Person-centered support for adults with learning difficulties: an evaluation

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 384
Author(s):  
Roger Ellis ◽  
Elaine Hogard ◽  
Juli Carson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Block Grant ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Assess Quality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Individual Service

This paper describes an evaluation of a Personalisation Programme provided by the UK Charity Choice Support for adults with learning difficulties.Personalisation, synonymous with patient-centred care, means thinking about care and support services in an entirely different way. This involves starting with the person as an individual with strengths, preferences and aspirations and putting them at the centre of the process of identifying their needs and making choices about how and when they are supported to live their lives. It requires a significant transformation of adult social care so that all systems, processes, staff and services are geared up to put people first.The Choice Support Personalisation Programme had three main features: Person Centred Planning; Individual Service Funds and Better Nights, a new form of night support which encourages greater independence. Person Centred Planning means exploring in detail what each individual wants and needs and planning support accordingly. An Individual Service Fund represents a notional allocation of money to each individual for support based on individual need and preference as opposed to a block grant and a standard support for all. Better Nights was a shift from ‘Waking Nights’ with support staff available and monitoring individuals throughout the night to ‘Sleep In’ where the care staff followed normal waking and sleeping patterns together with the individuals thus encouraging a more normal life style with greater independence. The Social and Health Evaluation Unit (SHEU) of the Buckinghamshire New University, UK, has completed two programme evaluations; one of Better Nights and one of personalisation more broadly. In each case the Unit’s Trident method was used focusing evaluation questions on outcomes; process and stakeholder perspectives. Data from the evaluation were assessed together with the substantial savings achieved. Specially devised audit tools were used to assess quality of life and risk management. Overall the results of these audits showed a maintenance or improvement in quality of life for the service users and effective management of risks. The process of implementation was described in sufficient detail to allow replication, learning and continuous improvement. Stakeholder perspectives were surveyed from care staff, parents and relatives and social services staff. Overall the programme had achieved its stated outcomes in person-centred care with substantial savings. For the minority of service users whose quality of life did not appear to improve, further detailed analysis and planning is being undertaken.

scholarly journals Local government reform: Community planning and the quality of life in Northern Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Knox ◽  
Paul Carmichael
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Community Planning ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Legal Power ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Local government in Northern Ireland has undergone a significant reform process in terms of both the number of councils (from twenty-six to eleven) and their functional responsibilities. Councils in Northern Ireland have always been regarded as the ‘poor relation’ of central government or non-departmental public bodies which deliver many of the services performed by local government in other parts of the UK (education, social services, housing). The reforms in Northern Ireland, while devolving relatively minor additional functions, offer councils a significant role in community planning – the legal power to hold central departments to account for services provided by them in local areas. This paper argues that councils can use this power to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.

scholarly journals What would most help improve the quality of life of older family carers of people with dementia? A qualitative study of carers’ views

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 939-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Oliveira ◽  
Lidia Sousa ◽  
Aimee Aubeeluck
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Future Care ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
The Uk

Older family carers of people with dementia provide a substantial amount of care for people with dementia in the UK. Caregiving can be stressful and burdensome for these individuals, who are also experiencing psychological and physical changes resulting from their own ageing process. However, little is known about what impacts their quality of life, how this can be improved and what we should prioritise. This brief report asks one simple question to older family carers of people living with dementia – “What would most help improve your quality of life as a carer?” Qualitative data were collected from 150 carers who completed an anonymous paper survey during the development and validation of a quality of life tool for use with this population (DQoL-OC). Participants were individuals aged 60 and over and were providing care for a family member with dementia at home in the UK. Carers were recruited from a variety of voluntary organizations, community-based carers’ groups, health services and via online forums. A thematic approach was used to analyse the carers’ comments and three main overarching themes were identified. The quality of life of older family carers can be enhanced by having more time away from caregiving, accessing health and social services that are dementia friendly and by having economic support. Future care, policies and research should aim to address these key areas in order to promote better quality of life for older carers of people with dementia. Further implications for practice, policy and research are discussed.

scholarly journals Quality of Life and Associated Factors in Young Workers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2153
Author(s):  
José Andrade Louzado ◽  
Matheus Lopes Cortes ◽  
Márcio Galvão Oliveira ◽  
Vanessa Moraes Bezerra ◽  
Sóstenes Mistro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Assess Quality

Background: This study aimed to identify the factors associated with the quality of life of young workers of a Social Work of Industry Unit. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 1270 workers. Data were collected using a digital questionnaire built on the KoBoToolbox platform that included the EUROHIS-QOL eight-item index to assess quality of life. Demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and clinical variables were considered explanatory. The associations were analyzed using the ordinal logistic regression model at a 5% significance level. Results: Men and women had a mean quality of life of 31.1 and 29.4, respectively. Workers that rated their health as “very good” had an odds ratio of 7.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.17–10.81), and those who rated it as “good” had an odds ratio of 2.9 (95% CI = 2.31–3.77). Both these groups of workers were more likely to have higher levels of quality of life as compared to workers with “regular”, “poor”, or “very poor” self-rated health. Physically active individuals were 30% more likely to have higher levels of quality of life (odds ratio = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.08–1.65). After adjusting the model by gender, age group, marital status, socioeconomic class, self-rated health, nutritional status, and risky alcohol consumption, the odds ratio of active individuals remained stable (odds ratio = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.05–1.66). Conclusions: In the present study, self-rated health, physical activity, and gender were associated with young workers’ quality of life.

scholarly journals The impact of symptoms on quality of life before and after diagnosis of coeliac disease: the results from a Polish population survey and comparison with the results from the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Majsiak ◽  
Magdalena Choina ◽  
Dominik Golicki ◽  
Alastair M. Gray ◽  
Bożena Cukrowska
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Coeliac Disease ◽  
Gluten Free Diet ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Coeliac disease (CD) is characterised by diverse clinical symptoms, which may cause diagnostic problems and reduce the patients’ quality of life. A study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that the mean time between the onset of coeliac symptoms and being diagnosed was above 13 years. This study aimed to analyse the diagnostic process of CD in Poland and evaluate the quality of life of patients before and after CD diagnosis. In addition, results were compared to the results of the original study conducted in the UK. Methods The study included 2500 members of the Polish Coeliac Society. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire containing questions on socio-demographic factors, clinical aspects and quality of life, using the EQ-5D questionnaire. Questionnaires received from 796 respondents were included in the final analysis. Results The most common symptoms reported by respondents were bloating (75%), abdominal pain (72%), chronic fatigue (63%) and anaemia (58%). Anaemia was the most persistent symptom, with mean duration prior to CD diagnosis of 9.2 years, whereas diarrhoea was observed for the shortest period (4.7 years). The mean duration of any symptom before CD diagnosis was 7.3 years, compared to 13.2 years in the UK. CD diagnosis and the introduction of a gluten-free diet substantially improved the quality of life in each of the five EQ-5D-5L health dimensions: pain and discomfort, anxiety and depression, usual activities, self-care and mobility (p < 0.001), the EQ-Index by 0.149 (SD 0.23) and the EQ-VAS by 30.4 (SD 28.3) points. Conclusions Duration of symptoms prior to the diagnosis of CD in Poland, although shorter than in the UK, was long with an average of 7.3 years from first CD symptoms. Faster CD diagnosis after the onset of symptoms in Polish respondents may be related to a higher percentage of children in the Polish sample. Introduction of a gluten-free diet improves coeliac patients’ quality of life. These results suggest that doctors should be made more aware of CD and its symptoms across all age groups.

scholarly journals The burden of periodontal disease

Dental Update ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 907-913
Author(s):  
Kasim Butt ◽  
Razia Butt ◽  
Praveen Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Periodontal Disease ◽  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
The Uk

Periodontal disease is the most common chronic inflammatory disease seen in humans. It is a major public health concern, and in its severe form affects approximately 10.8% or 743 million people aged 15−99 worldwide. Trends such as the rise of smoking in developing countries, the obesity and diabetes epidemic, coupled with an ageing population with greater tooth retention, are all likely to increase the burden of periodontitis still further in the UK and worldwide. Consequences of periodontitis include hypermobility of teeth, tooth migration, drifting and eventual tooth loss. Tooth loss can directly affect the quality of life of a person in terms of reduced functional capacity, self-esteem and social relationships. CPD/Clinical Relevance: This article reports the prevalence of periodontal disease in the UK and worldwide, along with the consequences of periodontitis. The importance of timely diagnosis to avoid litigation is discussed, as is the importance of effective management of periodontitis in order to improve patients' oral health-related quality of life.

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