Search results for ‘Subject term:"vulnerable adults"’ Sort:
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Dreaming the impossible dream? An exploratory study on the expectations of Dutch clients with multiple problems concerning the co-production of public services
- Authors:
- BOER Lieke Reinhoudt-den, HUIJSMAN Robbert, VAN WIJNGAARDEN Jeroen
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 29(6), 2021, pp.e240-e248.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Currently, many policymakers try to encourage client involvement during the public service delivery process and make it a co-production. Clients are encouraged to act as active agents and embrace an integrated approach to address their problems to empower them. However, different studies have raised questions regarding to what extent these ambitions are appropriate for clients with vulnerabilities, such as clients with multiple problems. Aiming to further explore this issue, we studied the expectations of clients with multiple problems concerning the co-production of public services. We interviewed 46 clients with multiple problems at the start of their support trajectory. All 46 participants lived in five districts in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and were recruited via community-based primary care teams. Our study indicates that co-production ambitions might not resonate with clients with multiple problems. The study shows that these clients’ expectations are driven by their feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed out by their situation, feelings of being a victim of circumstances, bad experiences with public services in the past, their evaluation of what counts as a problem and the envisioned solutions. These clients expect public service providers to take over, fix their main problem(s) and not interfere with other aspects of their lives (not an integrated approach). Although participants seek a ‘normal’ life with, e.g., a house, work, partner, children, holidays, a pet, and no stress (a white picket fence life) as ideal, they do not feel that this is attainable for them. More insight into the rationale behind these expectations could help to bridge the gap between policymakers’ ambitions and clients’ expectations. (Edited publisher abstract)
Customer training programme handbook: supporting vulnerable people to take an active role in shaping and improving service delivery
- Author:
- LOOK AHEAD HOUSING AND CARE
- Publisher:
- Look Ahead Housing and Care
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 90p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Look Ahead Housing and Care support homeless and socially excluded people across London and the South East. During a 6 month period in 2007, Look Ahead delivered a pilot programme of training to over 120 customers from different services across the organisation. The purpose of the training programme was to equip vulnerable and hard to reach customers with the skills and confidence to take part in customer involvement activities. The aim of this handbook is to highlight Look Ahead’s journey through the project in order to encourage other organisations to undertake a similar programme with their own client groups. The handbook highlights: the challenges faced engaging chaotic and hard to reach groups with involvement opportunities; the identified training needs of customers; the training process; the outcomes of the programme for both Look Ahead and customers; and programme evaluation (incorporating customer, trainer and external evaluation). The handbook incorporates a training manual which gives an overview of the successful training programme. It also provides guidance on how this type of course can be tailored to the needs of specific groups of vulnerable people.
Are you really doing ‘codesign’? Critical reflections when working with vulnerable populations
- Authors:
- MOLL Sandra, et al
- Journal article citation:
- BMJ Open, 10(11), 2020, Online only
- Publisher:
- BMJ Publishing Group
‘Codesign’ and associated terms such as ‘coproduction’ or ‘patient engagement’, are increasingly common in the health research literature, due to an increased emphasis on the importance of ensuring that research related to service/systems development is meaningful to end-users. However, there continues to be a lack of clarity regarding the key principles and practices of codesign, and wide variation in the extent to which service users are meaningfully engaged in the process. These issues are particularly acute when end-users include populations who have significant health and healthcare disparities that are linked to a range of intersecting vulnerabilities (eg, poverty, language barriers, age, disability, minority status, stigmatised conditions). The purpose of this paper is to prompt critical reflection on the nature of codesign research with vulnerable populations, including key issues to consider in the initial planning phases, the implementation process, and final outputs. Risks and tensions will be identified in each phase of the process, followed by a tool to foster reflexivity in codesign processes to address these issues. (Edited publisher abstract)
Theory, social work methods and participation
- Author:
- LUB Vasco
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work, 19(1), 2019, pp.3-19.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Summary: This paper examines the use of theory in social work methods geared towards promoting participation of vulnerable groups, a subject that has been barely – if at all – researched empirically. The study comprised an analysis of 46 methods documented in the database of the Netherlands Institute for Social Development and interviews with social workers and educators. Findings: Social work methods for participation are interspersed with theoretical notions. While the study shows that there is no shortage of theories in this field, what is more problematic are their use and integration. Incorporating theories in such a way that they provide an underpinning of the work method poses a challenge. Many theories appear to be presented out of window dressing, deviate from their original source in the literature, or are narrow in their paradigmatic focus, overlooking alternative theories that could promote or offer better nuanced participation perspectives. Applications: The paper proposes criteria for a ‘theoretical underpinning’ and provides suggestions for a proper use of theory in social work methods. (Publisher abstract)
Beyond trickle-down benefits to research participants
- Author:
- BAY-CHENG Laina Y.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 33(4), December 2009, pp.243-247.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This research note discusses the social science researcher's ethical responsibilities towards study participants, some of whom may be among the most vulnerable in society. It is important for the researcher to protect the rights and wellbeing of participants and also to ensure that they are promoting the 'public good' in designing their studies. It has been demonstrated in many studies that participation in research confers benefits on participants, with many describing the experience as positive even when the study topic was sensitive or traumatic. Reported benefits were: insight, a sense of emotional relief and feeling supported. Online techniques for collecting research data have recently come to the fore, but research has shown that participants experience face-to-face interviews more positively. Participatory action research empowers research participants to become co-investigators with agendas of their own. Social scientists should try to cultivate research methods that not only facilitate their own insights into complex phenomena, but participants' as well.
Doing participant observation in a psychiatric hospital: research ethics resumed
- Authors:
- OEYE Christine, BJELLAND Anne Karen, SKORPEN Aina
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 65(11), December 2007, pp.2296-2306.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Social scientists who employ participant observation methods in medical settings are often held accountable for their research methods, specifically in regard to medical research ethics. However, the medical research ethics tradition rubs uneasily against participant observation and the anthropological understanding of the research process. The underlying premise for considering research ethics in the current case is the notion of the vulnerability of psychiatric patients as a participant group. Based on this notion of vulnerability among psychiatric patients, this article discusses the epistemological grounds for vulnerability in anthropological and medical research ethics. The authors draw on their experience with the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics in Norway, and the consequences of the guidelines used for participant observation as a research method in a psychiatric hospital. Social science researchers are required to follow medical ethical guidelines, such as informed consent, the principle of voluntariness, and estimation of risks and benefits. Ethnographers have found these guidelines to be obstructive when doing social science research in a psychiatric hospital. The article suggests the need for reformulation of research guidelines for participant observation in medical settings.
Time to let go: risk management in social care new guidance in 2007
- Author:
- SALE Anabel Unity
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 30.11.06, 2006, pp.26-217.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The white paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say had a strong focus on enabling adults to live independently by giving them a choice of services, such as individual budgets. Inevitably this will involve an element of risk to the user in some situations; a risk that their family or social worker might be unhappy about them taking. To help care providers deal with issues connected with risk, the Department of Health is due to publish a draft best practice guidance document in the spring. The guidance – or supporting decision making tool as it is likely to be referred to – has already been subject to consultation with users and practitioners around the country. The DH is also being advised by an external steering group which includes the Association of Directors of Social Services, the NHS Confederation, Mencap, Carers UK, and Better Government for Older People.
Involving users in supported housing: A good practice guide
- Author:
- CULLEN Sue
- Publisher:
- Shelter
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 34p.
- Place of publication:
- London
In association with Forum Housing, Shelter's Young Persons Team ran a conference called 'Making a difference: resident participation in supported housing'. With the success of the conference, a working group was formed, sharing ideas and knowledge of good practice around supported housing. This guide contains advice, project examples, tips, suggestions and templates that can be customized for services. The guide is for anyone working in housing or housing-related services, supporting young or vulnerable people.
Recruitment and sampling: qualitative research with older people
- Authors:
- HOLLAND Caroline, (ed.)
- Publisher:
- Centre for Policy on Ageing
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 84p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Recruitment and sampling are important in social gerontology because they directly affect research findings. There is also an increasing imperative in ageing research to include older people as more than sampled subjects. Researchers in other fields, many of them 'new to ageing', are now sampling the older population and recruiting older people to the qualitative elements of various studies. So who exactly are we sampling? How are we recruiting? The papers in this volume describe five quite different studies of ageing and intergenerational relationships. The methodologies and sample sizes involved range from a micro-level study of relationships between a small group of friends, to a multi-method approach incorporating interviews with people identified from a larger survey. However, there are some common themes. These include: 'vulnerability' and ethics; the role of the gatekeeper; under- and over-researched groups; sensitive topics and the role of language; and older people as research partners.
Radical ideas sought from users for the future of adult social care
- Author:
- TAYLOR Amy
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 19.8.04, 2004, pp.16-17.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Campaigners have welcomed last week's announcement by community care minister Stephen Ladyman that he will publish a green paper in the autumn on the future vision of adult social care. However, concerns have arisen over the lack of service user involvement in the consultation process. Since plans for the vision were unveiled in mid-April at the Association of Directors of Social Services spring seminar, Ladyman has been asking for people's ideas on what it should look like. Part of this involved a Department of Health survey, which was hosted until the end of June on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website. However, results published last week (see panel, facing page) show that it received only 178 responses in this time and that few were from service users and their carers. Many of those on the ground praise the minister and believe he is sincere in his pledge to ensure the new vision will not be developed top down. But without an accessible version of the survey it is questionable how many service users will share their vision of the future with him.