Suchergebnisse

The history of disability policies in Hungary is one of legal progress since the 1990s and EU-funded investments since 2004, yet mixed outcomes for disabled people. To date this paradox remains unexplored, especially how it plays out in the lived experiences of disabled people and their families. This paper aims to fill this knowledge-gap by exploring disabled people's experiences of independent living over the past three decades in Hungary. Based upon 53 life course interviews – 34 with disabled people and 19 with family members – we identify seven barriers to independent living in Hungary, which create an adverse environment. We also highlight a number of facilitators that help people to overcome or mitigate this adverse environment. In the conclusion, we discuss trends in Hungarian disability policies that impact opportunities for independent living. Results suggest decades of human-rights inspired legal progress has made little difference in people's lived realities.

Abstract
Choice and control are pivotal in UK Government policy for achieving personalisation of social care for people with learning disabilities; however, little is known about the role care management plays in supporting people with learning disabilities finding social care services. This article explores that the support care managers provide people with learning disabilities, how care managers source and use information to offer choice in relation to accommodation and support, with a focus on people receiving managed budgets. Qualitative interviews with eight care managers from two local authorities in the South East of England were analysed using thematic network analysis, producing three global themes. The first 'shaping choice' describes the role of the care management process and assessments have in determining opportunities for choice. The gathering and interpretation of quality information is explored in the second global theme, highlighting the role of visiting settings to understand their quality. 'Choice in principle' is the third global theme, whereby the factors shaping choice come to be seen as choice akin to that anyone else has. These findings have implications for future policy and practice in relation to care management for people with learning disabilities.

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.

Context: The precarious work arrangements experienced by many long-term care workers have led to the creation of a "shared" workforce across residential, home, and community aging care sectors. This shared workforce was identified as a contributor to the spread of COVID-19 early in the pandemic. Objective: This analysis sought to review policy measures targeting the long-term care workforce across seven high income jurisdictions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus was on financial supports introduced to recognize long-term care workers for the increased risks they faced, including both (1) health risks posed by direct care provision during the pandemic and (2) economic risks associated with restrictions to multi-site work. Method: Environmental scan of publicly available policy documents and government news releases published between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, across seven high income jurisdictions. Findings: While there was limited use of financial measures in the United States to compensate long-term care workers for the increased health risks they faced, these measures were widely used across Canada, as well as in Wales, Scotland, and Australia. Moreover, there was a corresponding use of financial measures to protect workers from income loss in parts of Canada, Australia and the UK. Limitations: Our analysis did not include additional policy measures such as sick pay or recruitment incentives. We also relied primarily on publicly available policy documentation. In some cases, documents had been archived or revised, making it difficult to ascertain and clarify original information and amendments. Implications: While these financial measures are temporary, they brought to light long-standing issues related to the supply of and support for workers providing care to older adults in long-term care homes.