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Raising the quality of home care: a study of service users views

Francis, Jennifer, Netten, Ann (2004) Raising the quality of home care: a study of service users views. Social Policy & Administration, 38 (3). pp. 290-305. ISSN 0144-5596. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2004.00391.x) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:806)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2004.00391.x

Abstract

Raising standards is one of the key objectives of the British government's Modernizing Agenda. The quality of life of vulnerable older people who are being maintained at home is fundamentally dependent on the quality of the home-care services they receive, so raising standards of home care is clearly central to this agenda. This paper draws on a small-scale study of service users and providers to examine the aspects of quality of home care of importance to older people, their experiences and barriers to improvement. Six key aspects of quality were investigated: reliability, continuity, flexibility, communication, staff attitudes and skills and knowledge. If performance indicators are to have the desired effect, more work needs to be done to ensure they reflect key aspects of quality from the user perspective. We identify potential areas for improvement in commissioning and organization but these all have resource implications that will need to be met if home care is to realize its full potential in maintaining and improving quality of life for older people.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2004.00391.x
Uncontrolled keywords: Older people; Home care; Quality; Commissioning; Performance indicators
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Personal Social Services Research Unit
Depositing User: Samantha Osborne
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 18:30 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:39 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/806 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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