scholarly journals A qualitative study into the health and social care needs and barriers to service access for Sudanese women living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area of Sydney, Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Penelope Fotheringham ◽  
Deslyn Raymond ◽  
Sarah Khanlari ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Susanne Gleeson ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
pp. 030802262097394
Author(s):  
Deborah Bullen ◽  
Channine Clarke

Introduction In response to growing demands on health and social care services there is an emphasis on communities addressing the needs of local populations to improve lives and reduce inequalities. Occupational therapists are responding to these demands by expanding their scope of practice into innovative settings, such as working with refugees, the homeless and residents of nursing homes, and within sport and leisure environments. The benefits of sport are widely acknowledged, and this paper argues that occupational therapists could play a pivotal role in enabling people to participate. Method This qualitative study drew on a phenomenological approach and used interviews and thematic analysis to explore five occupational therapists’ experiences of enabling people to participate in sport. Findings Findings revealed that participants demonstrated the uniqueness of occupational therapy when enabling people to participate in sport and practised according to their professional philosophy. There were opportunities to reach wider communities and promote the value of occupational therapy by collaborating with organisations, but there were also challenges when working outside of traditional settings. Conclusion The study emphasises the unique skills occupational therapists can bring to this setting. It highlights opportunities to expand their practice, to forge new partnerships in sports and leisure environments, and to address the national inactivity crisis.


The Lancet ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 390 (10103) ◽  
pp. 1630-1631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Dilnot

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-309
Author(s):  
Stephanie Best

Introduction Integrating services is a key tenet to developing services across the United Kingdom. While many aspects of integration have been explored, how to facilitate integration of services remains unclear. Method An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken in 2015 to explore occupational therapists’ perceptions on integrating service provision across health and social care organisational boundaries. The views of practitioners who had experienced integration were sought on a range of aspects of integrating services. This paper focuses on the facilitators for delivering integration and the essential enablers are identified. Findings Numerous factors were noted to facilitate integration and three essential enablers were highlighted. Leadership, communication and joint education were recognised as playing a central role in integrating services across organisational boundaries; without these three essential enablers, integration is liable to fail. Conclusion Integration is a process rather than an event; continued emphasis will be required on leadership, communication and joint education to progress integration achievements made to date.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 108-122
Author(s):  
Patricia Dearnaley ◽  
Joanne E. Smith

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to stimulate a wider debate around the coordination of workforce planning in non-statutory services (in this case, specialist housing for older people or those with long-term health and social care needs, such as learning disabilities). The authors argue that current NHS reforms do not go far enough in that they fail to include specialist housing and its workforce in integration, and by doing so, will be unable to optimise the potential efficiencies and streamlining of service delivery to this group. Design/methodology/approach The paper used exploratory study using existing research and data, enhanced by documentary analysis from industry bodies, regulators and policy think tanks. Findings That to achieve the greatest operational and fiscal impact upon the health care services, priority must be given to improving the efficiency and coordination of services to older people and those requiring nursing homes or registered care across the public and third sectors through the integration of service delivery and workforce planning. Research limitations/implications Whilst generalisable and achievable, the model proposed within the paper cannot be fully tested theoretically and requires further testing the in real health and social care market to evidence its practicality, improved quality of care and financial benefits. Originality/value The paper highlights some potential limitations to the current NHS reforms: by integrating non-statutory services, planned efficiency savings may be optimised and service delivery improved.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Aisling M. O'Halloran ◽  
Peter Hartley ◽  
David Moloney ◽  
Christine McGarrigle ◽  
Rose Anne Kenny ◽  
...  

Background: There is increasing policy interest in the consideration of frailty measures (rather than chronological age alone) to inform more equitable allocation of health and social care resources. In this study the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) classification tree was applied to data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and correlated with health and social care utilisation. CFS transitions over time were also explored. Methods: Applying the CFS classification tree algorithm, secondary analyses of TILDA data were performed to examine distributions of health and social care by CFS categories using descriptive statistics weighted to the population of Ireland aged ≥65 years at Wave 5 (n=3,441; mean age 74.5 (SD ±7.0) years, 54.7% female). CFS transitions over 8 years and (Waves 1-5) were investigated using multi-state Markov models and alluvial charts. Results: The prevalence of CFS categories at Wave 5 were: 6% ‘very fit’, 36% ‘fit’, 31% ‘managing well’, 16% ‘vulnerable’, 6% ‘mildly frail’, 4% ‘moderately frail’ and 1% ‘severely frail’. No participants were ‘very severely frail’ or ‘terminally ill’. Increasing CFS categories were associated with increasing hospital and community health services use and increasing hours of formal and informal social care provision. The transitions analyses suggested CFS transitions are dynamic, with 2-year probability of transitioning from ‘fit’ (CFS1-3) to ‘vulnerable’ (CFS4), and ‘fit’ to ‘frail’ (CFS5+) at 34% and 6%, respectively. ‘Vulnerable’ and ‘frail’ had a 22% and 17% probability of reversal to ‘fit’ and ‘vulnerable’, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the CFS classification tree stratified the TILDA population aged ≥65 years into subgroups with increasing health and social care needs. The CFS could be used to aid the allocation of health and social care resources in older people in Ireland. We recommend that CFS status in individuals is reviewed at least every 2 years.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Khanassov ◽  
Laura Rojas-Rozo ◽  
Rosa Sourial ◽  
Xin Qiang Yang ◽  
Isabelle Vedel

Abstract Background Persons living with dementia have various health and social care needs and expectations, some which are not fully met by health providers, including primary care clinicians. The Quebec Alzheimer plan, implemented in 2014, aimed to cover these needs, but there is no research on the effect this plan had on the needs and expectations of persons living with dementia. The objective of this study is to identify persons living with dementia and caregivers’ met and unmet needs and to describe their experience. Methods This is a sequential mixed methods explanatory design: Phase 1: cross-sectional study to describe the met and unmet health and social care needs of community-dwelling persons living with dementia using Camberwell Assessment of Need of the Elderly and Carers’ Assessment for Dementia tools. Phase 2: qualitative descriptive study to explore and understand the experiences of persons living with dementia and caregivers with the use of social and healthcare services, using semi-structured interviews. Data from phase 1 was analyzed with descriptive statistics, and from phase 2, with inductive thematic analysis. Results from phases 1 and 2 were compared, contrasted and interpreted together. Results The mean total number of needs reported by the patients was 5.03 (4.48 and 0.55 met and unmet needs, respectively). Caregivers had 0.52 met needs (3.16 unmet needs). The main needs for both were memory, physical health, eyesight/hearing/communication, medication, looking after home, money/budgeting. Three categories were mentioned by the participants: Persons living with dementia and caregiver’s attitude towards memory decline, their perception of community health services and of the family medicine practice. Conclusions Our study confirms the findings of other studies on the most common unmet needs of the patients and caregivers that are met partially or not at all. In addition, the participants were satisfied with access to care, and medical services in primary practices, being confident in their family. Our results indicate persons living with dementia and their caregivers need a contact person, a clear explanation of their dementia diagnosis, a care plan, written information on available services, and support for the caregivers.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document