Aging and Mental Health, 11(5), September 2007, pp.496-504.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
This study evaluates the outcomes of an Internet-at-home intervention experiment that intended to decrease loneliness among chronically ill and physically disabled older adults through introducing them to the use of an electronic communication facility. To determine the effectiveness of the experiment in terms of reducing loneliness, 15 older adults were interviewed three times: shortly before the start, two years later and immediately after termination of the experiment, while their loneliness scores at zero and post-measurement were compared with those of a control group. Both the participants and the control persons experienced a reduction in loneliness over time. However, the reduction was only significant for the intervention participants. Moreover, the changes in loneliness were significantly greater among the participants compared to the control persons. When looking more in detail, the effect of the experiment was only significant regarding emotional loneliness and among the highest educated. Findings of the qualitative research enabled us to understand the mechanisms through which the intervention helped alleviate loneliness. E-mail was found to facilitate social contact. Furthermore, the computer and Internet were often used to pass the time, taking people's minds off their loneliness. Unexpectedly, the intervention also improved people's self-confidence. The decline in loneliness is likely to be greater if persons under more favourable circumstances are selected and if more social functions of the Internet are used.
This study evaluates the outcomes of an Internet-at-home intervention experiment that intended to decrease loneliness among chronically ill and physically disabled older adults through introducing them to the use of an electronic communication facility. To determine the effectiveness of the experiment in terms of reducing loneliness, 15 older adults were interviewed three times: shortly before the start, two years later and immediately after termination of the experiment, while their loneliness scores at zero and post-measurement were compared with those of a control group. Both the participants and the control persons experienced a reduction in loneliness over time. However, the reduction was only significant for the intervention participants. Moreover, the changes in loneliness were significantly greater among the participants compared to the control persons. When looking more in detail, the effect of the experiment was only significant regarding emotional loneliness and among the highest educated. Findings of the qualitative research enabled us to understand the mechanisms through which the intervention helped alleviate loneliness. E-mail was found to facilitate social contact. Furthermore, the computer and Internet were often used to pass the time, taking people's minds off their loneliness. Unexpectedly, the intervention also improved people's self-confidence. The decline in loneliness is likely to be greater if persons under more favourable circumstances are selected and if more social functions of the Internet are used.
Subject terms:
internet, intervention, loneliness, long term conditions, older people, outcomes, physical disabilities, evaluation;
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on ‘what works’ in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on ‘what works’ in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
Extended abstract:
Author
Statham, June;
Title
Outcomes and effectiveness of family support services: a research review.
Publisher
Institute of Education, University of London in association with Thomas Coram Research Unit, 2000.
Summary
This paper reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on those that social services departments are likely to commission or provide to support families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The aims of this paper are: to describe different methods of evaluation, and outline some of the problems and issues raised by evaluating social welfare provision in general and family support services in particular; to provide a brief overview of the research evidence on 'what works' in different kinds of family support provided for children in need; to bring together information on various measures and scales which have been used to evaluate family support services.
Context
Current government policy stresses the importance of evaluation and assessing the outcomes of services that are provided or purchased by local authorities. There is a new emphasis on evidence-based practice, grounded in information from research that attempts to show what works both in individual cases and in the planning of services. Agencies in both the statutory and independent sectors are increasingly expected to demonstrate successful outcomes in order to obtain funding and meet government targets.
Method
Due to this being a research review many methodologies are laid out and explained to the reader, however due to the nature of this review it is not possible to set out a method.
Contents
This review is divided into five sections. The introduction lays out the aims of the review and provides background information. The second section sets up the conceptual framework. It investigates what is meant by family support services and evaluation. It thengoes on to explore different research methodologies as a way to assess effectiveness, and issues in evaluating family support services. Section three reviews what is known about the effectiveness of different kinds of services to support families, covering (amongst others); day care and early education, befriending and social support, and family group conferences. Section four looks at measuring outcomes and costs. Section five offers conclusions on this subject.
Conclusion
" Much of the evidence for the effectiveness of family support services comes from the USA, where there is a strong tradition of systematic programme evaluation and a particular approach to family support. The findings from this research need to be applied withcaution in different social welfare contexts, and it needs to be recognised that different policies and ways of thinking about children would lead to different ways of conceptualising the evaluation of family support."
112 references
ISBN 0 85473 627 1
Subject terms:
intervention, literature reviews, mental health problems, outcomes, parent-child relations, parents, physical disabilities, social workers, babies, children, day services, families, family centres, family group conferences, evaluation, evidence-based practice, foster care, health visiting;