Abstract: This article reports on the views of 92 social workers about their practice in adult protection in England and Wales as part of a wider study of adult protection working and regulation that took place between 2004–2007 in 26 sample local authorities. The article explores social workers’ reported experiences of partnership or multiagency working and how this, along with overarching regulatory frameworks, affected their practice within and across agencies. Among findings from the study were that social workers considered that sharing information and responsibilities led to positive outcomes for service users and that the incorporation of different agency perspectives supplemented sharing of best practice.
Abstract: This article describes the development of a new service for
people with dementia and their carers in a large post-industrial city in
the north of England, UK. The service arose in response to the
perceived inadequacies of existing respite care provision and has
proved very successful in meeting the needs of people with dementia
and their family carers, and in providing high levels of job satisfaction
for staff. The success of the initiative can be understood using the
Senses Framework and relationship-centred care as an analytic lens to
identify key attributes of the service. The article also discusses
implications for the development of support services more generally.
Abstract: This paper considers some issues in the provision of adult bereavement support in UK hospices. The paper is based on the findings of a multi-method study conducted in two phases over 30 months (2003-2005) to examine the nature and quality of adult bereavement support in UK hospices from the perspectives of bereaved people and professional and volunteer bereavement workers [Field, Reid, Payne, & Relf (2005). Adult Bereavement Support in Five Hospices in England. Sheffield, UK: Palliative and End-of-Life Care Research Group, University of Sheffield. (Available from Professor Payne)]. It discusses the importance of continuity between pre-bereavement and bereavement support, the integration of bereavement services within hospices and the involvement of volunteers in bereavement support. It then discusses the engagement of UK hospices in the broader development of bereavement support. Although hospices have developed expertise in supporting bereaved people, our research suggests that they have not had a major impact on other health service providers, such as general practitioners and distinct nurses and staff in acute hospital trusts, in this area.
Abstract: This paper reports on the experiences of a nursing-led research group, ‘The Palliative and End of Life Care Research Group’, within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Sheffield. There is a long tradition of research in palliative care in which nurses have played an important role and currently opportunities to conduct research in palliative care are expanding. Nurses face a number of ethical and methodological challenges in conducting palliative care research, many of which extend beyond individual research conduct. Drawing on practical examples in each case, this paper explores the following themes: issues involved in raising participation and recruitment to studies of palliative care; how the topics of palliative and end-of-life care are introduced and explored with participants; what ‘special’ needs participants have in palliative care research; interpersonal issues in conducting palliative care research; and providing support and supervision to researchers.
Abstract: The development of community-based services for people with dementia brings new challenges for health and social care providers, not least that of sustaining an enthusiastic workforce who are motivated to provide care and support under potentially isolating and difficult conditions. The present paper, based on interview data gathered from a group of community-based dementia care workers, seeks to identify their sources of job satisfaction and reward. Interviews were conducted with seven workers at two points in time and the data were analysed using a case by theme matrix approach. The results indicate that there were high levels of job satisfaction amongst the group, which were enhanced by several factors, including: good organisational support; day-to-day autonomy; the ability to maintain relationships with people with dementia and their families; and staffs' feelings of contributing to and improving the status and quality of life of people with dementia. Implications for workforce development are briefly considered.
Abstract: A total of 19 people with dementia were interviewed as part of a study into
unmet respite care need amongst caregivers and day-care attenders in ShefÂŽ eld. Some
important contextual debates associated with conducting social research with people with
dementia are considered. These include informed consent, competency, and how the interests
of caregivers and people with dementia are bound together. A form of process consent was
used in conducting semi-structured interviews with day-care attenders.
Day-care attenders spoke about ‘being here’ in a number of ways. These include their
initial experiences, their sources of satisfaction and their sense of being in families. These
substantive ÂŽ ndings and the associated methodological insights suggest day-care attenders
have important things to say as service-users if appropriate strategies for listening are
employed. Service-providers can collaborate imaginatively with day-care attenders to
actively explore how care might be shaped by the experiences of persons with dementia.