Health & social care in the community
-
Health Soc Care Community · May 2004
Comparative StudyUse of osteopathic or chiropractic services among people with back pain: a UK population survey.
Questionnaires covering health and the use of complementary, alternative and conventional health services were mailed to a random sample of 14 868 adults aged 18-64 years living in four counties of England in 1997. The present study examined the use of osteopathy/chiropractic among the 15% (n = 1377) of respondents reporting back pain. Osteopaths/chiropractors were seen by 13.4% (n = 184) of respondents with back pain during the past 3 months compared with 9.8% (n = 135) who consulted physiotherapists. ⋯ Although they reported worse pain scores than people not consulting any practitioners, their mental health, physical functioning, energy and health perception were better. It is impossible to disentangle cause and effect in this cross-sectional study, but the data suggest that people who can afford to pay are more likely to choose osteopath/chiropractor treatments than physiotherapy. The possibility that osteopath/chiropractor treatment has a generalised positive effect on health, allowing people with back pain to function better than those not receiving such treatment, warrants further investigation.
-
Health Soc Care Community · May 2004
Comparative StudyFacilitating choice and control for older people in long-term care.
The community care reforms enabled some older people with severe disabilities to remain at home with domiciliary care services, as an alternative to institutional admission. This paper explores the extent to which the reforms actually enabled older people receiving domiciliary care to have greater choice and control in their daily lives than older people living in institutions. Findings are reported from a comparative study carried out in Greater Belfast, Northern Ireland, that determined the extent to which the subjective quality of life of older people--particularly autonomy--varied according to the type of setting. ⋯ Indeed, it was clear that living at home did not ensure that one's decisional autonomy would be supported. However, living alone may facilitate exercising a relatively higher degree of autonomy when living at home. Whilst the community care reforms have provided some older people who have severe disabilities with the option of receiving care at home, this has not necessarily enabled them to have greater choice and control in their everyday lives than older people admitted to institutions.