Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 6 of 6
Caregiving and older Japanese adults: lessons learned from the periodical literature
- Authors:
- MOKUAU Noreen, TOMIOKA Michiyo
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 53(2), February 2010, pp.117-136.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
With an increasingly ageing and multicultural population in the United States, these authors call for social care provision to be culturally competent and adapt to the demands of such a diverse, ageing population. This research review looks at the periodical literature from 1980 to 2007 on older Japanese or Japanese/American people, who have the longest life expectancy in the USA, to assess associations between ageing, caregiving and culture. The search, using the Social Science Citation Index, included ‘Japanese’ and ‘caregivers’ as key terms. Twenty-two articles written by Japanese and/or American authors, were critically analysed using content analysis (rather than meta-analysis), with two researchers independently reading and coding articles into three categories of cultural values, family caregiving and social services. Two important points that emerged were the influence of cultural values on family caregiving and women as caregivers and providers of informal family support. Traditionally in Japan, care of the aged is an expected and fixed responsibility of the succeeding generation within the patrilineal extended family, principally the wives of eldest sons, and has roots in the group goals of Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism. Openness to use of formal social services depended on them being ‘ethnically appropriate’ and the severity of illness or disability involved. The authors detail directions for future social work practice within this and other black and minority ethnic people groups.
Ethics and the street-level bureaucrat: implementing policy to protect elders from abuse
- Author:
- ASH Angie
- Journal article citation:
- Ethics and Social Welfare, 4(2), July 2010, pp.201-209.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Abingdon
This personal essay describes how the author was an independent researcher, registered social worker and long-term, long-distance carer. The care of older people, and protection of elders from abuse, had been constant professional and personal foci for the author for many years. When commissioned to review a case involving the serious abuse of an elder where official safeguarding procedures had not been used, the author puzzled why this had been managed 'informally' by social services and partner agencies outside of adult safeguarding procedures, with vague unspecified monitoring. The author asks “why was there this apparent gap between policy intention and implementation?” That question led to research on the ethics of care and policy implementation on which this essay is based.
Involving users in commissioning local services
- Authors:
- MAUGER Samantha, et al
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- York
A lot of social care public money is spent locally through commissioning. Officers buying in blocks of services where they can use their purchasing power to get the services they want, at a quality they want and at cheaper cost. This study by Age Concern London brought commissioners and service users together to discuss how service users can be involved in shaping local services. The project, based in London, worked across six London local authorities and seven different user groups (ranging from mental health users to people living with HIV). The project team drew on the literature of user involvement and of commissioning in health and social care. User groups and commissioners in each of the local areas were asked about their experiences of working together in specific service areas, the extent to which their experiences were positive or negative, the limitations external factors had on aspirations (on all sides), what each group needed from the other and their own assessment of how involvement had (or had not) worked. The project reflected on what's happening at the moment and how user involvement in commissioning could work in practice. Key findings were that: the involvement of service users in shaping local services is still in its infancy; the definition of 'user involvement' varies from one-off consultations to equal partnerships; there are more good practice examples of user involvement in social care than in health.
Personal social services expenditure and unit costs England, 2008-09
- Author:
- NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE. Information Centre for Health and Social Care
- Publisher:
- National Health Service. Information Centre for Health and Social Care
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 25p.
- Place of publication:
- Leeds
The Personal Social Services Expenditure return (PSSEX1) collects detailed information on Personal Social Services (PSS) expenditure. Data collected within the PSSEX1 is used by the Care Quality Commission to monitor the performance of social services across councils. In 2008-09 information was collected for adult’s social care expenditure only; children’s social care expenditure is now the responsibility of the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This document reports on current expenditure, trends in expenditure, expenditure by service provision, grants and unit costs. Expenditure is provided for older people, physically disabled adults, learning disabled adults, adults with mental health needs, and asylum seekers. The overall figures indicate that local authorities have reported an increase in adult social services spend from £15.3 billion in 2007-08 to £16.1 billion in 2008-09, this is approximately 5% in cash terms and 3% in real terms. Over a longer term, this represents a real term increase of 13% since 2003-04 and 54% over the 10 years from 1998-99.
Making the grade?: results from the first year of grading registered services: 2008/09
- Author:
- CARE COMMISSION
- Publisher:
- Care Commission
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 70p.
- Place of publication:
- Dundee
In April 2008 the Care Commission began grading registered care services in Scotland and by 31 March 2009 71% of the 14,545 registered services had undergone a graded inspection. The grades achieved in this first full year of grading are the subject of this report. The information is intended as a baseline against which future grading results will be compared. The information is broken down in various ways so that grades can be compared by service groups, types, local authority, private and voluntary sectors; and local authority areas. Grades range from 1, unsatisfactory, to 6, excellent, with individual grades awarded for quality of care and support, quality of environment, quality of staffing, quality of management and leadership, and quality of information. There is no overall grade. Overall the quality of services was good with about 80% of services achieving grades 4 and above for each of the quality themes. In general services for adults had higher proportions of services with poor grades and lower proportions of services with good grades for each quality theme than services for children. Housing support services and support services offering care at home achieved the highest proportion of very good and excellent grades of the care services for adults. Care homes for older people gave the most cause for concern with nearly 1 in 10 of these services graded 1 or 2 for quality of care and support. Overall children’s services achieved good grades. Examples of good practice are provided.
An independence at home service: the potential and the pitfalls for occupational therapy services
- Authors:
- LITTLECHILD Rosem, BOWL Ric, MATKA Elizabeth
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(6), June 2010, pp.242-250.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This paper considers some of the challenges facing local authorities since the UK Government signalled its desire to change the emphasis of the support provided by social care services to older people from simply assisting people to remain living in the community to increasing their ability to function independently. Local authorities charged with implementing this agenda have responded with a range of changes. This study evaluated 57 users of the Independence at Home service of a large UK metropolitan social services department, which was staffed by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants and based with local area adult social work teams. The study draws upon comparisons with other services; interviews with service users and staff; and data gathered using an amended version of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure on changes to service users' functioning. Results show that such an approach can potentially boost service users' independence and functioning, but also reveal the difficulties of running such a service in the context of other constraints. The authors conclude that these impediments need to be overcome if the Government's ambitious prevention agenda is to become a reality.