scholarly journals Media reports of abuse in adult residential care: implications for staff and practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-184
Author(s):  
Yvonne Pedley ◽  
Paul McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care For Older People

Purpose There is often a focus on the negative aspects of residential care for older people. In the UK, there has been increasing media attention on abuse in these and other care settings and this has impacted upon public perceptions and subsequent government policy. Consequently, care staff are “tarred with the same brush”, yet narratives of their views have rarely been investigated. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This undergraduate, qualitative, single-case study aimed to investigate the views of staff and explore the implications for them and their practice. The views of 15 participants in a residential care home were obtained through interviews and a focus group. Findings Although the findings reveal sensitivities to the negative portrayal of care roles, they also reveal positive responses through a willingness to change practice, a strengthening of care values and a reduction in risks. Originality/value This study will be of interest to those multi-disciplinary residential teams who care for older people as it uncovers a striking sense of guardianship amongst residential care staff, and a willingness to reflect on, and change, practice. The study endorses the value of small practitioner-led research as an illustration of how a residential care team consisting of managers and staff can strengthen its resolve against adverse media coverage and negative public perceptions. This study suggests that this will have positive implications for the health and safety of older people living in residential settings.

What’s in a word? The importance of the concept of “values” in the prevention of abuse of older people in care homes

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Moore
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Value ◽  
Provision Of Care

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings from an empirical, mixed methods research project that reveal the importance of the personal value frameworks held by individual staff in the prevention of abuse of older people in private sector care homes. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a sample of 36 care home personnel, including proprietors, care managers and care staff. Findings A significant number of respondents identified the importance of personal value frameworks among staff providing care as a potential contributory factor in the prevention of abuse of older people. Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 36 care home personnel through interviews, data suggest that the personal evaluations of staff towards those in their care is a significant contributory factor to the occurrence of abuse. Originality/value The research has identified individual staff value frameworks as a causal factor in the occurrence of abuse. The research also confirms that the perceptions of “values” among respondents directly involved in the provision of care are at odds with common understanding of “values” often cited elsewhere in connection with staff recruitment and training as a means of preventing the occurrence of abuse.

Paths to perdition: exploring the trajectories of care staff who have abused older people in their care

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Moore
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Negative Perceptions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from face-to-face interviews with three former care staff who were proven to have abused some of the older people living in the care and nursing homes in which they had once worked. The research sought to explore the intra-personal dynamics, personal characteristics and work experiences that led these staff to perpetrate abuse. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with three former care and nursing home staff who had committed abusive acts and the data secured subjected to thematic narrative analysis. Findings None of the three people interviewed had intended to become care staff and reported that the interview and induction processes they experienced did little to establish their suitability for the work they would be undertaking or to prepare them for its demands. Participants expressed their generally negative perceptions of older people, particularly those living with dementia, and told of how they also felt that they were under pressure to conform with the often abusive care home regimes that they had entered. They also recounted some specific abusive practices developed to allow them to manage the constant tension between the time available to complete all of the tasks required when “caring” for older people, and revealed their perceptions of external scrutiny of care home conduct and the behaviours developed to deflect the effectiveness of this oversight. Two interview participants also revealed their unfavourable attitudes to some of the people they were employed to care for that were based upon perceptions of ethnic differences, and of how this had contributed to the abuse they perpetrated. Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only three former care staff, the data reveal some of the intra-personal dimensions of individual staff who have engaged in abusive acts, and illuminates how the care home environment with which they interact can engender conditions under which abuse is more likely to occur. Originality/value Unusually, the paper explores the characteristics, perceptions and experiences of care staff who have actually committed abusive acts against those entrusted to their care.

But does it work? The role of regulation in improving the quality of residential care for older people in Europe

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciara O'Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
And Control ◽  
Care For Older People

Purpose – Regulation is the tool preferred by policy-makers to manage the quality of residential care for older people. However, it remains unclear which form of regulation is most effective. The residential care sector for older people in Europe offers a unique opportunity to explore this issue as countries vary in how they control quality in the sector. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a comparative approach, collating secondary data from various sources and conducting qualitative comparative analysis on the data. Findings – Three regulatory approaches were in operation – many Northern European countries operate on a self-regulatory basis, and are associated with the highest quality. Many continental countries, the UK and Ireland operate a command-and-control regulatory approach, with a moderate standard of care. Mediterranean and Eastern European countries have limited regulation, with care of a lower standard. However, the type of regulation appears to be a product of the prevailing culture and philosophy of care within each country. Thus, quality outcomes are a measure of financial investment in care. Social implications – Consistent calls for command-and-control style regulation may be misguided; high-quality care requires high-public investment and a professional workforce with the freedom to focus on quality improvement mechanisms. Originality/value – The paper provides a framework for analysing outcomes associated with different types of regulation. While a self-regulatory model is linked with the best outcomes, financial investment and the philosophy of care may be more important factors influencing the quality of care.

scholarly journals Sporting memories, dementia care and training staff in care homes

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Clark ◽  
Charlie Murphy ◽  
Tony Jameson-Allen ◽  
Chris Wilkins
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Home Staff ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Direct Feedback

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings from a pilot and a follow-on study in which care assistants in care homes were trained to use sporting memories work to better help and engage with residents with dementia and low mood. Care homes have to support increasingly more fragile people and often the range of activities in the homes do not offer the best engagement between residents and staff to benefit the residents. This is for reasons of time to run activities in a busy home, and because of the need to find financially viable means of running a range of activities. Care assistants in care homes are a group of non-professionally educated workers and are often overlooked for training beyond basic health and safety training to help them improve their work and the care they provide. This work sought to explore whether sporting memories work was viable as an activity to offer in care homes via the training of care assistants. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses the evidence from a pilot and then follow-on project in care homes in one city area. In the pilot observation was made of a training session and follow up interviews were undertaken with care home managers to see how the implementation of sporting memories was going. In the follow-on project the support to those undertaking the training was modified to include three learning network sessions. Data were collected on the experience of participants and their use of sporting memories work. Findings The findings were that care assistants could be trained in using sporting memories work and they often found it easy to use and fulfilling for them and people they cared for. This was despite the care assistants who participated often not having much interest in sports and little experience in this kind of work. However, practical barriers to maintaining the use of sporting memories work did remain. Research limitations/implications The evidence to date is of case studies of training staff in care homes in the use of sporting memories work, which provides good grounding for proof of the concept and key issues, but further research is needed on the costs and impacts of sporting memories work in care homes. The lack of direct feedback about experiences of care home residents of sporting memories work and its impact on them is a further limitation. Practical implications Sporting memories work is a flexible and readily adoptable intervention to engage older people in care homes and the evidence to date is that care assistants in care homes can be trained to use this approach to engaging older people. Practical challenges still remain to using sporting memories work in care homes, notably the issue of time for staff to do the work, but it is an approach for care homes to have available to them to match up to the interests of residents. Social implications Sporting memories work can be an important part of meeting some of the challenges society faces with an ageing population profile and to enhancing the care home environment and care assistants can be trained to use the approach. Originality/value This is the first paper to discuss training care home staff in the use of sporting memories work.

scholarly journals Change agents’ experiences of implementing a new organizational culture in residential care for older people: A qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 205715852199599
Author(s):  
Eva Ericson-Lidman ◽  
Gunilla Strandberg
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Change Process ◽  
Change Agent ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Culture Transformation ◽  
Conflicting Demands ◽  
Great Responsibility ◽  
Care For Older People

Culture change in organizations may affect employees and change agents are often a forgotten resource; their perspective is often overlooked in research. The aim of the study was to illuminate experiences of being a change agent in order to improve residential care of older people. Interviews were performed with 15 change agents who participated in a large culture transformation in residential care for older people. The study followed COREQ guidelines and content analysis was used to interpret the text. The analysis revealed that the change agents felt chosen when they accepted the challenge to become a change agent, but they also felt that transferring the message to co-workers was demanding. Conflicting demands about measuring care and aggravating circumstances to implement change were described. The results indicate that change agents benefit from preparation for the role itself as they have a great responsibility on their shoulders. In making the process more successful, all co-workers should be involved in the change process from the beginning.

Achieving person-centredness through technologies supporting integrated care for older people living at home: an integrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie MacInnes ◽  
Jenny Billings ◽  
Alexandra Lelia Dima ◽  
Chris Farmer ◽  
Giel Nijpels
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Integrated Care ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Range Type ◽  
Care For Older People ◽  
At Home

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the range, type and outcomes of technological innovations aimed at supporting older people to maintain their independence within the context of integrated care at home. We also discuss key emergent themes relevant to the use of person-centred technology for older people in integrated care and propose recommendations for policy and practice.Design/methodology/approachAn integrative review methodology was used to identify and describe recent scientific publications in four stages: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation and data analysis.FindingsTwelve studies were included in the review. Three studies described remote consultations, particularly telemedicine; five studies described tools to support self-management; three studies described the use of healthcare management tools, and one study described both remote consultation and self-care management. Emergent themes were: acceptability, accessibility and use of digital technologies; co-ordination and integration of services; the implementation of digital technologies; and safety and governance. Several recommendations are proposed relevant to integrated care teams, technology developers and researchers.Originality/valueThis review uniquely considers the extent to which novel digital technologies used in integrated care for older people are person-centred.

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