Recognising and addressing elder abuse in care homes: views from residents and managers

YesIn 2004, the author carried out a small scale study to find out the views of those living and working in private care homes in England about a range of issues connected to inspection, regulation and ways to better protect older people. This study reports on views from nineteen managers and nineteen residents about their understanding of abuse, their perceptions of the different forms of abuse and the possible action to deal with offending care staff. Although there was some consensus about the seriousness of certain types of abuse and how managers would investigate the allegation, the findings indicate that mandatory training for registered care home owners and managers is necessary to clarify their responsibilities in relation to their actions and reporting of certain offences to relevant agencies

The role of religion and spirituality in social work practice: Views and experiences of social workers and students.

NoFindings from surveys of qualified social work practitioners and students indicate a need for social work education and practice to focus attention both on the importance of religious and spiritual beliefs in the lives of many service users and on the potential usefulness of religious and spiritual interventions. In this British study, undertaken in 2003 and 2004, students were less likely than their qualified colleagues to consider religious or spiritually sensitive interventions as appropriate. Attitudes varied little between those students who held religious beliefs and those who did not, but Muslim students and qualified social workers were more likely to view these types of interventions as appropriate. The authors conclude that there is a clear need for all social work practitioners and educators to give greater priority to exploring the potential significance of religious and spiritual beliefs in their training, in their professional practice and in the lives and perspectives of service users and colleagues. Social workers need to be able to respond appropriately to the needs of all service users, including those for whom religious and spiritual beliefs are crucial. `Culturally competent¿ practice depends, amongst other things, on an understanding and appreciation of the impact of faith and belief

The Power of Belief? Review of the Evidence on Religion or Belief and Equalities in Great Britain.

yesA new legal framework has been developed in Great Britain over the last ten years which protects individuals against unfair treatment on the grounds of their religion or belief. This framework regards all the major faith groups, secular belief systems (such as Humanism or Atheism), and non-belief on formally equal terms. There has also been a rapid growth of research interest in religion/belief in contemporary scholarship on equalities. This report provides a critical overview of this extensive research base relating mainly to England, Scotland and Wales up until 2008

Religion and Belief and Social Work: Making sense of competing priorities

This PhD by published work consists of: • two single authored articles in refereed journals; • four jointly authored articles in refereed journals; • one jointly authored editorial; • one jointly authored book, including four single authored chapters; They were published in the period 2003-2013. Philip Gilligan submitted the jointly written publications as part of his submission for the award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Published Work in 2013. This thesis identifies substantive findings, theoretical insights, new questions and practice/policy implications arising from the published work. The body of work has and continues to stimulate debate about the need to recognise and appreciate the significance and relevance of religion and related belief in the lives of people accessing health and social care services in the UK. It outlines the general relevance and impact of religion and related belief and explores questions and research concerned with the extent to which social work takes these matters into account in its practices, polices and professional training. It prompts practitioners to reflect on their own and others’ religious beliefs by providing a framework of nine related principles to assist them in their professional practice. One key finding is the need for service providers and policy makers to develop new services that are more responsive to the diverse needs of people living in the UK today by recognising and adopting some of the diverse helping strategies employed and imported by different communities.The full text of the published articles submitted with this PhD thesis are not available in full text in Bradford Scholars due to copyright restrictions

Religion, beliefs and culturally competent social work practice

Over the past forty years, Britain has witnessed a decline in religious attendance, observance and worship, particularly within the Christian faith. This social trend is also starting to affect second generation Punjabi Sikhs and Gujarati Hindus. For others, in particular, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims, religion is central to how many conduct and live their lives.A small-scale survey was carried out with social work students studying in Bradford, England to elicit their views about the impact of faith and beliefs on practice. National and local statistics provide a picture of the make-up of the local population by ethnicity and religion.A questionnaire was used to find out the importance of their religious belief, if any, to determine any anxieties in relation to placement, to provide examples of any conflicts or ethical dilemmas concerning religious beliefs and practice and to suggest ways of preparing and equipping social workers to work with diverse faiths and communities.It appears that religion and spirituality is a neglected area of social work. This preliminary work suggests the need for further research in a number of areas in order to promote culturally competent practice

A hindrance or a help? The contribution of inspection to the quality of care in homes for older people

YesIn England, care homes for older people have been subject to four different regulatory bodies within the last six years (see Table 1). The government has announced further change with the creation of a new regulator of adult health and social care in 2009 (CSCI, 2007). The current regulatory body, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will merge with the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission to create the Care Quality Commission. The Department of Health (DOH) is currently reviewing the future regulation of health and adult social care in England (DOH, 2005; DOH, 2006a) and the way that CSCI carries out the regulation and inspection of a range of social care agencies including care homes for older people. Substantial reforms of the regulatory system of regulation and inspection were embodied in the Care Standards Act (CSA) 2000 that was part of the wider Government agenda to modernize health and social care services. The Act established new regulatory bodies for care services and workers and along with the regulations and mandatory National Minimum Standards (NMS) created a framework to ensure greater consistency of quality and to better protect vulnerable children and adults (Engelman and Spencer, 2003). The impact of these changes for both inspectors and providers of care services has been significant. Regulators have had to adjust and adopt new ways of working whilst carrying out their statutory responsibilities. Care providers have had to respond to the revised changes in standards and requirements of registration. This article examines inspection as a mechanism for improving the quality of care standards. It reports on a study conducted in 2004 that sought the views of managers of care homes for older people about the NMS and the inspection process at that time. The role of inspectors will be considered in light of the findings and published literature

Educación social : revista de intervención socioeducativa

Monográfico con el título: Espiritualidad y acción social. Resumen basado en el de la publicación. Resumen en inglés y catalánSe revisa en qué medida la religión y la espiritualidad han sido reconocidas en la formación y práctica del trabajo social en el Reino Unido. Los autores hacen referencia a su propia investigación y publicaciones para evaluar el progreso en torno a la religión, las creencia religiosas y el trabajo social. Se analizan las publicaciones existentes con el objeto de identificar las contribuciones y los desarrollos producidos en el campo de la espiritualidad y la práctica del trabajo social. Se incluyen estadísticas del censo de 2011 y algunas reflexiones sobre la utilidad de la terminología y la definición de palabras clave. Se debaten e identifican algunos de los retos del Reino Unido, en particular la necesidad de reconocer la importancia de los sistemas de creencias, prácticas culturales y tradiciones de sus ciudadanos, y la necesidad de desarrollar una práctica que sea culturalmente sensible e incluya la gran variedad de creencias religiosas y espirituales de usuarios y profesionalesES

Establishing 'Friends of Care Home' Groups

NoThis chapter presents key findings from a year long study where two `friends of care home¿ groups were established, monitored and evaluated. The authors are both qualified social workers and one has worked as an inspector of care homes whilst the other has worked as a nurse in both residential and nursing homes. Working as researchers we wanted to draw upon our experiences and understanding of care homes to develop and provide a practical contribution that could be used to raise standards in care homes. Although the notion of setting up `friends of care home¿ groups is not new, the lessons learnt from setting up such groups have not been shared through research

'It Never Came Up': Encouragements and Discouragements to Addressing Religion and Belief in Professional Practice--What Do Social Work Students Have To Say?

This article reports on the findings of questionnaires completed by fifty-seven social work students studying at four universities in northern England and the English midlands. The questionnaires surveyed students' views about the extent to which issues of religion and belief had been discussed in practice settings over a twelve-month period. A range of factors are identified that either encourage or discourage them from considering or exploring religion and belief in their work, in relation to the attitudes of colleagues and service users, themselves and their agencies. Their responses suggest that individual perspectives on and experiences of religion together with the informal views of colleagues determine whether and how religion and belief are acknowledged as significant and relevant. Students reported that few agencies promoted any opportunity for staff development and training in respect of this area, perhaps because issues of religion and belief are not considered important or are given less priority amongst other issues and responsibilities