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 · Jul 2016
Predictors of caregiver burden across the home-based palliative care trajectory in Ontario, Canada.
Family caregivers of patients enrolled in home-based palliative care programmes provide unpaid care and assistance with daily activities to terminally ill family members. Caregivers often experience caregiver burden, which is an important predictor of anxiety and depression that can extend into bereavement. We conducted a longitudinal, prospective cohort study to comprehensively assess modifiable and non-modifiable patient and caregiver factors that account for caregiver burden over the palliative care trajectory. ⋯ Low patient functional status was the strongest predictor of burden. Understanding the influence of modifiable and non-modifiable factors on the experience of burden over the palliative trajectory is essential for the development and targeting of programmes and policies to support family caregivers and reduce burden. Supporting caregivers can have benefits such as improved caregiver health outcomes, and enhancing their ability to meet care-giving demands, thereby potentially allowing for longer patient care in the home setting.
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Health Soc Care Community · May 2016
ReviewPatient-professional partnerships and chronic back pain self-management: a qualitative systematic review and synthesis.
Chronic back pain is common, and its self-management may be a lifelong task for many patients. While health professionals can provide a service or support for pain, only patients can actually experience it. It is likely that optimum self-management of chronic back pain may only be achieved when patients and professionals develop effective partnerships which integrate their complementary knowledge and skills. ⋯ These themes were developed into a model suggesting how factors within patient-professional partnerships influence self-management. Review findings suggest that a partnership between patients and professionals supports patients' self-management ability, and effective communication is a fundamental factor underpinning their partnerships in care. It also calls for the development of individualised healthcare services offering self-referral or telephone consultation to patients with chronic conditions.