Theorising lifestyle drift in health promotion: explaining community and voluntary sector engagement practices in disadvantaged areas

The past two decades have seen an increasing role for the UK community and voluntary sector (CVS) in health promotion in disadvantaged areas, largely based on assumptions on the part of funders that CVS providers are better able to engage ‘hard-to-reach’ population groups in services than statutory providers. However, there is limited empirical research exploring CVS provider practices in this field. Using ethnographic data, this paper examines the experiences of a network of CVS providers seeking to engage residents in health-promoting community services in a disadvantaged region in the North of England. The paper shows how CVS providers engaged in apparently contradictory practices, fluctuating between an empathically informed response to complex resident circumstances and (in the context of meeting externally set targets) behavioural lifestyle approaches to health promotion. Drawing on concepts from figurational sociology, the paper explains how lifestyle drift occurs in health promotion as a result of the complex web of relations (with funders, commissioners and residents) in which CVS providers are embedded. Despite the fact that research has revealed the impact of targets on the work of the CVS before, this paper demonstrates more specifically the way in which monitoring processes within CVS contracts can draw providers into the neoliberal lifestyle discourse so prevalent in health promotion

An evaluation of staff training in positive behavioural support

Background: Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) has been shown to be effective in minimising challenging behaviour, and improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Training in PBS is an important factor in achieving good coverage in the use of PBS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of training managers of social care services in PBS. Method: A year-long training programme in PBS was delivered to 50 managers of community-based services for people with challenging behaviour. Data were collected pre and post training, and at 6 month follow-up. A non-randomised control group design was used. Results: Data demonstrated significant reduction in challenging behaviour. However, there was no change in quality of life for service users. Conclusion: Training in PBS can reduce challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities; demonstrating any impact of PBS training on quality of life remains a challenge

Who pays for core costs? neither rhetoric nor complaint; a proposal for modernisation

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/11659 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Who pays for core costs? neither rhetoric nor complaint; a proposal for modernisation

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/11659 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Charitable Trusts? Social auditing with voluntary organisations

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m01/21387 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo