate change. This document sets out the Scottish vision and immediate actions for reshaping the care and support of older people. It has been co-produced through an extensive period of development and engagement with the people of Scotland and with political, organisational and community interests at both local and national levels. The programme presented provides a framework, built on consensus across all sectors and interests, to address the challenges of supporting and caring for Scotland’s growing older population into the next decade and beyond. This document will be updated to ensure it operates as a key driver for Reshaping Care.
An evidence base for the delivery of adult services
- Author:
- PETCH Alison
- Publisher:
- Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 60p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This independent evidence review was commissioned by the Association of Directors of Social Work to inform current debates on the future delivery of adult services. It sought to ground such debate in a firm understanding of the conclusions that can be drawn from initiatives evaluated both within the UK and elsewhere, ensuring that any future developments can be based on a clear understanding of the likely impact. The debate is motivated by the aspiration to establish the optimum conditions for the provision of support to the 650,000 people in Scotland who have contact with social services. Key conclusions highlight the need to ensure the most effective configuration for the delivery of adult health and social care is imperative given the current financial and demographic challenges. It has a high profile within the current policy context, exemplified by the Reshaping Care for Older People agenda. Social services for adults have delivered major achievements over the last two decades. There have been major shifts in the models of support from dependency and institutionalisation to greater choice and control by the individual. At the same time there has been recognition of key areas such as the needs of family carers and the demands of dementia that were previously invisible. The large majority of those receiving care and support express high levels of satisfaction.
Dementia 2011: a North East perspective
- Author:
- SMITH Debbie
- Publisher:
- Northern Rock Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 104
- Place of publication:
- Newcastle upon Tyne
Outlines the state of dementia care in the North East, as of May 2011. The report provides an overview of the work that is being undertaken to support people with dementia and their carers by statutory, voluntary and education sectors. It highlights progress made and gaps in service development and provision; setting this work against the English policy context and the views and experiences of people with dementia and their carers. In particular, the report provides: context through demographic information, dementia types and economic challenges; details of policies that are relevant to dementia, in particular, the national dementia strategy, and any related activity that has been undertaken within the North East to deliver or comply with the policies; details of North East structures, research and regional wide dementia specific information that supports the implementation of the national dementia strategy; the North East key dementia priorities and details of progress against them including the views of North East stakeholders; and details of the remaining national dementia strategy objectives and progress against them including the view of North East stakeholders. (Edited publisher abstract)
The Productivity Commission Inquiry into Aged Care: a critical review
- Author:
- HUGHES Mark
- Journal article citation:
- Australian Social Work, 64(4), December 2011, pp.526-536.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The final report of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Aged Care was handed to the Australian Government in June 2011. The report recommends a substantial restructuring of Australia's aged care system to make it fairer, more responsive to the needs of individual consumers, and more sustainable in the context of population ageing. The aim of this paper is to examine the context for the Inquiry into Aged Care, including some of the key drivers for reform, such as population ageing and inequities in the financing of aged care. It considers the major recommendations of the Inquiry and their reception within the aged care sector. It argues that, while acknowledging the necessity of a safety net and the needs of diverse groups, the recommended reforms continue to advance the neoliberal restructuring of Australia's health and welfare systems. The paper also examines the role and potential of social work in the context of the recommended changes, arguing that the transfer of recommendations into actual policy provides an opportunity for social work to argue its unique contribution and potential in the delivery of aged care.
Bridging critical feminist gerontology and social work to interrogate the narrative on civic engagement
- Author:
- NETTING F. Ellen
- Journal article citation:
- Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 26(3), August 2011, pp.239-249.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article aims to highlight the work of feminist gerontologists whose contributions in gerontological journals may not always be read by many social work feminists in other fields. Specifically, the article highlights the work of feminist gerontologists who critically analyse the intersection of age, gender, and race, and who question the inherent assumptions in dominant policy and practice narratives. Beginning with a brief background on the emergence of critical gerontology, the work of feminist activists is briefly reviewed and the scholarship of feminist gerontologists in social work is highlighted. The article uses the current narrative on civic engagement as an example of how the discourse changes when feminist gerontologists raise questions about unintended consequences. Finally, the article ends with discussing implications for social work educators and practitioners.
Population aging and social work practice with older adults: demographic and policy challenges
- Author:
- CRAMPTON Alexandra
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 54(3), May 2011, pp.313-329.
- Publisher:
- Sage
As life expectancy increases, living into older ages is the norm, rather than the exception. Improvements in global health and longevity across the lifespan bring challenges for social work practice. At the same time, these changes are part of population aging trends that are not universal or inevitable. This article considers policy and practice challenges in social work and social work practice with older adults through understanding population ageing demographic trends. It draws connections between ageing and social work through demographic terms and measures. It then examines the current deficits in current ageing policy discourse, and the need for social work advocacy in policy reform. The article concludes with implications for social work practice with older people given ageing policy trends.
Planning for an ageing population: experiences from local areas in the United Kingdom
- Author:
- MEYER Christine
- Publisher:
- Rhombos-Verlag
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 270p.
- Place of publication:
- Berlin
The majority of local areas in the UK are faced with an ageing population. Popular retirement destinations in coastal and more rural areas are particularly affected. The paper aims to find out how local areas strategically tackle these demographic shifts. Data is based on multiple case study design, covering the three heterogeneous cases North Tyneside, Poole and Wealden. Empirical data has been assembled from qualitative interviews with local experts and documents such as local strategies or minutes of meetings. The results are threefold. Firstly, local governance arrangements are analysed. This covers the identification of involved actors, their action orientations and interactions. As approaches in planning for an ageing population differ across organisations, a typology of individual actors is developed. Moreover, it is observed that and analysed how traditional hierarchical steering by public bodies is complemented by more network-like forms of governance, for example multi-organisational older people’s partnerships. Secondly, local learning processes in planning for an ageing population are reconstructed. Four phases are differentiated: setting the agenda for the topic of ageing and older people followed by building up knowledge on the subject and collective learning in a narrower sense and, finally, strategy-making. Interrelations between governance arrangements and collective learning are analysed, particularly with respect to different forms of learning in different types of older people’s partnerships. Finally, central challenges and perspectives arising from the analysis of governance arrangements and learning processes are discussed. On the one hand, these pertain to the cross-cutting nature of ageing, on the other hand they are due to the ambivalent influence from national government on local areas. The thesis concludes with recommendations for practitioners locally and at the national level.
Social work, social policy and older people
- Author:
- JOHNS Robert
- Publisher:
- Learning Matters
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 192p.
- Place of publication:
- Exeter
This book explores the development of welfare provision for older people throughout the twentieth century and beyond. It starts from the Edwardian era, moving on to the creation of the welfare state, then to the era of community care, and next to the lived experience of older people in Britain today. The most influential aspects of policy are discussed alongside the development of social work practice with older people. Each chapter includes a case study and a reading list. The book also analyses contemporary developments, such as localism and empowerment. It is likely to be of interest to social work students to explain why social policy is important to social work and how it has a real impact on the everyday life of vulnerable people.
Informal caregiving for elders in Sweden: an analysis of current policy developments
- Authors:
- JOHANSSON Lennarth, LONG Helen, PARKER Marti G.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 23(4), October 2011, pp.335-353.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Care of older people is a public responsibility in Sweden, with public policies and programmes providing health care, social services, pensions, and other forms of social insurance. However, families are still the major providers of care for older people. In the context of a 2009 amendment in the Swedish Social Services Act recognising the importance of informal caregivers, and policies promoting support for family caregivers, this paper examines the process leading to the amendment and its implications for the division of responsibility between the state and family. It looks at the Swedish context and background, services for older people and their families, the development of social services legislation from the 1980s, "rediscovery" of the family, and the role of voluntary and private sectors. It also discusses the new legislation and support to caregivers, noting that family caregivers have received more recognition but that reductions in public services have had negative repercussions for caregivers, and that it is too early to say how the changes will affect informal caregivers.
Determinants of obtaining formal and informal LTC across European countries
- Authors:
- STYCZYNSKA Izabela, SOWA Agnieszka
- Publisher:
- Center for Social and Economic Research
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 35p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Warsaw
The aim of this study was to identify patterns of utilisation of formal and informal long term care (LTC) across European countries and discuss possible determinants of demand for different types of care. Specifically, the research attempts to measure the volume of different types of care in European countries and the conditions under which different types of care are obtained. The conditions include demographic factors, especially aging of the society, health status and limitations caused by poor health, family settings and social networking. The analysis is provided across all European countries separated into 4 clusters. Estimates of the probability of obtaining formal care are based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data for 2006. The analysis reveals substantial differences in obtaining LTC across European countries depending on the tradition and social protection model that determine availability of institutional care and provision of informal care. In the Nordic-type countries with high state responsibility and high provision of institutional care, informal care is of less importance and, if received, is mostly care provided on a irregular basis from outside the family. Countries of the continental Europe are less unified with high share of people using formal settings of care, but also combining formal and informal care. In Mediterranean countries, provision of informal care, including personal care, plays a much greater role than formal LTC.