Browsing by Author "Woolham, John"

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    Carers’ Involvement in Telecare Provision for Older People in England: Perspectives of Council Telecare Managers and Stakeholders
    (Cambridge University Press, 2019-10-08) Steils, Nicole; Woolham, John; Fisk, Malcolm; Porteus, Jeremy; Forsyth, Kirsty
    This paper explores telecare manager and other ‘stakeholder’ perspectives on the nature, extent and impact of family and other unpaid/informal carers’ involvement in the provision of telecare equipment and services for older people. Data used in the paper are derived from a larger study on telecare provision by local councils in England. The paper aims to add to the growing evidence about carers’ engagement with electronic assistive technology and telecare, and considers this in the context of typologies of professionals’ engagement with carers. How carers are involved in telecare provision is examined primarily from the perspectives of senior managers responsible for telecare services who responded to an online survey and/or were interviewed in 2016 as part of a wider study. The perspectives of three unpaid carers were captured in a separate strand of the main study, which comprised more detailed case study interviews within four selected councils. Thematic and comparative analysis of both qualitative and quantitative survey data revealed the varied involvements and responsibilities that carers assumed during the telecare provision process, the barriers that they needed to overcome and their integration in local council strategies. Findings are discussed in the context of Twigg and Atkin's typology of carer support. They suggest that carers are mainly perceived as ‘resources’ and involvement is largely taken for granted. There are instances in which carers can be seen as ‘co-workers’: this is mainly around responding to alerts generated by the telecare user or by monitored devices, but only in those councils that fund response services. Though some participants felt that telecare devices could replace or ‘supersede’ hands-on care that involved routine monitoring of health and wellbeing, it was also acknowledged that its use might also place new responsibilities on carers. Furthermore, the study found that meeting carers’ own rights as ‘co-clients’ was little acknowledged.
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    Knowledge and Skills Sets for Telecare Service Staff in the Context of Digital Health
    (Deggendorf Institute of Technology, 2021-12) Fisk, Malcolm; Woolham, John; Steils, Nicole
    Telecare services have an established place within the United Kingdom. Through employing online technologies to help mostly older people to remain at home, they are increasingly recognised as having a support role for health as well as social care. This positions telecare services within the broader realm of ‘digital health’. But as that position becomes more embedded, it poses questions about the nature of tasks that are (or should be) undertaken by telecare staff, and regarding new skills that are required. A convergence of telecare and telehealth services is indicated together with the need for some kind of accommodation. This paper summarises the United Kingdom policy context; references the technologies that are provided by telecare services or can be linked to them; notes briefly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and proposes six knowledge and skills sets. Outcomes of the UTOPIA study undertaken in England from 2016 to 2017 are drawn upon: this study provided important information from over 100 ‘adult social care’ service providers.
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    Knowledge and Skills Sets for Telecare Service Staff in the Context of Digital Health
    (International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth, 2020-12-21) Fisk, Malcolm; Woolham, John; Steils, Nicole
    Telecare services have an established place within the United Kingdom. Through employing online technologies to help mostly older people to remain at home, they are increasingly recognised as having a support role for health as well as social care. This positions telecare services within the broader realm of ‘digital health’. As that position becomes more embedded, it poses questions about the nature of tasks that are (or should be) undertaken by telecare staff, and regarding new knowledge and skills that are required. This paper briefly sets out the United Kingdom policy context; references the technologies that are provided by telecare services or can be linked to them; briefly notes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and proposes six knowledge and skills sets. Outcomes of the UTOPIA study undertaken in England from 2016 to 2017 are drawn upon: this study provided important information from over 100 local authority telecare managers.
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    Making Use of Evidence in Commissioning Practice: Insights into the Understanding of a Telecare Study’s Findings
    (Policy Press, 2019-12-16) Steils, Nicole; Porteus, Jeremy; Fisk, Malcolm; Forsyth, Kirsty; Woolham, John
    In less than a generation, telecare has become a significant new resource for local authority (LA) Adult Social Care Departments (ASCDs) in England and other European countries to offer to people eligible for social care and support. All English ASCDs either have directly managed, or commissioned, telecare services, and telecare is often used as a 'first line' service (that is, before other forms of intervention). The Whole Systems Demonstrator Project (WSD), a very large clinical trial funded by the English Department of Health (DH) concluded that it does not deliver better outcomes. Despite this, and in the context of unprecedented reductions in adult social care expenditure over the last decade (Innes and Tetlow, 2015), investment in telecare has continued in the UK. This article explores the extent and nature of the evidence used in LAs to support investment in telecare.
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    Outcomes for Older Telecare Recipients: The Importance of Assessments
    (Sage, 2019-10-30) Woolham, John; Steils, Nicole; Fisk, Malcolm; Porteus, Jeremy; Forsyth, Kirsty
    Summary This article explores the role of telecare assessment, review and staff training in meeting the needs of older people living at home. Using original empirical data obtained from an online survey of English local authorities it reveals considerable variation in assessment and review practice and in training given to social work and other staff who assess and review, which may impact on outcomes for telecare users. The study findings are situated within an English policy context and earlier findings from a large, government funded randomised controlled trial. This trial concluded that telecare did not lead to better outcomes for users. Findings Our survey findings suggest that it may be the way in which telecare is used, rather than telecare itself that shapes outcomes for people who use it, and that ‘sub-optimal’ outcomes from telecare may be linked to how telecare is adopted, adapted and used; and that this is influenced by staff training, telecare availability and a failure to regard telecare as a complex intervention. Application The findings may help to reconcile evidence which suggests that telecare does not deliver better outcomes and local authority responses to this which either discount or contest its value. The article suggests that to use telecare to achieve optimal outcomes for older people, social workers, care managers and other professionals involved in assessing for telecare will need to be given enhanced training opportunities, and their employers will need to perceive telecare as a complex intervention rather than simply a ‘plug and play’ solution.