Staying put: the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ on tenants in North Staffordshire

Much has been written and said about the introduction of size criteria in the social rented sector (the ‘bedroom tax’). Indeed, few other changes to the benefits system have provoked so much comment from politicians, journalists, charities, landlords, advice providers and church leaders. Here, Richard Machin, Anna Tsaroucha and Liz Boath describe new research from Staffordshire University examining the impact of the bedroom tax on a group of local housing association tenants

Using a modified Delphi Method to develop a new advanced accreditation award (‘Triple A’) in money advice practice

Staffordshire University has delivered the Certificate of Credit in Money Advice Practice (CMAP) in partnership with the Institute of Money Advisers (IMA) and since 2010 and over 1000 money advisers across the United Kingdom have achieved the qualification (Wright et al., 2014). CMAP graduates and employers expressed a need for an advanced specialist accreditation module for experienced money advisers to build on the CMAP. A Delphi study, a consensus method for curriculum design, was carried out to support the new course development. Participants were 13 experts in Money Advice Practice, including CMAP graduates. Three rounds of the Delphi process were carried out and consensus was obtained on course structure and content of modules, assessment, communication & support, professional competencies & skills, fees & duration, entry criteria, induction and materials and benefits of the advanced accreditation. The Delphi technique proved successful in involving experts in the design of a new course. A Feedback/ Feed forward event was also carried out to aid the process and the course is currently being developed

Involving students in curriculum design: a research and statistics course designed by students for students

The following study relates to the development of a research and statistic training course for staff members and postgraduate students within the Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University. As part of the research and advanced scholarship university agenda, the demand for increase in research and advanced scholarly outputs, a need was identified by numerous staff and postgraduate students for additional research and statistics methods training. University funding was obtained to further investigate staff and students' specific needs for such training. As a result, a basic research and statistics course was developed and delivered as a pilot to a small group of staff and postgraduate students. Written evaluation of the course was obtained by all attendees and analysed with the aim of improving the training course. Staff and student involvement was a vital part of the study throughout all stages, from course design to delivery and evaluation. The paper presents and discusses the key study findings as well as recommendations for practice

Empowering parents whose children are subjected to care proceedings: A qualitative investigation into practitioners experiences

There has been a shift in recent years in care proceedings with parental empowerment being seen as a fundamental anti-oppressive social work value (Smith 2010). Research has suggested that although empowerment is often the objective the family may not feel this is achieved. Giovanini (2011) Sykes et al (2002) and Sinclair & Wilson (2009) looked at the experiences of birth parents during care proceedings. A key theme of the literature was that parents felt that social workers had not been helpful during the process, in terms of sharing information and offering support and advice. Therefore, this research focused on practitioners’ views of their ability to empower whilst working with parents. The objective was to explore practitioners’ experiences of attempting to empower parents of children undergoing care proceedings. Six semi-structured one-to-one interviews were undertaken. Participants were practitioners currently working in the care proceedings. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. The practitioners reported that every effort is made to empower family members in care proceedings but felt that numerous barriers exist that hinder this resulting to the disengagement of many of the families. Further, practitioners highlighted that their key goal was to support the child and as such they did not have the capacity to continually chase families. The research suggests that in order to empower parents, a true partnership approach is necessary. This may not always be possible within care proceedings as the primary focus is, and must be, safeguarding the child

The relationship between oral/dental pain and behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among elderly residents in nursing homes

Oral care has been traditionally considered poor in nursing homes and increased dental problems have been associated in people with dementia. Whilst behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) have been associated with pain in general, a link with dental pain has so far not yet been established. This study investigated the potential link between treatable dental problems (that might cause pain) and BPSD. Sixty five residents exhibiting BPSD were recruited in the study from three nursing homes in West Midlands. Patient cognitive and behavioural status was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Cohen-Mansfield Inventory (CMAI), and then subjected to dental screening using the Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT). The dental examination by a qualified dentist revealed no dental problems that required treatment or likely to cause pain in any of the participants. The results suggest that in this exploratory sample BPSD was not caused by dental problems or dental pain. More trials are necessary to establish whether dental or other types of pain are linked with BPSD and whether analgesic treatment versus antipsychotics will aid behavioural management

Religious Influences on the Experience of Family Carers of People with Dementia in a British Pakistani Muslim Community

This paper reports on a study that begins to address the paucity of research around the religious motivations of Muslim carers of family members with dementia. Seven carers were recruited for interviews from the British Pakistani Muslim community concentrated in the Midlands and North of England. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically using an iterative collaborative methodology. The findings suggested that the Muslim faith plays a pivotal role as a support mechanism for individual carers and their families, but the wider faith community and its leaders did not typically offer support and could impede access to external care. This was a result of cultural pressure and lack of awareness both among religious leaders and the community as a whole. The study concluded that the inequality in access to dementia services may be constructively ad-dressed if service providers engage with these faith concerns in the community and religious leaders to meet the needs of Muslims of British Pakistani origin

Assessing the effectiveness of the ‘‘human givens’’ approach in treating depression: a quasi experimental study in primary care

Purpose: This paper aims to present the findings of research commissioned by a Primary Care Trust in the UK to assess the implementation of a new pilot Human Givens mental health service (HGS) within primary care. Method: Participating General Practitioners practices were designated as either ‘Human Givens’ or ‘Control’ practices. The study focused on service users with mild to moderate depressed mood measured using HADS. The well-being of these participants was examined at the point of referral, and after four, eight and 12 months using three well being questionnaires. Findings: The results revealed that emotional well being significantly improved during the first four months following referral for both groups and this improvement was maintained up to and including one year post referral. Human Givens therapy was found to be shorter, lasting 1-2 sessions in duration compared to standard treatment which lasted on average four sessions. Originality/value: Apart from the psychological insight and emotional support, Human Givens therapy helps the client to better function in society and maintain their sense of social integration. This has benefits to other providers of social care

The emotional needs audit (ENA): a report on its reliability and validity

Purpose – To broaden the range of well-being outcomes that can be measured for patients with depressed mood and/or other mental health issues the aim is to determine the reliability and validity of a self-reported instrument that was designed by the Human Givens Institute to evaluate emotional distress (emotional needs audit – ENA). Design/methodology/approach – The ENA was administered to 176 patients, aged between 18-65 years (mean age: 39.2 years). The acceptability of the ENA was examined as well as its internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas). ENA was administered at four time points and test-retest reliability was conducted between times 1 and 2. The data from three scales also administered to these patients (SWLS, CORE-OM and HADS) were used to aid the conduct of the ENA construct validity (concurrent and discriminant). Analysis of the ENA sensitivity/specificity was also performed. Findings – All the ENA items (except one) were shown to have good acceptability. The internal consistency was also very strong (Cronbach's alpha: 0.84); the construct validity also revealed positive results for the ENA: concurrent validity (r=0.51-0.62; p<0.001); discriminant validity (r=0.22-0.28; p<0.01). Test-retest reliability was r=0.46 (p<0.001). Finally, ENA demonstrated high sensitivity (80 per cent), and moderate specificity (35 per cent). Originality/value – ENA was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring wellbeing, quality of life and emotional distress. It also allows insight into the causes of symptoms, dissatisfaction and distress. It is suggested that this tool has complementarity to standardised tools when used in clinical practice

Sex- and age-related differences in the management and outcomes of chronic heart failure: an analysis of patients from the ESC HFA EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Aims: This study aimed to assess age- and sex-related differences in management and 1-year risk for all-cause mortality and hospitalization in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. Methods and results: Of 16 354 patients included in the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Long-Term Registry, 9428 chronic HF patients were analysed [median age: 66 years; 28.5% women; mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 37%]. Rates of use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were high (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: 85.7%, 88.7% and 58.8%, respectively). Crude GDMT utilization rates were lower in women than in men (all differences: P\ua0 64 0.001), and GDMT use became lower with ageing in both sexes, at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT prescription; however, age >75 years was a significant predictor of GDMT underutilization. Rates of all-cause mortality were lower in women than in men (7.1% vs. 8.7%; P\ua0=\ua00.015), as were rates of all-cause hospitalization (21.9% vs. 27.3%; P\ua075 years. Conclusions: There was a decline in GDMT use with advanced age in both sexes. Sex was not an independent predictor of GDMT or adverse outcomes. However, age >75 years independently predicted lower GDMT use and higher all-cause mortality in patients with LVEF 6445%