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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the key findings from a study of adult protection referrals collected by two English local authorities during 1998‐2005.Design/methodology/approachReferrals were analysed for patterns relating to risk with client level data supplemented by information from the local authority databases and from the Care Quality Commission. The analysis also examined associations between adult protection processes and outcomes and looked at how adult protection monitoring data could be improved to better inform safeguarding management and practice at local and national level.FindingsSexual abuse was most frequently reported for people with intellectual disabilities, who were also at higher risk of abuse when living out of area. Older people were most at risk of financial abuse in community settings and of neglect in residential care.Originality/valueThe study identifies patterns of risk in the abuse of older people and those with intellectual disabilities and informs preventive interventions. It also indicates priorities for improving the quality and comparability of adult protection monitoring data.

• Summary: This article examines the processes and outcomes of adult protection referrals in two local authorities in England using adult protection monitoring data collected between 1998 and 2005, identifying learning for the use and development of adult protection monitoring. • Findings: Associations were found between aspects of process and outcome in adult protection case management; police and regulatory agency involvement increased over time, over four-fifths of referrals resulted in investigations which were associated with higher levels of inter-agency involvement, abuse was confirmed for over two-fifths of referrals, there was significant territorial variation across a range of process and outcome measures and specialist adult protection coordinators were associated with higher levels of monitoring and post-abuse work. The study concluded that more work is needed to improve and standardize adult protection monitoring data if it is to more effectively inform case management and inter-authority comparisons. • Applications: The evidence from the study suggests that adult protection monitoring data can be used to help review and organize adult protection work at agency, team and case levels and is consequently of potential value to team managers, social workers and specialist co-ordinators working in adult protection.

Background  There has been increasing recognition of the importance and extent of abuse of vulnerable adults, including people with intellectual disabilities, leading to the development of monitoring systems. This paper reports findings from one of the largest databases in the UK collected between 1998 and 2005.Method  Analysis of the 1926 referrals relating to people with intellectual disabilities included description of the nature of abuse and the responses to the referrals, comparisons to those relating to other client groups and comparisons between those placed locally and those placed out‐of‐area.Results  About one‐third of all adult protection referrals related to people with intellectual disability, remaining consistent over time. However, the number of referrals increased significantly. The majority of people lived in residential care or supported living and this was reflected in the nature of the referrals – people were more likely to have been abused in the care home and by staff or service users than those without an intellectual disability. The most common type of abuse was physical abuse. Sexual abuse was more prevalent in the intellectual disability sample than in other client groups. People with intellectual disability were more likely to have experienced follow‐up action, usually through more monitoring. There was a different pattern of abuse seen in those placed out‐of‐area.Conclusions  The overall pattern of abuse is similar to that reported in earlier studies. There is some indication that residential situation and in particular being placed in a residential placement out‐of‐area, may be an important factor in predicting adult protection referrals.

• Summary: This study focused on the incidence of adult protection referrals, the people involved as victims, perpetrators and referrers and the type of abuse in two local authorities in the south-east of England. • Findings: The number of referrals increased over time; those for older people stabilized but those for younger adults were still rising. There was a clear association between location or setting, perpetrator and type of abuse. A referral about someone living in a care home was more likely to identify abuse by multiple staff and institutional abuse or neglect, especially if the individual was an older person with mental health problems. People with learning disabilities were more likely to experience sexual abuse, mainly from other service users or members of their family. Those living in a private home with others, primarily relatives, tended to be at risk of financial, physical or psychological abuse. Older people living alone were particularly vulnerable to financial abuse by family members or, less frequently, home care workers. • Applications : This study suggests that well-developed adult protection procedures identify many more cases than previously estimated. Further research is needed to explain the low level of referrals from mental health services and variation between territories.

Background  An important question in community living is what factors influence the extent to which staff provide 'active support'.Methods  Engagement, care practices and a range of staff and organizational characteristics were studied in 72 residential homes serving 359 adults with intellectual disabilities. Managers in 36 settings were trained in person‐centred active support (PCAS). A group comparison design and multivariate analysis was used to investigate the relationship between variables.Results  The PCAS group showed more active support, assistance, other contact from staff and engagement in meaningful activity but no difference in choice‐making or assessment of participation in activities of daily living. The PCAS group had more staff with a professional qualification, were more likely to think that challenging behaviour was caused by lack of stimulation, had attitudes more in line with a policy of community care, rated most care tasks as less difficult, and were more organized to deliver active support. The comparison group were more likely to think that challenging behaviour was learned negative behaviour, showed more teamwork and were more satisfied. Multivariate analysis identified a range of staff and organizational variables associated with engagement and active support.Conclusions  The results suggest that some variables which have not hitherto been studied in relation with active support are associated with it. Professional qualification, knowledge and experience appear to be important as do some staff attitudes, clear management guidance, more frequent supervision and team meetings, training and support for staff to help residents engage in meaningful activity.

Background: With increasing reductions in funding for social care across many countries, the need to ensure that resources are used to best effect is becoming increasingly important, in particular for those with severe and complex needs. Methods: In order to explore the outcomes and costs of skilled support for this group of people, quality of life was assessed for 110 people in 35 services in England. Information on costs was also collected. Results: People who received consistently good active support experienced better outcomes in terms of several quality of life domains. Good support did not require significantly more staff time and there was no evidence of higher total costs for those receiving good support. Conclusions: The inclusion of active support in government guidance and local commissioning practices related to people with severe intellectual disabilities is likely to improve user outcomes. Observation should be an important element in measuring service quality.

Changing opportunities for active citizenship in europe : understanding the lived experiences of persons with disabilities -- Connecting lived lives and disability policy : active citizenship from a life-course perspective -- Life-course interviews on disability and active citizenship : collecting and analysing big qualitative data -- Changes and diversity in community living in europe : the experiences of persons with disabilities -- Diversity and change in the labour market careers of persons with disabilities -- Identity and political participation throughout the life course : the experiences of persons with disabilities in european countries -- Active citizenship in using accessible technology : the experiences of three generations -- How do persons with psychosocial disabilities experience and practice active citizenship in education and work? -- The role of the family in structuring the opportunities for exercising active citizenship among persons with disabilities -- Gendering active citizenship: experiences of women with disabilities -- Transitions to active citizenship for young persons with disabilities : virtuous and vicious cycles of functionings -- Technologies for active citizenship and the agency of objects -- Rethinking active citizenship: lessons from life-course interviews in nine european countries -- Index

"Over the last three decades, a number of reforms have taken place in European social policy with an impact on the opportunities for persons with disabilities to be full and active members of society. The policy reforms have aimed to change the balance between citizens' rights and duties and the opportunities to enjoy choice and autonomy, live in the community and participate in political decision-making processes of importance for one's life. How do the reforms influence the opportunities to exercise Active Citizenship? This volume presents the findings from the first cross-national comparison of how persons with disabilities reflexively make their way through the world, pursuing their own interests and values. The volume considers how their experiences, views and aspirations regarding participation vary across Europe. Based on retrospective life-course interviews, the volume examines the scope for agency on the part of persons with disabilities, i.e. the extent to which men and women with disabilities are able to make choices and pursue lives they have reasons to value. Drawing on structuration theory and the capability approach, the volume investigates the opportunities for exercising Active Citizenship among men and women in nine European countries. The volume identifies the policy implications of a process-oriented and multi-dimensional approach to Active Citizenship in European disability policy. It will appeal to policymakers and policy officials, as well as to researchers and students of disability studies, comparative social policy, international disability law and qualitative research methods."--Provided by publisher

Kvalita veřejných služeb, včetně sociálních služeb je tématem často diskutovaným mezi tvůrci sociálních politik, poskytovateli sociálních služeb a těmi, kteří zastupují uživatele služeb. Cílem této studie bylo zjistit, jak respondenti – zástupci veřejné správy, poskytovatelé sociálních služeb a uživatelé vnímají kvalitu sociálních služeb, se zvláštním zaměřením na to: (1) co hodnotí respondenti jako důležité; (2) jaká je relativní vnímaná důležitost každé domény a jak se tato vnímaná důležitost liší mezi kategoriemi respondentů a (3) jak se tato důležitost liší v závislosti na charakteristikách respondentů. Speciálně navržený dotazník vyplnilo 217 poskytovatelů služeb, 249 zástupců veřejné správy a 205 uživatelů sociálních služeb. Subjektivní kvalita života uživatelů služeb byla všemi třemi kategoriemi respondentů hodnocena jako nejdůležitější ukazatel kvality služeb. Obzvláště důležité pak byly položky, které se týkaly povahy vztahů a interakcí mezi zaměstnanci a uživateli služeb. Existovaly určité rozdíly mezi kategoriemi respondentů a také podle jejich charakteristik. Respondenti veřejné správy, starší uživatelé služeb a poskytovatelé rezidenční péče hodnotili zdravotní péči mnohem důležitěji než ostatní respondenti. V článku jsou diskutovány také některé přístupy k hodnocení kvality. ; Quality of public services including social services is an issue frequently discussed by policy makers, service providers, and by those who represent service users. The aim of this study was to explore how stakeholders perceive quality of social services, with a particular focus on (1) what did participants rate as important; (2) what is the relative importance of each domain and how does that differ across stakeholder groups and (3) does importance vary by participant characteristics. A specially designed questionnaire was completed by 217 service providers, by 249 public administration representatives and 205 service users of residential care and in-home support. The subjective quality of life of service users was rated as the most important indicator of service quality by all three stakeholder groups. Particularly important were items that related to the nature of the relationships and interactions between staff and service users. There were some differences between stakeholder groups and also by respondent characteristics – public administration respondents, older service users and providers of residential care were more likely to rate health care as more important than other respondents. Implications for how quality is measured are discussed.

BackgroundThis study reports the experiences of developing and pre‐testing an Easy Read version of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) for self‐report by people with intellectual disabilities.MethodsThe study has combined survey development and pre‐testing methods with approaches to create accessible information for people with intellectual disabilities. A working group assisted researchers in identifying appropriate question formats, pictures and wording. Focus groups and cognitive interviews were conducted to test various iterations of the instrument.ResultsSubstantial changes were made to the questionnaire, which included changes to illustrations, the wording of question stems and response options.ConclusionsThe process demonstrated the benefits of involving people with intellectual disabilities in the design and testing of data collection instruments. Adequately adapted questionnaires can be useful tools to collect information from people with intellectual disabilities in survey research; however, its limitations must be recognized.

Tento protokol nastiňuje výzkum, který zkoumá vnímání dopadu COVID-19 na osoby s mentálním a vývojovým postižením a jejich pečovatele ze strany rodinných příslušníků a placených zaměstnanců. Důkazy naznačují, že lidé s mentálním a vývojovým postižením zažívají rozdíly v přístupu ke zdravotní péči a využívání. Tento rozdíl byl patrný na počátku pandemie, kdy se objevily diskuse o možném vyloučení této populace z kritické péče. Metody: anonymní online průzkum bude proveden s pečovateli, jak rodinnými příslušníky, tak placeným personálem, aby prozkoumal jejich vnímání dopadu COVID-19 z hlediska demografie, životních podmínek, přístupu ke službám, sociálního distancování a péče o životní pohodu. Průzkum bude vypracován výzkumným týmem, z nichž mnozí jsou odborníky na mentální postižení ve svých vlastních zemích. Pomocí dvojího překladu náš tým přeloží průzkum pro distribuci v 18 zemích po celém světě pro mezinárodní srovnání. Výzkumný tým má rozsáhlé osobní a profesionální kontakty a bude průzkum široce propagovat na sociálních sítích s podporou místních poskytovatelů sociálních služeb pro osoby se zdravotním postižením a organizací zdravotně postižených. Budou provedeny statistické popisné a srovnávací analýzy. Etické schválení pro tuto studii získala Etická komise pro lidský výzkum (HS-20-28-Linehan) na University College Dublin. Diseminace výsledků: Výsledky studie budou připraveny v řadě formátů, aby vyhovovaly potřebám různých cílových skupin. Výstupy budou zahrnovat akademické práce, získané poznatky, pokyny pro praxi, zprávy, infografiku a video. Tyto výstupy budou zaměřeny na rodiny, management poskytovatelů sociálních služeb v oblasti zdravotního postižení, tvůrce politik na vnitrostátní úrovni, orgány pro kvalitu a poskytování zdravotní péče, vnitrostátní pandemické organizace a mezinárodní orgány. ; This protocol outlines research to explore family members' and paid staff's perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Evidence suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience disparities in healthcare access and utilisation. This disparity was evident early in the pandemic when discussions arose regarding the potential exclusion of this population to critical care. Methods : An anonymous online survey will be conducted with caregivers, both family members and paid staff, to explore their perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 in terms of demographics, living arrangements, access to services, social distancing, and carer wellbeing. The survey will be developed by the research team, many of whom are experts in intellectual disability within their own jurisdictions. Using back-translation our team will translate the survey for distribution in 18 countries worldwide for international comparison. The survey team have extensive personal and professional networks and will promote the survey widely on social media with the support of local disability and advocacy agencies. Statistical descriptive and comparative analyses will be conducted. Ethical approval has been obtained for this study from University College Dublin's Human Research Ethics Committee (HS-20-28-Linehan). Dissemination : Study findings will be prepared in a number of formats in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Outputs will include academic papers, lessons learned paper, practice guidelines, reports, infographics and video content. These outputs will be directed to families, frontline and management delivering disability services, national-level policy makers, healthcare quality and delivery authorities, national pandemic organisations and international bodies.