A problem with inclusion in learning disability research.

People with severe learning disability are particularly difficult to include in the research process. As a result, researchers may be tempted to focus on those with learning disability who can be included. The problem is exacerbated in this field as the political agenda of inclusion and involvement is driven by those people with learning disability who are the higher functioning. To overcome this we should first detach the notion of consent from ideas about autonomy and think instead of it as a way to avoid wronging others; this fits the original historical use of consent in research. This allows us to think in terms of including participants to the best of their abilities rather than in terms of a threshold of autonomy. Researchers could then use imaginative ways to include the least able and to ensure they are not wronged in research or by exclusion from it

‘The Best and the Brightest’: Widening Participation and Social Justice in Contemporary English Social Work Education

Social work education in England has a long track record of success in widening participation to disadvantaged student populations. However, more recently these successes have instead been cast as a burden that is negatively impacting on the calibre of students entering the profession. Alongside this reconceptualisation, new fast-track models of education have been introduced, providing a quicker and more financially supported a route of entry to the profession. This article critically examines the changing nature of widening participation in social work education and how fast-track social work programmes are perpetuating the inequalities that are inherent at all levels of the English educational system. This discussion is shown to have implications for widening participation policy agenda beyond social work. The concerns that are raised should be of interest to any other jurisdictions considering the possibility of a fast-track approach to social work education. A social justice approach-based bringing students together is proposed as an alternative and preferable model of social work education

Promoting learning from null or negative results in prevention science trials

This is the final version. Available on open access from Springer via the DOI in this recordThere can be a tendency for investigators to disregard or explain away null or negative results in prevention science trials. Examples include not publicizing findings, conducting spurious subgroup analyses, or attributing the outcome post hoc to real or perceived weaknesses in trial design or intervention implementation. This is unhelpful for several reasons, not least that it skews the evidence base, contributes to research "waste", undermines respect for science, and stifles creativity in intervention development. In this paper, we identify possible policy and practice responses when interventions have null (ineffective) or negative (harmful) results, and argue that these are influenced by: the intervention itself (e.g., stage of gestation, perceived importance); trial design, conduct, and results (e.g., pattern of null/negative effects, internal and external validity); context (e.g., wider evidence base, state of policy); and individual perspectives and interests (e.g., stake in the intervention). We advance several strategies to promote more informative null or negative effect trials and enable learning from such results, focusing on changes to culture, process, intervention design, trial design, and environment.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

An uncertain future : The unchanging views of care home residents about living and dying

BACKGROUND: Older people living in a care home have a limited life expectancy, and care homes are an important setting for end-of-life care provision. AIM: This research aimed to explore the views, experiences and expectations of end-of-life care among care home residents to understand if key events or living in a residential environment influenced their views. DESIGN: The research used a prospective design. The paper draws on the qualitative interviews of 63 care home residents who were interviewed up to three times over a year. This was a sub-sample of the larger data set of 121 care home residents. Setting/Participants: The residents were recruited from six care homes (providing personal care with no on-site nursing) in the UK. Results: Four main themes were identified; Living in the Past, Living in the Present, Thinking about the Future and Actively Engaged with planning the future. Many residents said they had not spoken to the care staff about end-of-life care; many assumed their family or General Practitioner would take responsibility. CONCLUSIONS: Core to the older person's ability to discuss end-of-life care is their acceptance of being in a care home, the involvement of family members in making decisions and the extent to which they believed they could influence decision making within their everyday lives. Advance care plans should document ongoing dialogue. These findings can inform how primary health and palliative care services introduce, discuss and tailor existing frameworks and programmes of end-of-life care.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Bringing the food economy home The social, ecological and economic benefits of local food

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m01/40613 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo