International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled Workers: Key Issues

[From Preface] The International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled Workers breaks new ground by examining the inter-relationships of public and enterprise policies and practices as they affect the retention and return to work of disabled workers. The enquiry encompasses public policies to promote employment of disabled people; benefit and compensation programmes; employment support and rehabilitation services; provision to adapt work and workplace; and measures developed and implemented by the enterprise. The Project aims not only to identify successful policies and practices which are transferable from one country to another but also to inform the development of effective, efficient and equitable job retention and return to work strategies for disabled workers. The ultimate objective is to develop strategies which can be put into effect in the workplace

Suicide in an ageing UK population: problems and prevention

Purpose Suicide can be an emotive, and at times, controversial subject. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the social, health, personal, and cultural issues that can arise in later life and the potential reasons for suicide. It will analyse already recognised risk factors of suicide in older adults and focus on improving knowledge about the social meaning and causation of suicide for older people. It will also consider suicide prevention policies, their practice implications, and whether they are successful in protecting this potentially vulnerable cohort. Design/methodology/approach A synopsis of available literature in the form of a general review paper of suicide of older adults. Findings There is evidence that the ageing process often leads to a set of co-morbidities and a complex and diverse set of individual challenges. This in turn equates to an increased risk of suicide. There is no easy answer to why there is evidence of a growing number of older adults deciding that suicide is there only option, and even fewer suggestions on how to manage this risk. Social implications The entry of the “baby boom” generation into retirement will lead to the potential of an increase in both suicide risk factors and older adults completing suicide. This is on the background of a demographic surge which is likely to place additional pressures on already under-resourced, and undervalued, statutory and non-statutory services. Originality/value A literature search found very little information regarding older adults and suicide risk, assessment, treatment or prevention. </jats:sec

An assessment of the cost-effectiveness of magnetic resonance, including diffusion-weighted imaging in patients with transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke : a systematic review, meta-analysis and economic evaluation

Erratum issued September 2015 Erratum DOI: 10.3310/hta18270-c201509Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Information needs of disabled young people

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/30009 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Beyond plastic pants Improving care of incontinence sufferers

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:9120.1651(560-5/89) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A study to monitor the impact of changes in the regulations governing payments of supplementary benefit to elderly perople in private and voluntary residential care and nursing homes Final report

DHSS 562. 7/89 ACSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q92/01941(Study) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The Use of Replacement Rates In International Comparisons of Benefit Systems

Comparative studies of social security systems have increasingly turned towards the use of replacement rates as measures of the level of benefits in different countries and therefore of the degree of social protection afforded by different welfare systems. The rationale for this is that replacement rates provide consistent measures of the relative generosity of payments and therefore indicate the ‘quality’ of social security systems. This paper reviews the use of replacement rates in comparisons of the generosity of retirement pensions and argues that they are not necessarily reliable as such measures. This reflects a number of factors, including incomplete measurement of benefit packages and differences in what must be bought out of disposable incomes. Most importantly, the paper suggests that the levels of earnings in different countries are not independent of the processes of redistribution. In particular, countries which rely on social security contributions from employers appear to provide more generous benefits than those which rely on income taxes or employee contributions. This is a consequence of the fact that employer contributions do not figure specifically in the calculation of replacement rates. The relative generosity of benefit systems is overstated in countries which rely on employer social security contributions to fund benefits. The paper concludes that a range of complementary indicators of social security systems should be used in future analysis of these issues