Becoming a Consumer of Care: Developing a Sociological Account of the ‘New Community Care’

1997 ◽  
Vol 44 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Baldock ◽  
Clare Ungerson
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Economic Sociology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Explanatory Account ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
New Community

The chapter evaluates the reformed arrangements for the management and delivery of social care following the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 using a framework drawn from economic sociology. Research findings describing how a group of newly disabled older people fared as consumers of the services are summarized. An explanatory account is given drawing upon concepts and theory to be found in the growing literature on the sociology of economic life, particularly studies of consumption. The central conclusion is that it is difficult to account for the effects of the recent reforms on community care consumers without situating them within a context of existing social relations and institutions. If the reforms are to succeed they must change not just the practical mechanics of service funding and delivery but deeply embedded values and behavioural norms.

scholarly journals The need for community care among older people in China

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (06) ◽  
pp. 1312-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUNSHAN ZHOU ◽  
ALAN WALKER
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Healthy Longevity ◽  
New Information ◽  
Care System

ABSTRACTThe social care system of China has come under close scrutiny from policy makers due to the rapid ageing of China's population. Unfortunately, there is very little Chinese research evidence that might be used to plan future service developments. This article is a contribution to filling that gap and it provides essential new information on the expressed demand among older people in China for various community care services. The data are from the 2008 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. According to the characteristics of the dependent variables, we used Binary Logistic Regression Analysis to analyse the need for community care among older people in China. The results show considerable need for such care, but China is still a developing country and there are insufficient resources to fund a Western-style social care system (even if that was desirable). Thus, it is argued that the development of social care in China should emphasise community-based care, in partnership with families, with institutional care as a last resort. In addition, it is argued that China (and other countries) should introduce measures to prevent the demand for social care.

scholarly journals Positive Subjective Health of Older Homeless and Older Irish Travelers: a Participant-Led Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 107-107
Author(s):  
Bridin Carroll ◽  
Kieran Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Care Models ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Positive Ageing

Abstract Older people experiencing homelessness and older Irish Travellers (OTOH) are both over-represented in the cohort who use acute health services. Impending health care reform in Ireland will be based on primary care models, meaning home and community care will be, for the first time, underpinned by a regulatory framework. For these reasons, this study aims to gain a nuanced understanding of how OTOH, as marginalised older people, might be best served by new home care and community care models. Using a qualitative, voice-led approach, a life course and structural determinants lens is employed to probe the health conditions, experiences and expectations of OTOH, as well as their perceptions and values around the concept of ‘home’. The research processes and outcomes of one of five phases of research are presented in this paper: participant-led research. In this phase, five OTOH were trained and assisted to complete a short research project which fed into the goals of the wider study. Emergent findings suggest that social connections underpin health and well-being for OTOH, throughout the life course, and presently. This was also seen as a fundamental element for healthy and positive ageing. In addition, ‘home’ was defined with reference to the presence (or absence) of familial or other social connections. This study represents an important contribution to scholarship on old age social exclusion. It is entirely novel in its approach to focusing on OTOH health and wellbeing. The outputs of this study also have important implications for upcoming health reform policies in Ireland.

scholarly journals Transitions between levels of dependency among older people receiving social care – a retrospective longitudinal cohort study in a Swedish municipality

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Zingmark ◽  
Fredrik Norström
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards Model ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort ◽  
Home Help ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background Knowledge is scarce on how needs for home help and special housing evolve among older people who begin to receive support from municipal social care. The purpose of this study was to describe baseline distributions and transitions over time between levels of dependency among older persons after being granted social care in a Swedish municipality. Methods Based on a longitudinal cohort study in a Swedish municipality, data was collected retrospectively from municipal records. All persons 65 years or older who received their first decision on social care during 2010 (n = 415) were categorized as being in mild, moderate, severe, or total dependency, and were observed until the end of 2013. Baseline distributions and transitions over time were described descriptively and analysed with survival analysis, with the Kaplan-Meier estimator, over the entire follow-up period. To test potential differences in relation to gender, we used the Cox-Proportional hazards model. Results Baseline distributions between mild, moderate, severe, and total dependency were 53, 16, 24, and 7.7%. During the first year, between 40 and 63% remained at their initial level of dependency. Among those with mild and moderate levels of dependency at baseline, a large proportion declined towards increasing levels of dependency over time; around 40% had increased their dependency level 1 year from baseline and at the end of the follow-up, 75% had increased their dependency level or died. Conclusions Older people in Sweden being allocated home help are at high risk for decline towards higher levels of dependency, especially those at mild or moderate dependency levels at baseline. Taken together, it is important that municipalities make use of existing knowledge so that they implement cost-effective preventative interventions for older people at an early stage before a decline toward increasing levels of dependency.

scholarly journals Can welfare-rights advice targeted at older people reduce social exclusion?

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 875-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUZANNE MOFFATT ◽  
GRAHAM SCAMBLER
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Median Income ◽  
Welfare Rights ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTIt is known that, in general, people of pensionable age have gained in income compared to other age groups in the British population over the last two decades, but that a substantial minority still experience relative poverty. This paper reports a small qualitative study into the effectiveness of a welfare-rights advice and acquisition service for men and women aged 60 or more years that was provided through a local primary health-care service. Additional financial and non-financial resources were obtained by accessing previously unclaimed state-welfare benefits. It was found that these significantly improved the participants' quality of life. Fourteen of the 25 participants received some type of financial award as a result of the service offered, with the median income gain being £57 (€84 or US $101) per week. The impact of additional resources was considerable and included: increased affordability of necessities and occasional expenses; increased capacity to cope with emergencies; and reduced stress related to financial worries. Knowledge of and access to welfare-rights services also appeared to have a positive effect. It is argued that a level of material resources above a basic level is necessary for social relations and for accessing services and civic activities, and can reduce social exclusion among older people.

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