Health & social care in the community
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Health Soc Care Community · Sep 2016
Exploring the health visiting service from the view of South Asian clients in England: a grounded theory study.
The fact that health inequalities disproportionately affect the minority ethnic population is not new and projections are that the minority ethnic population will continue to increase. The importance of early intervention and the key role that health visitors can play in attempting to reduce health inequalities is well documented as is the requirement for health providers to establish culturally sensitive services. To date, much of the research has focused on the perspectives of healthcare professionals caring for minority ethnic clients in hospital-based settings and little is known about the perspectives of minority ethnic clients regarding the health visiting service (HVS). ⋯ While clients valued one-to-one support from health visitors, there was some evidence of poor communication and ethnocentric tendencies within the service. It was found that South Asian clients distinguish between health and parenting advice, being more likely to accept health advice from their health visitor and more likely to accept parenting advice from their family. The findings, although limited in their generalisability, offer important insights into how South Asians perceive the service and will equip health visitors with a better understanding of how best to improve the experience of South Asian clients accessing the health visiting.
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Health Soc Care Community · Sep 2016
Interpreters' subjective experiences of interpreting for refugees in person and via telephone in health and behavioural health settings in the United States.
Interpreters, whether in person or via telephonic means, are used in healthcare settings to aid communication between clinicians and clients when the same language is not shared. Refugees seeking health and behavioural healthcare often have multiple needs and experiences of trauma that can complicate the provision of services. Little is known about the interpreters' experiences in providing in-person and telephonic interpreting for refugees. ⋯ Two themes were identified: (i) the importance for the interpreter to develop trust with the client; and (ii) working with refugees requires more attention from the interpreter. The interpreters of this study describe experiencing additional challenges in working with refugees versus other clients. Recommendations based on the findings are made.
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Health Soc Care Community · Sep 2016
ReviewApproaches to capturing the financial cost of family care-giving within a palliative care context: a systematic review.
The economic burden faced by family caregivers of people at the end of life is well recognised. Financial burden has a significant impact on the provision of family care-giving in the community setting, but has seen limited research attention. A systematic review with realist review synthesis and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify literature relating to the financial costs and impact of family care-giving at the end of life. ⋯ Calculation of costs was most often based on recall by patients and family caregivers, in some studies combined with objective measures of resource use. While the studies in this review provide useful data on approaches to capturing costs of care-giving, more work is needed to develop methods which accurately and sensitively capture the financial costs of caring at the end of life. Methodological considerations include study design and method of administration, contextual and cultural relevance, and accuracy of cost estimates.
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Health Soc Care Community · Sep 2016
ReviewA scoping study: children, policy and cultural shifts in homelessness services in South Australia: are children still falling through the gaps?
Homeless families are the fastest growing segment of the homelessness population. Homelessness services are often the first to know when children are at risk of disengagement with health, welfare and education services. Changes to Australian policy to explicitly attend to the needs of children are attempts to address the complexity of, and provide better outcomes for, homeless children. ⋯ Therefore, the objectives of this scoping study were to: (i) identify the specific needs of children in homelessness; (ii) describe recent changes in policy relating to care for children in homelessness services; (iii) explore the evidence on how service providers can enact care for children in homelessness services; (iv) identify the types of practice changes that are needed to optimise outcomes for children; and (v) identify the gaps in service delivery. This article describes the Australian policy changes and explores the potential impact of subsequent sector reforms on the internal practices in front-line homelessness services, in order to overcome structural and systemic barriers, and promote opportunities for children in homeless families. This scoping study literature review contributes to the understanding of the impact of policy change on front-line staff and suggests possible practice changes and future research options.