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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Professionals assessing clients' needs and eligibility for electric scooters in the Netherlands
— both gatekeepers and clients' advocates | | Author(s) | Frederike Jörg, Hennie R Boeije, Augustinus J P Schrijvers |
| Journal title | British Journal of Social Work, vol 35, no 6, September 2005 |
| Pages | pp 823-842 |
| Source | http://bjsw.oupjournals.org |
| Keywords | Wheelchairs ; Needs [elderly] ; Evaluation ; Standards of provision ; Netherlands. |
| Annotation | Independence and maintaining social contact are important factors in older people's quality of life. An electric scooter may enable people with mobility problems to achieve these goals. In the Netherlands, needs assessors have been appointed to evaluate clients' eligibility for electric scooters. This paper examines how needs assessors apply eligibility criteria and act in the client's interest at the same time. A qualitative study was performed, observing 12 house calls on clients requesting an electric scooter. Interviews were held with needs assessors and a document analysis was made. The authors found that needs assessors used their discretion to create their own policy regarding who did or did not deserve an electric scooter. They did this by concealing or emphasising certain information. Especially when needs assessors sympathised with their clients, they did their best to sustain the case. The paper concludes with the suggestion that needs assessors would benefit from discussing their personal values, not only to agree on their norms as a professional group, but also to avoid illegitimate arguments influencing the decision. Furthermore, needs assessors should try to influence local social policy, gearing it towards the needs of the local community. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-051027205 A |
| Classmark | MFA: IK: 4C: 583: 76H |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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