Health and social care

Based on extensive research on primary sources and interviews, this book explores the changing perceptions of the needs of elderly people. It considers the extent to which they have been a priority for resources and looks at the possibilities of policy that combines respect for elderly people with an avoidance of the exploitation of relatives.

Users of social and health care services play an increasingly significant part within systems of local governance. This report examines the strategies user groups adopt to seek their objectives, and explores issues relating to notions of consumerism and citizenship. It should be read by anyone involved in health and social care policy and practice.

This report presents the findings of the first ever national survey in the UK, in which nearly 600 parents took part and which looked at the needs and circumstances of minority ethnic families caring for a severely disabled child. The quantitative survey was then compared with data on the circumstances and experiences of white families.

This report looks in detail at the impact poor housing has on health, using data from the National Child Development Study. It provides important information to inform the current debate on Our Healthier Nation and to strengthen arguments for health, housing and social care agencies to work together.

This book presents all seventeen chapters of evidence commissioned by the Acheson Inquiry to inform its work. It complements both the Acheson Inquiry report published by The Stationary Office and The widening gap (The Policy Press, 1999), which provides a broad overview and systematic interpretation of the Inequalities in Health debate.

This report presents critical new evidence on the size of the widening health gap. New geographical data are presented and displayed in striking graphical form. The widening gap should be read alongside Inequalities in health: The evidence presented to the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health (The Policy Press, 1999).

This book is an invaluable resource, employing a 'bottom-up' approach to learning. It presents vivid examples of social work practice with children and families and real life illustrations of the challenges facing practitioners. With analysis of each section, it provides essential guidance for students and sets standards for training and practice.

Chinese older people living in the UK suffer from a number of disadvantages compounded by exclusion from both their own community and the mainstream community. Through interviews with 100 Chinese older people, this unique report provides suggestions for good policy and practice for promoting Chinese older people's inclusion in both communities.

This challenging book analyses the development of anti-racist social work education and training. It critically assesses the concept of 'race', offers an historical exploration of the role of social work and provides an assessment of the backlash against the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work's anti-racist developments.

This book examines the relationship between health and domestic violence. In a qualitative study of the attitudes of health professionals and the women with whom they come into contact, it gives voice to a range of issues which urgently need to be addressed providing guidance for training and practice, as well as recommendations for policy makers.

Cultures of care uses an innovative biographical case study approach to compare caring situations and caring strategies in Britain and East and West Germany. The findings underline the significance of caring within social policy agendas and the need to change the parameters of comparative social policy.

The government's NHS Plan emphasises the importance of services users' views. This report provides practical guidance on how to ensure that older people's views are heard, acted on, and monitored, in relation to service quality. It makes recommendations for ensuring that older people's views become an integral part of home care service provision.