Journal of Social Service Research, 46(2), 2020, pp.211-224.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
This paper reports the findings of a study conducted in Hong Kong on the value position of the social service providers regarding user participation in service management. Using a survey instrument to collect data from 642 service providers in an elderly service organization, the study explored whether or not the value position had an effect on the views of the service providers on the structural set-up for user participation, and whether the value position of the professional staff was significantly different from that of the non-professional staff. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA), confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied in the analysis. The findings identify that administrative buy-in needed to support shared decision-making with the welfare service users has not been achieved in the studied organization, owing to the absence of value commitment to the user participation cause. As the professional staff was more supportive of values favoring user participation, the paper calls for an acculturation process that would be stimulated and led by professionals to develop a participatory culture. The paper also recommends conducting similar study on a larger scale and qualitative inquiry into factors influencing the formation of values about user participation in future research.
(Publisher abstract)
This paper reports the findings of a study conducted in Hong Kong on the value position of the social service providers regarding user participation in service management. Using a survey instrument to collect data from 642 service providers in an elderly service organization, the study explored whether or not the value position had an effect on the views of the service providers on the structural set-up for user participation, and whether the value position of the professional staff was significantly different from that of the non-professional staff. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA), confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied in the analysis. The findings identify that administrative buy-in needed to support shared decision-making with the welfare service users has not been achieved in the studied organization, owing to the absence of value commitment to the user participation cause. As the professional staff was more supportive of values favoring user participation, the paper calls for an acculturation process that would be stimulated and led by professionals to develop a participatory culture. The paper also recommends conducting similar study on a larger scale and qualitative inquiry into factors influencing the formation of values about user participation in future research.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
user participation, older people, social services, social care staff, management, attitudes, values;
Summary : In order to understand how mutual understanding was achieved in discursive interactions between the welfare service users and service practitioners, conversation analysis was conducted in four discussion panels set up for building consensus on the appropriate structure for user participation in service management. Conversations in eight panel discussion meetings were audio-taped for analysing the talks-in-interaction therein. Drawing on the conversation analysis, the article uncovers the dynamics of consensus building among participants from different epistemic communities. Findings: The study identifies the extent of divergence in views among stakeholders, which could have been obscured by the pressure to acquiesce in platform of face-to-face coordination. In the contest for truth between the welfare service users and service practitioners, personal experience has not been accepted as legitimate resource for supporting truth claims. Having limited argument resources on issues of service management, the welfare service users perceived argumentation in panel discussion a threatening venture that they chose to avoid. Avoidance was also a strategy that panel participants employed to maintain mundane interactions in the face of looming dissents. The article argues that the Habermasian communicative ethics are not panacea to the problem of coordination between the welfare service users and service practitioners. An agonistic model of democracy is called for to shift the objective of communication from gauging consensus to encouraging articulation of disagreements in the intricate user participation project. Application: The article provides a new direction for developing the user participation imperative to address necessary pluralities among stakeholders of welfare services.
(Publisher abstract)
Summary : In order to understand how mutual understanding was achieved in discursive interactions between the welfare service users and service practitioners, conversation analysis was conducted in four discussion panels set up for building consensus on the appropriate structure for user participation in service management. Conversations in eight panel discussion meetings were audio-taped for analysing the talks-in-interaction therein. Drawing on the conversation analysis, the article uncovers the dynamics of consensus building among participants from different epistemic communities. Findings: The study identifies the extent of divergence in views among stakeholders, which could have been obscured by the pressure to acquiesce in platform of face-to-face coordination. In the contest for truth between the welfare service users and service practitioners, personal experience has not been accepted as legitimate resource for supporting truth claims. Having limited argument resources on issues of service management, the welfare service users perceived argumentation in panel discussion a threatening venture that they chose to avoid. Avoidance was also a strategy that panel participants employed to maintain mundane interactions in the face of looming dissents. The article argues that the Habermasian communicative ethics are not panacea to the problem of coordination between the welfare service users and service practitioners. An agonistic model of democracy is called for to shift the objective of communication from gauging consensus to encouraging articulation of disagreements in the intricate user participation project. Application: The article provides a new direction for developing the user participation imperative to address necessary pluralities among stakeholders of welfare services.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
social work, service users, user participation, participation, decision making, communication, staff-user relationships, older people;
Administration in Social Work, 31(2), 2007, pp.27-48.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
Informal caregivers of older users of adult day care centers are important clients for promoting the quality of services related to them. From the perspective of quality management, responsive communication and training provided to informal caregivers would enhance the caregivers' knowledge about the services of the center and thereby their perception about the helpfulness of the center. These effects are the focus of examination in the present study, which surveyed 508 caregivers affiliated with 22 adult day care centers in Hong Kong. The study measured the responsive communication of the center by aggregating caregivers' perceptions. Results support the hypothesis by revealing the contributions of the responsive communication of the center and the caregiver's knowledge to the caregiver's perception of helpfulness of the center. Moreover, responsive communication appears to foster the caregiver's service knowledge. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Informal caregivers of older users of adult day care centers are important clients for promoting the quality of services related to them. From the perspective of quality management, responsive communication and training provided to informal caregivers would enhance the caregivers' knowledge about the services of the center and thereby their perception about the helpfulness of the center. These effects are the focus of examination in the present study, which surveyed 508 caregivers affiliated with 22 adult day care centers in Hong Kong. The study measured the responsive communication of the center by aggregating caregivers' perceptions. Results support the hypothesis by revealing the contributions of the responsive communication of the center and the caregiver's knowledge to the caregiver's perception of helpfulness of the center. Moreover, responsive communication appears to foster the caregiver's service knowledge. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Subject terms:
older people, quality assurance, user participation, user views, attitudes, carers, day centres, evaluation;
British Journal of Social Work, 32(8), December 2002, pp.1037-1049.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
The Good Neighbour Centre of the United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service in Hong Kong has implemented a natural locality-based supportive networking approach for disabled singleton elderly in a public estate (1991-2000). As part of this approach, various psycho-social interventions were developed over nine years to strengthen mutual support among neighbours, able-bodied elderly, outpatients suffering from mental illness and volunteers who were matched and integrated with the disabled singleton elderly person to form a locality-based naturally supporting community. Different stages of developing a natural, supportive community by networking were identified in this project: network assessment, network matching, network formation and network strengthening. The concepts of stable and constant mutual support, mutual development and mutual concern were stressed. Feedback from stakeholders was encouraging and the demonstrated improvement in the functional and psycho-social well-being of disabled singleton elderly and mental health outpatients was impressive and clear.
The Good Neighbour Centre of the United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service in Hong Kong has implemented a natural locality-based supportive networking approach for disabled singleton elderly in a public estate (1991-2000). As part of this approach, various psycho-social interventions were developed over nine years to strengthen mutual support among neighbours, able-bodied elderly, outpatients suffering from mental illness and volunteers who were matched and integrated with the disabled singleton elderly person to form a locality-based naturally supporting community. Different stages of developing a natural, supportive community by networking were identified in this project: network assessment, network matching, network formation and network strengthening. The concepts of stable and constant mutual support, mutual development and mutual concern were stressed. Feedback from stakeholders was encouraging and the demonstrated improvement in the functional and psycho-social well-being of disabled singleton elderly and mental health outpatients was impressive and clear.
Subject terms:
learning disabilities, social isolation, mental health problems, older people, outreach services, physical disabilities, quality of life, social networks, user participation, communities;
Contains examples of successful service provision for older people from 40 countries. The case studies are organised into the following sections: care at home; community support; empowerment; participation; fitness and well-being; income generation; environment; integrated services; mental health; training for elder care; organisation of services; and older women.
Contains examples of successful service provision for older people from 40 countries. The case studies are organised into the following sections: care at home; community support; empowerment; participation; fitness and well-being; income generation; environment; integrated services; mental health; training for elder care; organisation of services; and older women.
Subject terms:
integrated services, management, multidisciplinary services, older people, social work education, staff, staff management, training, user participation, women, community care, dementia, empowerment, environmental factors, health;
Location(s):
Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ghana, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, Germany, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Mali, Malta, Norway, Pakistan, Mexico, Sweden, Thailand, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, United States, Venezuela, Zimbabwe