Empowerment of users of social care services has become a key issue in much current social work and social policy literature. But many of these texts have focused on themes such as consumerism and citizens' rights, settings in which user involvement is restricted to influencing front-line workers, with little participation in policy making at senior management level. This book explores strategies for effectively involving users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services. How the key concepts of empowerment, participation and user involvement have been applied in important areas such as mental health, childcare services and criminal justice is discussed, and the outcomes for users considered. The book draws on extensive research and case studies, and also considers the methodology and ethical dilemmas of carrying out research.
Researching for Participation and Involvement in Social Care Delivery is an authoritative, thought-provoking overview of the current situation in social care delivery and presents a convincing argument for greater direct involvement of users at every level of policy making. It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners involved in social and health care delivery at all levels.
Introduction, Hazel Kemshall, DeMontfort University and Rosemary Littlechild, Birmingham University. 1. Participation and Involvement in Social Care, Suzy Braye, Staffordshire University 2. Just Inquiry? Research and Evaluation for Service Users, Ian Shaw, Cardiff University 3. Totem not Token: Groupwork as a Vehicle for User Participation, David Ward, DeMontfort Unversity. 4. Action Research for the Development of Children's Services in the Ukraine, Jennie Fleming, DeMontfort University. 5. Family Involvement in Child Protection: The Use of Family Group Conferences, Kate Morris, Birmingham University and Carmel Shepherd, Guardian ad Litem. 6. Politics into Practice: The Production of a Disabled Person's Guide to Accessing Community Care Assessments, Kathryn Ellis, Luton University and Kirstein Rummery, Manchester University. 7. Breaking the Ice: Developing Strategies for Collaborative Working with Carers of Older People with Mental Health Problems, Helen Rogers, Birmingham University. 8. Listening to Children: Meeting the Needs of Young Carers, Chris Dearden and Saul Becker, Loughborough University. 9. Older People as 'Participating Patients', Rosemary Littlechild and Jon Glasby, Birmingham University. 10. Working with Sickle Cell/Thalassaemia Support Groups, Simon Dyson, DeMontfort University. 11. 'Framing Your own Questions': Empowering Patients and Primary Health Care Workers in the Planning of Primary Health Care Services, Angus McCabe and Liz Ross, Birmingham University. 12 .Policies of Neglect: Female Offenders and the Probation Service, Judith Rumgay, London School of Economics. 13. User Involvement, Community Care and Disability Research, Kathryn Ellis, Luton University 14. Researching for Participation: Some Concluding Remarks, Hazel Kemshall, DeMontfort University and Rosemary Littlechild, Birmingham University. References. Index.
This is an interesting book, which examines different ways of including service users and their families, friends or carers in social care research. The opening and closing chapters discuss the wider debates about involvement and participation. The majority of the chapters give examples from a variety of different settings. This variety is a key strength, as children and families, older people, disabled people, patients of primary care, female offenders and carers (including young carers) are variously involved or participate in research. [I]t will be very useful for studetns, teachers, and researchers across the field of social care.
