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11 – 20 of over 139000
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2008

Caroline Glendinning and Elizabeth Newbronner

Adult social care services are increasingly establishing reablement services as part of their range of home care provision, sometimes alone, sometimes jointly with NHS partners…

Abstract

Adult social care services are increasingly establishing reablement services as part of their range of home care provision, sometimes alone, sometimes jointly with NHS partners. Typically, home care reablement is a short‐term intervention, often free of charge, that aims to maximise independent living skills. This paper describes two small studies examining the impact of home care reablement on subsequent service use. The evidence so far strongly suggests that a period of home care reablement can reduce the subsequent use of home care services and that, for some people, these benefits may last for a year or more. However, a number of organisational and cultural factors can limit the immediate and longer‐term benefits of home care reablement.

Details

Journal of Integrated Care, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1476-9018

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1989

M. Stone, A. Barton, O. Coles, M. Dodds and J. Smith

This study compares and contrasts the clients of two domiciliary care services delivered to elderly people in Darlington, Durham, UK, in terms of their living circumstances…

Abstract

This study compares and contrasts the clients of two domiciliary care services delivered to elderly people in Darlington, Durham, UK, in terms of their living circumstances, dependency levels and the service inputs they receive. The two services are the Home Help Service managed by the local authority social services department and a Home Care Service managed by the Darlington Health Authority which offers an alternative to long‐stay hospital care for elderly people. The study examined only a sample of the most dependent home help clients and all of the home care clients. The instruments used to measure dependency were found to be limited in their ability to detect crucial differences in the two client groups and suggestions are made about how these might be improved. The main distinguishing characteristics of the Home Care Service clients were that they were, on average, younger and frailer than the home help clients and were far more likely to need help with toiletting, dressing, getting in/out of bed, walkng and making hot drinks. In contrast the main predictor of Home Help Service membership was living alone. It was concluded that although some home help clients were as incapacitated as home care ones, the latter scheme was far more consistently targetted on very frail, and often ill, people.

Details

Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-9235

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2007

Rachel Terry and Richard Gibson

More than two million older home owners have housing assets worth over £50,000, but incomes so low that they qualify for means‐tested benefits. Drawing on housing equity could…

Abstract

More than two million older home owners have housing assets worth over £50,000, but incomes so low that they qualify for means‐tested benefits. Drawing on housing equity could improve their quality of life significantly, helping them to live more comfortably in their own homes for longer. But only about 25,000 home owners (of all ages and incomes) conclude equity release deals each year. This paper identifies the obstacles that deter asset‐rich, income‐poor older home owners from drawing on their housing equity, and suggests ways of overcoming them. The focus is on paying for additional care at home, home improvements and repairs.

Details

Housing, Care and Support, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-8790

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Nick Hex, Justin Tuggey, Dianne Wright and Rebecca Malin

– The purpose of this paper is to observe and analyse the effects of the use of telemedicine in care homes on the use of acute hospital resources.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to observe and analyse the effects of the use of telemedicine in care homes on the use of acute hospital resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was an uncontrolled retrospective observational review of data on emergency hospital admissions and Emergency Department (ED) visits for care home residents in Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Acute hospital activity for residents was observed before and after the installation of telemedicine in 27 care homes. Data from a further 21 care homes that did not use telemedicine were used as a control group, using the median date of telemedicine installation for the “before and after” period. Patient outcomes were not considered.

Findings

Care homes with telemedicine showed a 39 per cent reduction in the costs of emergency admissions and a 45 per cent reduction in ED attendances after telemedicine installation. In the control group reductions were 31 and 31 per cent, respectively. The incremental difference in costs between the two groups of care homes was almost £1.2 million. The cost of telemedicine to care commissioners was £177,000, giving a return on investment over a 20-month period of £6.74 per £1 spent.

Research limitations/implications

The results should be interpreted carefully. There is inherent bias as telemedicine was deployed in care homes with the highest use of acute hospital resources and there were some methodological limitations due to poor data. Nevertheless, controlling the data as much as possible and adopting a cautious approach to interpretation, it can be concluded that the use of telemedicine in these care homes was cost-effective.

Originality/value

There are very few telemedicine studies focused on care homes.

Details

Clinical Governance: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7274

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Sally Dawn Boyden

The purpose of this paper is to explore what existing literature about the care home environment for people with dementia reveals. It also evaluates the implications for practice…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore what existing literature about the care home environment for people with dementia reveals. It also evaluates the implications for practice, to show which parts of the care home environment staff feel have the most impact on the day to day lives of residents living with dementia. In turn, this paper seeks to feedback to care home management to improve practice and to contribute to research in care homes in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review forms the basis of this research, in addition to four semi-structured interview conducted with care home staff of different roles; allowing them to share their experiences with little restriction. Participants were recruited through informal discussions with the researcher before the research took place, as part of her job role and using purposive sampling.

Findings

Data were analysed using computer software Nvivo and identified four main categories which all participants discussed: social interaction, staff involvement, staff restrictions, staff involvement and physical elements of the environment. This research has shown the importance of staff presence in the care home environment to facilitate social interaction among residents with dementia.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is very small due to staff not having the time to take part in the interview and this itself is a key finding. Interviews were able to capture feelings but not the overall experience of interaction between resident and staff, which observations would have achieved if there was more time to conduct the research.

Originality/value

A literature review and qualitative research signifying the importance of staff presence in the care home setting in order for the residents to socially engage in their environment. However, it has also show the lack of time that is face by staff and the impact this has on people living with dementia.

Details

Working with Older People, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-3666

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1998

Utpal M. Dholakia and Lopo L. Rego

There are two main objectives of the paper. First, in a systematic and statistically rigorous manner, we attempt to descriptively document the types and nature of marketing…

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Abstract

There are two main objectives of the paper. First, in a systematic and statistically rigorous manner, we attempt to descriptively document the types and nature of marketing information on commercial home‐pages, with a view to identifying the major objectives of contemporary commercial Web sites that pre‐dominate the Web. Using Resnik and Stern’s “information content” paradigm, we evaluate the informativeness of commercial home pages. Second, we attempt to empirically examine various important factors of commercial home‐pages that lead to increased visits, or hit‐rates. The identification of hit‐rate determinants is likely to be of great value, both to Web page designers and to the many small and large firms seeking to establish their presence on the Web.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 32 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2015

Jannis Angelis and Henrik Jordahl

The study aims to compare management practices in private and publicly owned elderly care homes. The demands for cost-effective care combined with emphasis on client experience…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to compare management practices in private and publicly owned elderly care homes. The demands for cost-effective care combined with emphasis on client experience highlights the importance of appropriate management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilises a survey of 500 homes covering management practices on monitoring, performance management and staff development. These are highly correlated, allowing for treating the practices both in aggregate and individually in the analysis. Additional questions capture information on site and management conditions.

Findings

Management practices employed at the elderly care homes vary greatly, with high and low individual scores found in most homes. But private homes consistently score higher than public homes, especially when it comes to incentive practices. Also, elderly care homes of both ownership forms score at the top and bottom of each management practice. But looking at the average management score, there are fewer private homes that score really low and more private homes that score really high.

Practical implications

The results identify given characteristics and maturity of the various management practices employed to plan and control operations in the elderly care homes and provides managerial and staff insights into their use.

Originality/value

The application and impact of standard management practices has previously been limited in publicly funded services. Little is known about management practices in elderly care and whether the practices are associated with better performance.

Details

Measuring Business Excellence, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-3047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Jean Kipp, Linda Killick and Walter Kipp

The aim of this study was to test whether the client homebound score (CHS), the case management intensity score (CMIS) and the client priority visit score (CPVS) could be used to…

322

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test whether the client homebound score (CHS), the case management intensity score (CMIS) and the client priority visit score (CPVS) could be used to predict in‐home time of professional caregivers in the Aspen community care program. A random sample of 34 community care clients from the different geographical areas of the Aspen Regional Health Authority was selected and the home visits for each client were tracked for three months. Information such as client demographics, the client diagnostic category, number and in‐home time of visits was collected. In addition, the CHS, the CMIS and the CPVS were measured for each client. Data were analyzed, using a robust variance estimator regression model. CMIS was found to be the best predictor of in‐home time (coefficient 9.521, p > 0.001), followed by the CHS and the CPVS.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1995

Pieter A. van Brakel, Cerina Roeloffee and Amanda van Heerden

The World Wide Web has become an important resource of timely information for the information professional. Unlike previous (traditional) formats of information, especially…

Abstract

The World Wide Web has become an important resource of timely information for the information professional. Unlike previous (traditional) formats of information, especially paper‐based publications, the Web has also brought the concept of electronic publishing within reach of any person who has browser access to this Internet navigator. It therefore implies that the information professional can also take part in the publishing process by creating and maintaining a homepage on the Web. Although a few articles have been published on homepage maintenance by information services, not much has been made available about the requirements for homepage design, or guidelines for the planning and structuring of a complete homepage environment. This article provides a few basic guidelines on homepage design, arguing that the physical appearance of a homepage is similar to that of a good graphical user interface (GUI). In designing a complete homepage file, the premise is that basic hypertext design principles could also be applied in the World Wide Web environment.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2002

Bill McClimont

The paper describes the size, nature and trends in home care, including telemedicine and hospital at home, emphasising the independent sector's contribution and highlighting the…

Abstract

The paper describes the size, nature and trends in home care, including telemedicine and hospital at home, emphasising the independent sector's contribution and highlighting the importance of home care to health and social care. It identifies a funding and capacity crisis, outlines the likely impact of any further reduction and explores contributory recruitment, training and commissioning practice issues.

Details

Journal of Integrated Care, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1476-9018

Keywords

11 – 20 of over 139000