Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Publication
    Social Work, Mental Health, Older People and Covid19
    (Cambridge University Press, 2020-05) ; ; ;
    In this commentary, we will explore the work of social work in Ireland in addressing the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on older people in general, and older people who have an enduring mental illness.
    Scopus© Citations 28  405
  • Publication
    Position Paper on Adult Safeguarding, Legislation, Policy and Practice
    (Irish Association of Social Workers, 2022-10-25) ; ;
    The issue of adult safeguarding is of utmost importance for social workers and for the IASW. For those adults in need of safeguarding, the support and vindication of their integrity, autonomy, and human rights, as well as their protection and safety, may be dependent in large part on the role played by state agencies and civil society. Social workers have a particularly key role to play in adult safeguarding. The present position paper has been developed in the context of emerging legislation and new structures, policies, and services. In publishing the present position paper, which now supersedes a previous paper, the IASW seeks to influence the development and implementation of appropriate legislation, policy, and practice. This is in line with human rights values and best practices and based on our unique role, expertise, and experience as social workers, as well as being influenced by the voices and needs of the people we work with and their families. This is ultimately to seek to ensure that those adults who need professional safeguarding interventions, and their loved ones, receive the best possible services and protection.
      178
  • Publication
    Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making in Adult Safeguarding Practice
    (2019-10-15)
    Invited Keynote presentation to HSE National Safeguarding Office Annual Learning Forum.
      478
  • Publication
    'It Took a Leap of Faith.' Care and Connect: A Model for Practitioner Research in Ireland
     Irish social work has been slow to develop a research culture and professional structure to support research capacity. International literature suggests that one of the major reasons for the lack of research activity amongst social work practitioners is the absence of collaborative links between university based researchers and social work practitioners in the field (March and Fisher 2005; Shaw 2003:2005; Gibbs 2001). In 2006, senior staff from Tallaght Hospital, Dublin and the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, recognised the need for a strategic approach for the promotion of research capacity and activity amongst social work practitioners. This paper discusses an academic/hospital partnership project "Care and Connect", that sought to explore the opportunities for developing practice based research in a health care setting in Dublin.    
      298
  • Publication
    How are people with dementia involved in care-planning and decision-making? An Irish social work perspective
    In recent years, there have been national and international policy advances around capacity and decision-making and an apparent burgeoning rights-based approach to the issue, all of which have the potential to impact on the experience for people with dementia in Ireland. There is little evidence however on whether these policies and principles are being translated into practice and whether traditional paternalistic approaches to decision-making are being challenged. To gain insight into current practice, research was undertaken with social workers working with older people in Ireland; reporting on the involvement of people living with dementia in care-planning processes. Data collection included a mixed method approach; an on-line survey of social workers from across the country who reported on their open caseload during the month of June 2015 (N = 38 social workers reporting on the experiences of 788 older people, of which 39% of older people had a formal diagnosis of dementia). In addition, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with social workers working in the nine Community Health Organisation areas (N = 21). Findings show that people with dementia were high users of social work services, accounting for 44.5% of the client group. Social workers reported that there were no standardised approaches to how Health and Social Care Professionals involved people with dementia in care planning and decision-making. Overall, people with dementia were more likely to be excluded from decision-making processes due to (i) assumptions that they lacked capacity, (ii) family members preferences that the person was not involved, (iii) communication difficulties, (iv) time constraints, (v) little or no opportunity given or (vi) the person delegated decision-making to others. Good practices were identified through multidisciplinary team approaches and formal care planning meetings. This research highlights variability in how people with dementia participate in decision-making around their care. It sheds light on existing barriers which challenge the full implementation of the Irish Assisted Decision-Making legislation; highlighting the need for appropriate guidance and education for Health and Social Care Professionals. The findings also show that family dynamics and existing relationships can play a role in how people with dementia participate and are involved. To ensure consistent opportunities for participation, effective practices and approaches to supporting the participation of people living with dementia in care planning needs to be developed and rolled out in all care settings through increased training and adoption of standardised approaches.
      1514Scopus© Citations 32
  • Publication
    Care Planning Meetings: Issues for Policy, Multi-disciplinary Practice and Patient Participation
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-10-13) ; ;
    Although Care-Planning Meetings (CPMs) are an increasingly common part of the practice of social work with older people and multi-disciplinary teamwork, it is uncertain how and by whom the voice and wishes of older people, including those with a cognitive impairment, are given due priority. In addition, there is little professional guidance as to how to best plan and facilitate CPMs for older patients with cognitive and communication deficits and other often complex needs. An added challenge is the wide, often diverse and conflicting range of perspectives held by health and social care professionals and other family members who may be involved. This scoping review article on CPMs for older people, considers the facilitators and barriers to effective participation as identified in the literature and proposes suggestions for best practices in CPMs which could help promote an individualised approach to participation that best reflects the older patient’s wishes.
    Scopus© Citations 6  514
  • Publication
    The Assisted Decision-making Capacity Act, 2015: reflections for the profession of social work
    (Health Service Executive, 2021-10-24) ; ;
    The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 will provide the legal framework to maximise a person’s right to make their own decisions, with legally recognised supports. Once commenced, this significant piece of legislation will change everyone’s approach when working with and supporting people whose capacity is in question. This collection of essays, written from both personal and professional perspectives, highlights the importance of this ground-breaking piece of legislation. The powerful essays demonstrate the scale of impact that the Act may have on people’s lives — from the ability to write a legally binding advance healthcare directive to being supported to make their own decisions if they have difficulties with decision-making capacity. The idea for this collection of essays emerged from a conference held in University College Cork in November 2019, which was jointly organised by the Decision Support Service; the HSE National Office for Human Rights and Equality; and the Law School at UCC. The conference was intended to draw attention to the ongoing delays in commencing the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act). At that time, there was no clear line to commencement and a growing concern that there was no political imperative to take the steps needed to bring the 2015 Act into force. We wanted to provide a reminder of the unsustainability of the current legal structures, the importance of the 2015 Act and why political procrastination had to stop.
      650
  • Publication
    Age Related Inequalities and Covid19
    (2020-09-23)
    Invited speaker to Social Work in the Community first webinar on Covid and Inequality, Collaboration between Department of Health(NI) and University of Ulster.
      71
  • Publication
    Adult Safeguarding Legislation and Policy Rapid Realist Literature Review
    The investigation of, and intervention into the alleged abuse of older people has become a dominant feature of social work in Ireland. The international definition of elder mistreatment adopted in most western countries including Ireland, is: ‘Elder abuse is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm to an older person’ (WHO, 2008; WHO/INPEA, 2002). Operationalising this abstract definition is to describe types or categories of abuse that older people can be subjected to - physical, sexual, psychological, financial and neglect. Although valuable, the limitations of these narrow and mutually exclusive categories are increasingly recognised (Anand et al., 2013; O’Brien et al., 2011; Naughton et al., 2012). There is a major lack of understanding of the voice and experiences of older people in relation to abuse (Anand et al., 2013; Charpentier and Souliéres, 2013; WHO, 2002b). Irish research has demonstrated that older people conceptualise elder abuse as the loss of voice and agency, diminishing status in society, violation of rights and wider societal influences that undermine a sense of individualism and ‘personhood’ (O’Brien et al., 2011; Naughton et al., 2013).
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