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1 – 10 of 433Abenet Tsegai and Rebecca Gamiz
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of carers as coordinators of care in their own right. It outlines how statutory and voluntary agencies can work together to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of carers as coordinators of care in their own right. It outlines how statutory and voluntary agencies can work together to support carers in this role, yet also help them work towards personal outcomes to sustain their own quality of life. It also proposes that approaches to working with carers can reveal lessons for integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The research analysed data from focus groups and document analysis to examine how carers and professionals experienced two different approaches to engaging with carers: the Midlothian carer ' s assessment and VOCAL ' s outcomes focused approach. From this, several themes emerged which are relevant to the current debate on integration.
Findings
Carers were found to be key co-ordinators of care who play a role in the integration of services. Approaches to working with carers can better enable personal outcomes, and integrate carers as equal partners. In addition, improved integration between services can also improve outcomes for carers.
Research limitations/implications
Approaches to working with carers should be carer and outcome focused, and partnership working can mean that carers feel more empowered and included. This helps to achieve personal outcomes, as well as enhance integrated working between other services. However, differentiation between services might, in places, contribute to better outcomes for people.
Originality/value
This paper shifts the focus of integration to look the role of carers as equal partners, and also illustrates how statutory and voluntary services can work better together, while preserving their distinct identities.
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Joy Wales and Steven Pryjmachuk
In the UK, there are around 1.5 million carers of people with mental health problems providing substantial amounts of free care. Despite having a legal right to a ‘carer's…
Abstract
In the UK, there are around 1.5 million carers of people with mental health problems providing substantial amounts of free care. Despite having a legal right to a ‘carer's assessment’, only a minority of mental health carers have had such an assessment. To try and understand why the uptake is so low, we undertook a small (n = 8) qualitative study exploring what mental health staff acting as ‘care co‐ordinators’ thought the barriers to, and facilitators of, carers' assessments might be, and how subsequent practice might be improved.We found that there was some confusion over the definition of ‘carer’ and over who should take responsibility for carer assessments. The main barriers to carers' assessments were the documentation used, the attitudes of staff (especially managers) and the fact that the needs of mental health carers often differed from those caring for people with a physical disability. Practice could be improved through: clarifying the definition of ‘carer’; education and training; redesigning the documentation; dovetailing service user and carer needs assessments; and through offering a wider choice of evidence‐based services as assessment outcomes. Improvements are unlikely to be successful, however, without the active support, expertise and engagement of carers.
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Heidi Emery, Bridget Jones and Eddie Chaplin
This paper describes an ongoing process of engagement with carers of people with intellectual disabilities currently being monitored by an out of area service for both carers of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes an ongoing process of engagement with carers of people with intellectual disabilities currently being monitored by an out of area service for both carers of people placed both in area and out of area within a local Mental Health Learning Disabilities team in South London.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a series of consultation events, carers were asked to participate in a free dialogue which focussed on everyday issues for carers. This included financial implications of caring, knowledge of care pathways/systems in care, carer's needs and expectations and the support they currently receive.
Findings
This paper highlighted a number of issues and concerns that carers face in their daily lives when supporting one or more people. These include lack of recognition, financial difficulties, lack of training and support.
Originality/value
This project offered a valuable insight into current carer perceptions and will help develop further discussion and promote greater engagement by services and mutual understanding with this often neglected group.
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Rebecca Gamiz and Abenet Tsegai
The purpose of this paper is to look beyond the data and findings of a joint practitioner-research project to illustrate how joint practitioner-research can influence practice and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look beyond the data and findings of a joint practitioner-research project to illustrate how joint practitioner-research can influence practice and stimulate meaningful partnership working from the bottom up within a social care setting. The impact of this integrated approach to practice and learning can enable improved outcomes for people.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors outline the research and explore the reflective process underlying the project including the subsequent phase of implementation. This examines what the authors, as practitioner-researchers, understood from the practice, heard from carers and fellow workers, and learnt from each other.
Findings
The authors consider the project in the wider context of evidence-based practice. Key enablers and challenges are identified to the production of joint practitioner-research and more broadly to outcomes for carers. The authors also examine the reflective process of joint working between individuals and the impact this can have on facilitating integrated working, at both a practice and service level.
Originality/value
The learning from this project evidences the value of meaningful joint working between practitioners and the impact this can have at different levels of integration. It also looks beyond the practitioner-research project to the stages of implementing findings and planning for ongoing joint working. It is therefore pertinent to many organisations looking to integrate and orientate towards a focus on outcomes for people.
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Francisco Crespo Casado and Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
The purpose of this study is to investigate children’s school lunchboxes and explore the influence of carer’s perceived benefits and barriers towards healthy eating on the food…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate children’s school lunchboxes and explore the influence of carer’s perceived benefits and barriers towards healthy eating on the food contents packed for lunch.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on exchange theory, the study explores the relationship between carer’s perceived benefits and barriers towards healthy eating and the lunchbox contents a carer packs for their child. An online survey was completed by 876 parents and carers. Statistical analysis techniques, including one-way ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used to analyse the data.
Findings
The analysis revealed that perceived benefits and barriers towards packing healthy foods had a significant impact on the reported contents packed for lunch. Results indicate the segment with the highest perceived benefits and the lowest perceived barriers towards packing healthy lunches reported packing healthier foods than the remaining three segments.
Practical implications
Social marketers should develop interventions to promote the benefits of healthy eating, while overcoming the perceived (and real) barriers that prevent healthy lunches from being packed. Study limitations and future research directions are outlined.
Originality/value
Drawing on exchange theory, the current study demonstrated how simultaneous measurement of benefits and barriers that are later divided into high and low groups impacts lunchbox packing behaviours (Nelson et al., 2010). This study contributes to the literature providing further empirical evidence that use of commercial marketing theories in social marketing is warranted and that theoretically derived segmentation approaches are available for social marketing practitioners.
Although Jean Tottie had worked in health and social care for 35 years, mostly in older people's services, nothing prepared her for her caring role. She found it a huge struggle…
Abstract
Although Jean Tottie had worked in health and social care for 35 years, mostly in older people's services, nothing prepared her for her caring role. She found it a huge struggle trying to get the right care at the right time for her father so that he could stay living independently at home; so much so that she did not recognise her own needs. Here is Jean's story.
Louise Brereton and Heather Dawes
This paper provides an account of how family carers were involved in a longitudinal research study that aimed to investigate the needs of ‘new’ family carers of stroke survivors…
Abstract
This paper provides an account of how family carers were involved in a longitudinal research study that aimed to investigate the needs of ‘new’ family carers of stroke survivors. An account of how the researcher involved carers is provided, followed by one carer's description of the benefits and negative consequences of being involved in the study. Suggestions are made about how to develop good practice with regard to involving people in research. The conclusions highlight that, although rewarding, being involved in research is not without its challenges. However, research participants have much to contribute to the entire research process and its products. It is important therefore to learn lessons about how best to maximise the expertise that carers and others have to offer.
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