Implementing the Outcomes Star

State and Federal governments are exploring the use and implementation of outcomes measures in the human services sector in Australia, and pilot studies are being conducted at a number of sites using the Outcomes Star, one such system for measuring outcomes.Outcomes Star is both a case-management and an outcomes-measurement tool developed in the UK which acknowledges the significance of personal motivation and agency for a service user in achieving sustainable change in their journey towards independence and choice in critical areas of their lives.Dr Lisa Harris and Dr Sharon Andrews are lecturers in social policy at RMIT University. Lisa worked as a caseworker and in management for many years in the social and community sector before moving into higher education. Sharon has worked in government at both a state and federal level, and also served on the board for a number of community sector organisations. Lisa and Sharon’s joint research interests are exploring community sector driven research, social policy development and implementation, practice innovation, and the implementation and use of outcomes-measurement tools in the human services sector.Lisa and Sharon have been commissioned by the Salvation Army Melbourne Central Division Research and Advocacy portfolio to undertake two action-research projects. The aim of this first project was to provide a robust implementation strategy for the Outcomes StarTM that would be of use to social service networks within the Salvation Army and other community service organisations. The second project will explore, over time, the use of data from the Outcomes StarTM in professional practice, individual and team supervision, program design, organisational accountability and structural advocacy

Electronic publication of an archival resource: the Arctic Bibliography

pp. 243-25

Somerstown Stories and the benefits of using a design charette for community engagement

Somerstown Stories was a local heritage project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, collaborating initially with Somers Park Primary School in Somerstown, within the City of Portsmouth. The aim of the project was to enable people to reconnect with their locality by exploring local history. In addition, the project explored the question: does knowing more about where you live change how you feel about living there? At the time of the project, the area of Somerstown was at the beginning of a process of phased redevelopment, so it was timely for local groups and organizations as a whole to look back at their history and the shaping of the area, in order to prepare to look forward and plan for the future. As part of the larger Somerstown Stories project, the University of Portsmouth School of Architecture was invited to coordinate a design charette for Year 9 students from the local Charter Academy School. This paper explores the nature of the charette, and its value in engaging different stakeholders. The paper is written using commentaries, conclusions and reflections from the key people involved with this project, including Canon Nick Ralph from the Diocese of Portsmouth; Sharon Court, Creative Practitioner and Project Manager for the Somerstown Stories project; Martin Andrews, Architect and Principal Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth School of Architecture; and Andrew Joyce, a University of Portsmouth student at the time of the design charette and now a registered architect working at ArchitecturePLB in Winchester

Knowledge of dementia : Do family members understand dementia as a terminal condition?

Current research identifies advanced dementia to be the terminal phase of this progressive and incurable condition. However, there has been relatively little investigation into how family members of people with advanced dementia understand their relative’s condition. In this article, we report on semi-structured interviews with 10 family members of people with advanced dementia, in a residential aged care facility. Using a qualitative, descriptive design, we explored family members’ understandings of dementia, whether they were aware that it was a terminal condition, and the ways they developed their understandings. Findings revealed that the majority of family members could not recognize the terminal nature of dementia. Relying on predominantly lay understandings, they had little access to formal information and most failed to conceptualize a connection between dementia and death. Moreover, family members engaged in limited dialogue with aged care staff about such issues, despite their relatives being in an advanced stage of the disease. Findings from our study suggest that how family members understand their relative’s condition requires greater attention. The development of staff/family partnerships that promote shared communication about dementia and dying may enhance family members’ understandings of the dementia trajectory and the types of decisions they may be faced with during the more advanced stages of the disease

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