Neil Howell, Duncan Boldly, Barry Smith, Allocating the home help services, London, Bedford Square Press, 1979. 110 pp. £4.50. ISBN 0 7199 10269. - Paul Chapman, Unmet needs and the delivery of care: a study of the utilisation of social services by old people, Bedford Square Press, London, 1979. 110 pp. £3.95. ISBN 0 7199 0962.

ABSTRACTThis paper describes association with changes in functional ability among very elderly people who were interviewed first in 1987 when they were aged 85+, and followed-up in 1990. It focuses, in particular, on those with severe difficulties with ADL. It was notable that while those with chronic problems with disability used more health and social services, few received services specific to rehabilitation and social support (e.g. physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work), and substantial numbers in this group (30–45%) did not receive any chiropody services; although the provision of instrumental aid with tasks of daily living was relatively high from home help services, and, in particular, from relatives.

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How Elderly People Rank-Order the Quality Characteristics of Home Services

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x00002130 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 83-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Per Gunnar Edebalk ◽

Gillis Samuelsson ◽

Bengt Ingvad

Keyword(s):

Elderly People ◽

Social Services ◽

Rank Order ◽

Quality Attributes ◽

Relative Importance ◽

Multiattribute Utility ◽

Personal Relation ◽

Home Help ◽

Home Help Services ◽

Important Quality

AbstractVarious studies have dealt more or less directly with qualitative questions concerning social services provided in the home. While as a result of such studies the general characteristics of home services of importance to elderly people are quite well known, this is not the case regarding the relative importance assigned to such characteristics. Personal interviews using the ‘Multiattribute Utility Technology’ (MAUT) were used. This procedure organises the attributes in a ‘tree’ structure for comparing the relative importance & ranking of different quality attributes. A random sample of 180 receivers of home-help services aged 65 to 95 and living in a rural, small town and city area were interviewed. The interviewed persons were asked to rank-order according to personal importance each grouping of quality attributes. The relative values of the different qualities were determined, using a scale with a range from 0 to 100 points. Continuity, especially Staff Continuity, was the most important quality attribute together with Suitability and Personal Relation. Availability and Influence were the least important quality attributes. The characteristics studied had largely the same relative importance for all older people, irrespective of category.

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Changes in commitment to change among leaders in home help services

Leadership in Health Services ◽

10.1108/lhs-04-2014-0038 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 216-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristina Westerberg ◽

Susanne Tafvelin

Keyword(s):

Organizational Change ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Change Initiatives ◽

Commitment To Change ◽

Content Type ◽

Team Meetings ◽

Home Help ◽

Home Help Services ◽

One Year ◽

Over Time

Purpose – The purpose of the this study was to explore the development of commitment to change among leaders in the home help services during organizational change and to study this development in relation to workload and stress. During organizational change initiatives, commitment to change among leaders is important to ensure the implementation of the change. However, little is known of development of commitment of change over time. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with ten leaders by the time an organizational change initiative was launched and follow-up one year later. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Findings – Commitment to change is not static, but seems to develop over time and during organizational change. At the first interview, leaders had a varied pattern reflecting different dimensions of commitment to change. One year later, the differences between leaders’ commitment to change was less obvious. Differences in commitment to change had no apparent relationship with workload or stress. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from one organization, and the number of participants were small which could affect the results on workload and stress in relation to commitment to change. Practical implications – It is important to support leaders during organizational change initiatives to maintain their commitment. One way to accomplish this is to use management team meetings to monitor how leaders perceive their situation. Originality/value – Qualitative, longitudinal and leader studies on commitment to change are all unusual, and taken together, this study shows new aspects of commitment.

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