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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Keyworkers re-examined
— good practice, quality of care and empowerment in residential care of older people | | Author(s) | Rosemary E Bland |
| Journal title | The British Journal of Social Work, vol 27, no 4, August 1997 |
| Pages | pp 585-604 |
| Keywords | Key workers ; Care homes ; Residents [care homes] ; Rights [elderly] ; Quality ; Standards of provision. |
| Annotation | Social work definitions of `good practice' in residential care which were originally developed in work with children and young people, have also been applied to residential settings for other groups, including older people. However, any link between such elements of practice and positive outcomes for users has not always been demonstrated. The introduction of market principles and orientations into social welfare in the 1980s re-defined the social work `client' as a `consumer' with the associated power to make choices in social care. The success with which such an approach can be applied to services for people who are often not in a position to exercise much choice, is debatable. Along with the notion of the `consumer' or `user' of services has grown the ideology of `empowerment'. Drawing on findings from a recent study, this article explores the contribution of the keyworker role to good practice and the empowerment of older people living in residential homes. It concludes that, because their understanding of the concept and practice is largely undeveloped, the role as currently interpreted is not consonant with good practice, and tends rather to reinforce the power of staff. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980709225 A |
| Classmark | QRK: KW: KX: IKR: 59: 583 |
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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