Frail older people have often had to choose between residential care and staying in their own homes with community care services. Both have disadvantages. The development of very…
Abstract
Frail older people have often had to choose between residential care and staying in their own homes with community care services. Both have disadvantages. The development of very sheltered housing in Wolverhampton has shown that there is a better way to meet the needs of frail and disabled older people.
Anne McAllister, Andrew Bailey and Owen Barr
This paper reports on the evaluation of a training event conducted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Homefirst Community Trust. Participants' attitudes were…
Abstract
This paper reports on the evaluation of a training event conducted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Homefirst Community Trust. Participants' attitudes were measured prior to and following the training, which was designed to increase awareness of the knowledge and skills necessary for effective joint investigations of alleged crimes against vulnerable adults.
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Sarah Anne Oakley Vicary and John Bailey
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to examine the impact on mental health social work of integrated care; and second, to explore the effectiveness of the use of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to examine the impact on mental health social work of integrated care; and second, to explore the effectiveness of the use of deliberative research, a methodology which is new to mental health social work research.
Design/methodology/approach
Developed to enable examination of policy, deliberative research is underpinned by a desire to permit choice and change brought about through an iterative dialogue. This communication is based on informed and respectful equality between policy makers or implementers and those subject to that implementation. In order to achieve this equality, participation in debate by participants is viewed as essential, including as part of the process, participants becoming better informed about the phenomenon in question.
Findings
The findings show that effective mental health social work underpins successful integrated care which, in turn, is viewed as relevant. In addition, people who access services identified that mental health social workers are well positioned as facilitators and explainers in integrated care. The issue to be further explored by research, therefore, is not whether services should be delivered separately or in an integrated way, but how to keep improving and developing integrated care and especially the impact of ongoing power differentials.
Research limitations/implications
The use of deliberative research worked reasonably well as an underpinning methodology for this study in that it sought to achieve the opinions of the public, in this instance consumers who provided or accessed mental health social work. The ethical need to ensure no harm came to this particular group meant that their opinions were not debated with the whole. This limitation to iterative dialogue is undoubtedly a consideration when undertaking deliberative research on such populations. This study offered just this, a one-off event, as in reality the commitment from participants to attend more than this one session would have been prohibitive.
Practical implications
The test, practically, comes with the events for data collection. This is not just the debate as to whether these, as one-off events, bring about agreement and not deliberation, but also whether researchers can, with a group that has particular needs, effectively integrate them into the deliberation. Given that it is an ethical priority to ensure that the participants are not harmed, this is not always going to be possible where the “public” includes those who may be vulnerable.
Originality/value
Deliberative research methodology is a new approach in mental health social work research. The influential finding is activism: people who access services recognise and suggest a challenge to the normative power differential in integrated care, as embodied in mental health social workers, and it is this aspect that warrants further investigation.
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Anne Croker, Joy Higgs and Fanziska Trede
‘Collaboration’ and ‘team’ are terms commonly used in literature related to the provision of health care, including rehabilitation. However, the complexity of the phenomena…
Abstract
‘Collaboration’ and ‘team’ are terms commonly used in literature related to the provision of health care, including rehabilitation. However, the complexity of the phenomena represented by these terms is often overlooked. ‘Collaboration’ is rarely defined, and ‘teams’ are often presented as easily identifiable and stable entities. Simplistic use of these terms often results in different aspects of interprofessional practice being researched and discussed without reference to the ‘messiness’ (the ambiguities and complexities) surrounding professional practice. As a consequence, health professionals may have difficulties in understanding the relevance of such research to their particular situations. This paper explores the complexities of the phenomenon of collaboration and the concept of team, with the aim of highlighting the benefits of researchers embracing rather than simplifying these phenomena. The paper reports on emerging models in action, which is one part of a wider research project exploring collaboration within rehabilitation teams. The research approach was informed by hermeneutic phenomenology. Insights gained through this project led to the development of two models: the first conceptualising collaboration in relation to domains of process, product and players; the other model proposing the notion of collaborative arenas. The model of collaborative arenas recognises the blurred boundaries and interrelated team memberships that occur in rehabilitation teams. Both models informed ongoing data collection and analysis for this research project and have potential to inform conceptualisation of teams and collaboration for other researchers.
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A Bailey, A McAllister and W McAuley
This paper describes the development and implementation of a joint protocol for the investigation of crimes against vulnerable adults. The protocol was piloted in Northern Ireland…
Abstract
This paper describes the development and implementation of a joint protocol for the investigation of crimes against vulnerable adults. The protocol was piloted in Northern Ireland by the Police Service and Homefirst Community Health and Social Services Trust. The paper explains the aims of the protocol, examines the training involved in implementing it and explains the operational arrangements with special attention to capacity and consent, joint investigation, liaison points and review methods. It concludes with an examination of potential future developments.
Concha Antón and Eugenio Garrido
Reproduces studies carried out at the beginning of the 1970s that demonstrated women's anxiety about university or professional success. This anxiety was characterised by their…
Abstract
Reproduces studies carried out at the beginning of the 1970s that demonstrated women's anxiety about university or professional success. This anxiety was characterised by their fear of being socially isolated. A methodology in which women are asked direct questions shows that they have overcome that anxiety. But when a more subtle type of question is used, it is revealed that women continue to attribute the best academic, professional and social results to men instead of women.