Never-married childless women in Australia: Health and social circumstances in older age

A growing proportion of women reach older age without having married or having children. Assumptions that these older women are lonely, impoverished, and high users of social and health services are based on little evidence. This paper uses data from the Older cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health to describe self-reported demographics, physical and emotional health, and use of services among 10,108 women aged 73-78, of whom 2.7% are never-married and childless. The most striking characteristic of this group is their high levels of education, which are associated with fewer reported financial difficulties and higher rates of private health insurance. There are few differences in self-reported physical or emotional health or use of health services between these and other groups of older women. Compared with older married women with children, they make higher use of formal services such as home maintenance and meal services, and are also more likely to provide volunteer services and belong to social groups. Overall, there is no evidence to suggest that these women are a problem group. Rather, it seems that their life experiences and opportunities prepare them for a successful and productive older age. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public Attitudes to Health and Social Services (PDF 1.15 Mb)

Survey of the attitudes of the general public to health and social services

Review Of Public Administration: Consultation On Draft Legislation To Establish Five New Integrated Health And Social Services Trusts

Reform of HPSS

Independent Review of Health and Social Services Care in Northern Ireland

Appleby Report - August 2005

Asylum Seekers And Refugees Policy Guidance On Access To Health And Social Services (PDF 136 KB)

This policy guidance is intended for staff working within the Health and Personal Social Services sector in Northern Ireland, and aims to provide advice and information on the provision of health and social care services to asylum seekers and refugees. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that asylum seekers and refugees are given equitable access to health and social care services under the terms of the current legislation, with the overall aim of providing a culturally competent health and social care services. åÊ

Briggs Report - Review of Health and Social Services in the Case of David and Samuel Briggs (PDF 226 KB)

Briggs Report - Review of Health and Social Services in the Case of David and Samuel Briggs - June 2003

Perceptions of Ageism in Health and Social Services in Ireland

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National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People

National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People The Health Information and Quality Authority (the Authority) is the statutory agency with responsibility for developing standards for health and social care services, with the exception of mental health services, and then ensuring that the standards are being met. It is the function of the Authority to set the standards for residential care settings for older people including nursing homes, inspect that they are being met and register providers that meet them. This will be undertaken by the Social Services Inspectorate within the Authority. Click here to download PDF 458kb

End-of-Life Care for Older People - Conference Proceedings

The purpose of this report on seminar proceedings is to provide a focused andaccurate summary of the deliberations of the seminar.The main aim of the seminar was to provide a forum in which to consider the determinants of quality of life of older people at the end-of-life and to identify priority measures and policies to ensure the highest standards of end-of-life care for older people in acute and long-stay settings in Ireland. Download document here

Modularity in Health and Social Services: Perspectives on Organization and Management

Organizations that provide health and social services operate in a complex and constantly changing environment. Changes occur, for example, in ageing, technology and biotechnology, and customers’ expectations, as well as the global economic situation. Organizations typically aim to adapt the changes by introducing new organizational structures and managerial practices, such as process and lean management. Only recently has there been an interest in evaluating whether organizations providing health and social services could apply modularity in order to respond to some of the changes. The concept of modularity originates from manufacturing, but is applied in many other disciplines, such as information technology and logistics. However, thus far, the literature concerning modularity in health and social services is scarce. Therefore the purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding concerning modularity and the possibilities to apply modularity in the health and social services context. In addition, the purpose is to shed light on the viewpoints that are worth taking into account when considering the application of modularity in the health and social services context. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the way in which the modular structures are applied in the health and social services context and to analyze what advantages and possible barriers, as well as managerial concerns, might occur if modularity is applied in the health and social services context. The thesis is conducted by using multiple methods in order to provide a broad aspect to the topic. A systematic literature review provided solid ground for pre-understanding the topic and supported the formulation of the research questions. Theoretical reasoning provided a general overview of the special characteristics of the health and social services context and their effect on application of modularity. Empirical studies concentrated on managerial concerns of modularity particularly from the perspective of health and social services for the elderly. Results of the thesis reveal that structures in products, services, processes, and organizations are rather modular in health and social services. They can be decomposed in small independent units, while the challenges seem to occur especially in the compatibility of the services. It seems that health and social services managers have recognized this problem and they are increasingly paying attention to this challenge in order to enhance the flexible compatibility of services. Advantages and possible barriers of modularity are explored in this thesis, and from the theoretical perspective it could be argued that modularity seems to be beneficial in the context of health and social services. In fact, it has the potential to alleviate several of the challenges that the health and social services context is confronting. For example, modular structures could support organizations in their challenging task to respond to customers’ increasing demand for heterogeneous services. However, special characteristics of the health and social services context create barriers and provide significant challenges in application of modularity. For example, asymmetry of information, negative externalities, uncertainty of demand, and rigid regulation prevent managers from extensively drawing benefits from modularity. Results also reveal that modularity has managerial implications in health and social service. Modularity has the potential to promote and support new service development and outsourcing. Results also provide insights into network management and increases managerial understanding of different network management strategies. Standardization in health and social services is extensive due to legislation and recommendations. Modularity provides alternative paths to take an advantage of standardization while still ensuring the quality of the services. Based on this thesis, it can be concluded, both from a theoretical perspective and from empirical results concerning modularity in health and social services, that modularity might fit well and be beneficial. However, the special characteristics of the health and social services context prevent some of the benefits of modularity and complicate its application. This thesis contributes to the academic literature on the organization and management of health and social services by describing modularity as an alternative way for organizing and managing health and social services. In addition, it contributes to the literature of modularity by exploring the applicability of modularity in the context of health and social services. It also provides practical contribution to health and social services managers by evaluating the pros and cons of modularity when applied to health and social services.

Identifying characteristics of mentally ill homeless individuals who are successfully linked to health and social services post-incarceration via the jail inreach project

Healthcare for the Homeless—Houston (HHH) received a research grant from The Medallion Foundation, Inc. in March 2006 to pilot The Jail Inreach Project, an intensive “inreach” initiative to assess the impact of providing continuity of mental and primary health care services for homeless individuals who suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse being released from jail. This pilot project was initiated by HHH, in collaboration with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA). Those who are flagged as “frequent flyers” and who are diagnosed with a mental illness are referred to the Jail Inreach Project. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the discharge plan, case managers offer the option of meeting the client at the time of release and bring them to the HHH clinic located four blocks from the jail. Participation in both the program and the option for direct release to the care of a case manager are voluntary.^ The purpose of this study is to determine the outcomes of the Jail Inreach Project and addresses the following objectives: (1) to evaluate the characteristics of inmates that chose to be released from jail to the direct care of an HHH case manager versus those who opt for self release and (2) to determine the number and percent of inmates that are linked to services and relationship with type of release (direct versus indirect), (3) to determine if there is a relationship between outcomes and characteristics and (4) to determine what outcomes are a function of release, controlling for characteristics. Statistical analysis, including frequencies, cross tabulations, chi-square and logistical regression, found that those who opt for self release are six times less likely to be successfully linked to services and that gender is the most significant predictor of choosing self release. Men are far more likely to opt for self release than women engaged in this program. These findings help inform policy and program design and development that addresses the difference in service utilization and successful linkage to services post-incarceration. Successful linkage to services, thus continuity of and access to care, further impact the effects of the revolving door phenomenon of mentally ill homeless individuals cycling between the streets, jails and hospital emergency centers.^