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Presentation for World Social Work Day, Monday March 29th, 2010, Trinity College Dublin
Recent Research in Ageing
and Disability & its
Relevance to Social Work
Suzanne Cahill PhD
Acknowledgements Presentation for World Social Work Day, Monday March 29th 2010, Trinity College
Dublin
Overview What is Social Research?
Why might Social Workers need to conduct Social Science research and what are the barriers?
Social Research with Older People- examples from SPARC
Social Research with People with a Cognitive Impairment - examples from LiD
What implications does research in general and ageing research have for social work practitioners?
Summary
Introduction Research is a process which begins with people
asking questions and then setting out to answer them
It is fundamentally about understanding and explaining – it is about knowing (Wadsworth 1984)
Social research is the intellectual tool of social scientists (as opposed to biological or physical scientists) which allows them to enter contexts of personal or public interest that are unknown to them and to search for answers to their questions about social phenomena.
Social research is the purposive and rigorous investigation that aims to generate new knowledge
Social research is about discovery, expanding the horizons of the known, confidence new ideas and new conclusions about all aspects of life (Sarantakos, 2005)
Social Work Research – research by and for social workers.
Types of Research
Exploratory: to look at an issue for the first time and examine does a phenomenon actually exist
Descriptive: to describe social phenomena in much detail
Explanatory: seeking explanation –testing cause and effect – hypothesis testing
Experimental: pre-test post test RCTS
Feminist: by women for women about change
Evaluation: assessing programme effectiveness
Why should Social Workers
engage in Social Science
research?
To evaluate effectiveness of interventions with
clients groups in an informed way rather than just
relying on gut feelings or intuition.
In order to critique reports in which statistics and
research findings are presented
Social Work is about social justice, empowerment
and social change and research is a powerful tool
for social change
Social Work research involves action, decisions
and change
Qualitative methods lend themselves
well to social work research
“Words, especially organized into incidents or stories
have a concrete vivid meaningful flavour, that often
proves far more convincing to a reader- another
researcher, a policy maker, a practitioner, than
pages of summarized numbers”
(Miles and Huberman, 1994, p.1).
What are the Barriers to
Social Workers
conducting Social Research?
Why the need for Research on
older People in Ireland? Demographics
Marginalisation
Negative stereotyping
Unmasking hidden issues previously overlooked
Absence of critical knowledge for planning social care services
Recent SPARC Example Community based Participatory Research Project – study involved
working with 26 older volunteers to identify ways of improving the delivery of social services to older people.
Lessons learnt:
The term ‘participatory’ can be manipulated. It can obscure the location of power and control and lead to ageist treatment of older people whose involvement is used as a publicity tool, whose opinions are not granted equal status and whose empowerment is not pursued
Need to question:
How much and what type of involvement do older people want?
How do we show adequate recognition of participants’ involvement?
Should participants who work as co-researchers be offered monetary rewards – if not are we perpetuating ageist stereotypes
Why conduct Social Research on Older
People with a Cognitive Impairment in
Ireland?
Particularly vulnerable group
Double Stigma of being old
and having dementia
Absence of psycho-social research to date
Creates opportunities for people whose stories often have not been accessible or listened to
Need for more information to plan services
Work by LiD One recently completed project examined dementia prevalence
rates in Dublin based nursing homes and the quality of life of
residents with a cognitive impairment
Lessons learnt
Access into nursing homes difficult in the absence of social work
involvement, consent processes varied and subject recruitment
(randomization) problematic unless carefully monitored
Most older people even those with a moderate cognitive impairment
were competently able to report on quality of life issues
Need for more social work involvement particularly in the context of
dementia and nursing home placements
Examples of Qualitative Data What’s important to you in your life
at present?
“My family is very important, my 5 daughters and 20
grandchildren, their visits” (Female 86, MMSE 15)
“My daughter, my son. I like my bed and have always
a good sleep” (Female, 77, MMSE 21)
“My self, my husband and my children, my husband,
the house” (Female, 79, MMSE 11)
“When they bring up subjects that are interesting. I’d
be interested in things that are of interest to other people.
I love television and am also into music, love the radio –
traditional Irish songs” (Female, 66, bedridden, MMSE 8).
“If I could get someone me over to the bingo on a Monday night.
I used to go there three times a week. Now I have no one
belonging to me. They are all dead” (Female 81, MMSE 18)
“Not an awful lot of my life left to be important. I like to be in
touch with my family if I can. My life is much in advance, I am in
my 80’s” (Female, 88, MMSE 17)
What makes you happy?
“Anything I like swimming”, (Female aged 84, MMSE 18).
“Looking at the TV but if I could play Bingo I would be a lot happier” (Female, 81, MMSE 18)
“Fun, pleasant people. Used to play a lot of bridge. It was meeting people” (Female 85, MMSE 26)
“We have exercises here. There is a woman that makes stretches, that’s helping me” (Female 84, MMSE22)
“Lots of things. Reading, writing. Playing games like
Scrabble, walking” (Female 83, MMSE 23)
“A sunny day. Any simple things. Someone giving me an
ice cream” (Female 89, MMSE 20)
“I just sit there and make the best of everyday. I would
be glad to get out. Sometimes my daughter used to
bring me for a drive. One time the staff used to bring us
out. They don’t to it anymore (female, 87, MMSE 12).
“Chatting to somebody, like you. Listening to music. I
have very few visits, I don’t have children” (Female, 66,
MMSE 8)
What makes you sad?
“When I think of all the people in my family that are gone to
heaven– my little boy died when he was only one year
(Female 91, MMSE 19).
“Reading the newspaper … If someone that I know died”
(Female 80, MMSE 23)
“To think back, shops and all are gone. All my family is gone.
I have no teeth” (Female 100, MMSE 8)
“The day I came in, I miss my family (Female, 9, MMSE 5).
“I’ve nothing here, none of the things I want around me. I
have no dog. My daughter looks after the dog” R73
“I miss knitting. We only have an exercise class. We go to
it on Tuesday’s, hair takes up Wednesdays. Church at the
week-ends.” (Female 93, MMSE 15)
“The problems of my mind. Whatever has caused it” (Male
74, MMSE 14)
“Well at the moment I am not in top form. I’ve been through
a lot. Ending up like this in a wheel chair. But I don’t resent
it. I feel very lucky” (Female 89, MMSE 20)
Is there anything that can be
done to improve your life in
this nursing home?
“Mass on Saturdays I don’t go out this much; I don’t like the sun
in my eyes. Somebody to bring me out and back occasionally and
if it isn’t too cold to see the seafront” (Female 90, MMSE 23)
“The only thing I would love is someone to have a bingo session.
When I come down for my lunch at 12 noon they are all just
sitting here slumped” (Female 81, MMSE 18)
“Well I don’t do anything here. I’d like to do some kind of
activities. I’d like something to do. There don’t seem to be any
activities of any kind” (Female 80, MMSE 12)
“You could not compare the two lives” (Female 92, MMSE 15)
“I haven’t thought about that. I was thinking lately I’d like to go
home again" (Female 97, MMSE 10)
“The only thing that troubles me is not hearing properly and I
regret that coz you miss out a lot if you are not hearing and
you could be saying yes when you mean no” (Female, 92,
MMSE 5).
“I don’t know how it could be done because a lot of slackness is
due to the carers saying do you want to go to your room
because they were to do something. Staff know Matron is not
here at weekends. A bit lazy going” (Female 96, MMSE 27)
“Yes get rid of the straps, the chains
around you, that’s about all”
(Male 80, MMSE 4)
Other LiD projects (PhDs) The Experiences of People with Dementia and their Caregivers of
moving to a Specialist Care Unit
An Exploratory Study into the Use of Reminiscence Therapy amongst People with dementia and their Caregivers in Ireland
An Exploratory Study of the views of people with Alzheimer’s Disease, their family caregivers and Health Service Professionals have of using anti-dementia drugs and the impact these drugs have on quality of life
The potential of Supported sheltered housing schemes in Ireland to responding to the special needs of people with dementia
Family meetings with Vulnerable patients: An Exploration of Multi-Disciplinary Team Practices using an action research approach
Family meetings with vulnerable
patients: An exploration of multi-
disciplinary team practices using
Action Research Methods
Aims:
To improve our understanding of Care Planning Meetings in hospital settings and to develop best practice guidelines for Care Planning Meetings through staff training and development.
Ultimately the research aims to identify new ways of communicating with vulnerable patients in meetings and improve and increase patient participation. Findings will have implications for language and communication patterns in hospital settings.
Research Questions What does the concept of participation mean for each
individual patient?
What are the barriers to participation for stroke patients who have cognitive/communication difficulties?
What can be learnt from the experience of trying to change the practice of healthcare professionals using an action research cycle?
Will changes to practice result in a more positive and satisfying meetings experience for patients, family members and healthcare professionals?
Action Research Circle
Implement
Change
Observation
Reflection Analysis
Implications of Research for
Social Work Practitioners
We need to ensure that our practice
interventions are ethical, do no harm and
are effective
As practitioners we need to use the best
available evidence for our decision making
and ensure that our practice is informed by
evidence based research
Not always easy when heavy caseloads
and agency pressures exist
Summary Social Work is uniquely positioned to question
critical issues affecting the human lives and
sometime human rights of our clients
Principles of Social Work sit well with social work
research
As Social Work researchers we can change
attitudes, influence policy and advocate for
service improvement through the use of
scientific evidence
Summary Social Work research in ageing and dementia is
new and exciting
Research designs don’t need to be complex
Qualitative research can be very powerful, can
help unravel the complexities of some older
peoples’ lives and lends itself well to researching
older peoples’ issues
We can empower older people even those with
a cognitive impairment by engaging them in the
research process
Useful websites
www.sparc.tcd.ie
www.socialwork-
socialpolicy.tcd.ie/livingwithdementia
www.dementia.ie
Other useful resources:
Social Work Practitioners Research Group,
School of Social Work and Social Policy,
TCD
IASW Special Interest Group in Ageing
