Trends in the United Kingdom on User Participation - Essay Example

Trends in the United Kingdom on User Participation Abstract This exercise is going to focus on the trends, importance, benefits and challenges that are faced by the users and carers as well as the strategies that are currently being employed to help in enhancing their participation. Social service providers and users in cosmopolitan countries such as America and England have a unique environment of operations as compared to other countries. For instance in the United Kingdom where this study is to be based, there are several trends that are seen in the health sector, quoted in the article of Naman, (12) where the service providers and users are encouraged to actively participate in the programs to promote its operations. There are several barriers and challenges that these individuals face in the line of duty. They are related to issues such as power relations, imbalance between workers and inadequate resources to meet the demands, lack of time, lack of trainings for and many more which the study is going to focus on. This will be followed by strategic plans that are taken by the parties involved to address the issue. Introduction The areas which the social carers and users participate in the system are varied but stil very important in the health sector. The legislation and policies in England have always stressed on the importance of involving both the service users and givers in health provision. For the carers, their role in the systems include assistance in personal care, community organizing practices and offering of basic support to people who are affected by social or medical crises (Williams, 13). This paper will highlight the issues facing social workers in terms of role they play in promoting user involvement while critically examining examples of strategies used to assist user participation. Literature Review Carer Participation According to a recent census in England, around six million people care for a relative or friend without pay while on a full time job. This has various impacts on the person from the health, financial and social aspects. Cares are reportedly saving United Kingdom about 89 billion pounds a year. This, therefore, means that the carers need to be fully involved especially in the formulation of policies and Doel, (1) agrees. The role of the social carer in the United Kingdom’s health sector is that of administering support and care. It follows that the role of the user is provision of information, feedback and opinion for benefit of the system. The concept of service user involvement/ participation in the United kingdom according to SOLN network (1) and NSF Rethink (1) is that of incorporation of services in management design and delivery of services with the users be actively involving the carers too (Evans, 412). This participation starts with giving people the information needed to assist them in relation to involvement in the service. User Participation In the United Kingdom, there are specific legislations that provide for participation in a specific manner. According to Aronstein, 196) users participate in general physical examination, education on the specific diagnostic skills as well as involvement in evaluation and research. This participation involves human resource involvement where the users of the service actively involved in the provision of information and contribution for their ailments and eventual involvement in the program (Cohen, 167). This provides an excellent platform where feedback brought forth for better proactive steps to be taken. The basic idea of this participation is improvement of quality of service and a creation of sustainability in the offering of the social work as Branfield (1) shows. One of the main objectives of social work is the support and offering of research and development to the clients that are talked about in the introduction part as attributed by CEPF (1). Therefore, user participation serves to assist in the making of the critical steps that seek to help in the development of the service provision. Trends in the United Kingdom on user/ Carer Participation Several hospitals and care centers in the recent past carried annual or biannual assessment of the performances for not only the outside audit firms but also from the internal sources. This included the workers shareholders and the supporting human resource according to Faulkner (3). This has seen tremendous participation of the workers to incorporate newest ideas including technology and positive aspects of work. The other trend in the country is the increasing user education where the centers give extra training on the carers (Evans& Seabrook, 413). Professionals are interacting with the service providers more freely through avenues such as workshops symposium and even more lately through the social media such as tweeter and face book and can actively participate in the process of service provision. According to the website, strategic and survive delivery level have increased effectively in the UK’s working environment as compared to the American counterparts (Rose, et al, 17). The United Kingdom being of the highest cosmopolitan societies in Europe has taken significant steps in promoting of services that are customized to meet diverse societies that inhabit its soil. This is because of the knowledge that there is a big relationship, between the user participation and service changes (Molyneux, 45). Although it is also dependant on various aspects such as political commitment and economical backup, the UK business sector seems to be incorporating more financial resources to not only increase the business support but also to educate organizations on the importance of user participation. The Importance and Benefit of User Involvement and Participation There are several benefits that are derived from active user participation. The improved quality of the general situation according to Grinell (12) is the first merit. This is because as the users participate with the researchers they become more accurate, more proactive and are able to give positive feedback. This information is realistic and can be made back to ensure that there is total quality management in the aspect of the whole organization as Smith, (1) talks about the issue. The second point is in line with the issue of reduction of costs in the long run. Another point is on the improved level of acceptance of the system whereby users are allowed to participate in the design and delivery of the system such that they feel like they own the system or rather, they are part of it (Joyce, 12). This means that the level of acceptance positive involvement for the system will be enhanced. This level will also mean that there will be a flow of ideas that are to be incorporated. The other benefit is the user’s greater understanding of the entire system. This automatically translates into greater efficiency for the user. This is because the user is able to absorb the concepts and the mechanism of the whole system. Lastly the user is able to participate in the long run decision making. This is because the system allows for the user to, take part in the construction, adjustment and improvement for the same system, Scottish Executive (2006). The aspect of system design is taken into considerations and is more realistic and user friendly. Despite these facts, the barriers or challenges faced by social workers or professionals in promoting involvement are massive and have been a problem since the idea of social support emerged. Issues facing the User- Carer Participation According to Arnstein (196), the users may not get the absolute care that they ought to have especially while being taken care of by carers who may not adequate training. The user- carer participation is faced with problems arising from issues such as accessibility to services, equality and discrimination, training and innovation, paying for services, and dignity in care. Accessibility to Services Lack of adequate resources is an issue that can be attributed to be the biggest of them all as Smith (11) talks in his article. This is especially the financial and human resources that are supposed to be used tin maintenance of the systems as well as enable user education and full participation. This also can be combined with another barrier which is the lack of adequate time that is necessary for the familiarization and improvement of the situation. The resources can also determine the level of information and research that is brought to the table. This means that lack of financial and qualified personnel especially in the can only serve to hinder the qualitative of research that is brought to the organization. This, therefore, means that there is a translated poor quality and knowledge even to the users. Training and Innovation The users and carers of the services ought to be trained on basic knowledge on how they ought to fully participate in the system. Sometimes carers are not updated to use the latest technological ideas in the market. They, therefore, are unable to come up with adequate solutions that are user friendly (Warnes, 313). This barrier can be corrected if organizations that offer support and research services are able to invest their money for the sake of improving the workers. Equality and Discrimination, There are different perspectives of life that exist between the carers and users. They work to create a social barrier where the two parties are not in a position to rectify or correct each other because of this disparity. Cultural, religious and even racial sensitivity are examples of factors that lead to the above described situation. It is important to note that in the professional world, these are obstacles that most organizations have learnt to take a strong opposite stand (Brown, 1). Dignity in Care This is the basic and one of the most important aspects of carer-user participation. It involves the art of communication, access to nutritional care to the patients’ privacy and so forth. These factors contribute to the carer to feel part of the whole system and have the psychological healing to their problems. Findings in the Literature Review The journals and studies referenced in this study talk about the benefit and challenges that are attributed to the user-worker relationship. The relationship was based on the Oxford University research findings where various examples of studies to highlight extensive benefits and challenges that the modern professionals face while doing their careers, were highlighted. In this study, the author focuses on both the role of the user and the worker ion the general work of research and development. Furthermore, Barker (7) shows the approaches to user involvement are classified as direct and indirect. The study further talks of various principles that are supposed to be applied in the exercise and are proven to work namely management, and iterative design. This shows an in-depth knowledge which the writer has in the areas of user involvement. The article further goes on to classify the user involvement approaches into four namely, user-centered design, participatory designs, ethnography design s and contextual designs. Apart from the fact that the author cleverly uses the qualitative and quantitative research methods, there is a demonstration of a higher hand in the business of user participatory knowledge. The studies here involved an in-depth look at the aspect of trying to make the user participating and involvement through three aspects namely support mechanism, user networking and knowledge (MNH, 9). The support mechanism involves direct provision of resources such as material, human and even financial resources to the user platform for easier and more efficient use. This is aimed at making the participatory more effective and reasonable while trying to cut costs. The second aspect that is clear in this article is the user networking (Bradfield, 2006). This is the deliberate provision of avenues whereby the users can interact with one another compare notes and information before coming up with a positive feedback for the systems to be improved. By these activities, the efficiency and effectiveness of the whole system is guaranteed due to the quality that is promised by the activities. Marion (1) also concurs by stating that the availability of knowhow of the information by the user for the active participation is important. One thing that was clear in all these findings was that, in every aspect of user participations, there are challenges and barriers that seek to derail he processes. However, there are solutions and suggested strategies to each of these obstacles as Amanda-Smith (70) shows. Strategies that Foster Meaningful Participation Promote fair and easy access to Primary Services Lack of resources is the biggest challenges of all social workers not only in UK but also globally. This problem is both internal and external by all means (Hastings, 12). The only solution that the financial problem is to be solved is through intense lobbying and application for sponsorship, fundraising and other means of coming up with the resources. The aspect of resources hinder an access to primary services by both the users and carers Most organizations do not have sufficient funds to hire real and qualified research assistants and experts (Sowers, 69). The solution to this is the nurturing of new talent by absorbing them when they are raw and inducting them as they grow with the organizations in experience. Initiate proper communication between the stakeholders Improper communication channels between the users and the workers also pose a great deal of challenges. Beresford (13) reveals that lack of communication leads to a black out of information hence the situation of poor judgment takes place. As hinted earlier, the solution to this issue is to open up, ways of free flow of information and a clear channel where all the asked questions are supposed to be taken care of. The next step is to open up networks and interactive platforms to necessitate user participation. Advocating for training of the users and carers on their roles The carers should be trained on basics of taking carer to the people they look after. In addition to that, there can be an involvement of technology in updating of the workers depending on their level of knowledge. It is very necessary for the organization to employ mechanisms and activities that aim at making sure that the workers are updated and informed on the current trends. Lack of this makes the workers obsolete and unable to face the challenges that are pending in their work environment. In addition to that, the users are likely to notice the void of information that the service worker may portray. Management of knowledge Poor information networking platform is the last barrier that the worker-user involvement. This is the culmination of all barriers that have been spoken above which stand in the way of an effective worker-user participating in a more conducive and friendly environment (Kujala, 2011). This also will promote other aspects of the user-carer participation such as promotion of dignity and knowledge of handling isolation. Conclusion In conclusion, social work can be said to be one of the most vital aspects in sensitive departments of the country such as the United Kingdom. These users who receive the care include individuals, groups or communities that experience some sort of social or economic injustice. The areas which the carers intervene for the clients include offering of support practices and basic services to others. However, there are challenges that are posed in the provision of such interventions such as, inadequate resources, improper communication channels, lack of highly trained personnel and a poor information networking platforms. These can be solved by looking at the best alternatives that are available. Despite this, the benefits are quite many and they include the improved quality of the general system and the aspect of reduction of costs in the long run. Another benefit is in relation to the system’s acceptance by the user. As mentioned earlier, good understanding of the system by the user will result into improved efficiency to the advantage of the user and lastly the ease in decision making. References Amanda-Smith, Barusch. “Gerontological Practice for the Twenty-First Century: A Social Work Perspective”, New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. Pp. 34-78. Arnstein, Sherry R. “Ladder of Citizen Participation,”, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969, pp. 196. 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Marion, Somers. “Elder Care Made Easier: Doctor Marion's 10 Steps to Help You Care for an Aging Loved One”. Addicus Books, 2006. Pp.13-79. McGuire, Snieckus. “A Survey of Patient Preferences of Dress and Address of Six Mental Health Professions”, Psychiatric Bulletin, 2003. Pp. 300. MNH. “Making Equality Key to Mental Health Services”, Community Care. 2007.Pp. 33. Molyneux, Jacobsenn. “Report on service users’ and carers’ involvement in the ASW Programme”, Newcastle: North Umbria University, 2001. Pp 1-124. NSF Rethink. “A commitment to carers: Help for relatives, partners and friends of people with a mental health problem”, London: NSF Rethink, 2003. Rose, David et al. “Patients’ perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy: systematic review”, BMJ, 2003. Pp. 13-63. Scottish Executive. “The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland, Edinburgh, Scottish Executive”, 2006. Shaping Our Lives National User Network. “Guidelines for making events accessible”, London: SOLN User Network, 2003. 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