This thesis reports on a study of outcome-focused care for older people in one English local authority. The aim of the research was to examine whether altering the delivery of care to an outcome-focused model would improve service delivery and save money for the organisation in the long term. In order for this to be established, a longitudinal study was conducted over 18 months, utilising a mixed-method design. The sample consisted of 40 service users aged 65 years and over who all had critical and substantial care needs. The study also included interviews with and observations from social services staff responsible for the commissioning and delivery of care. The focus of this case study was to examine the impact of two models of home care delivery for older people, and how these two models impact on the older persons’ self-reported well-being. The research established that there was a greater improvement in well-being in the group receiving outcome-focused care, when compared with the comparison group receiving the traditional task-focused model. Managers’ and social workers’ perceptions were also that outcome-focused care improved service users’ sense of well-being, in comparison with those receiving task-focused care. The overall cost (service provision only) of providing the new style of intervention was 17% more than the traditional task-focused model. The main conclusion was that outcome-focused care allowed a meaningful relationship to be established between the home care worker and the service user, whereas the opportunity for such relationship building was limited in the traditional task-orientated model.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:567538 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Gethin-Jones, Stephen |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/45266/ |
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