User Involvement and Participation in Social Care: Research Informing Practice

Empowerment of users of social care services has become a key issue in much current social work and social policy literature. However, many of these texts have defined participation narrowly, and consequently user involvement has been restricted to influencing the decisions of front-line workers, with little participation in policy making at senior management level. This book explores strategies for effectively involving users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services. How the key concepts of empowerment, participation and user involvement have been applied in important areas such as mental health, child care services and social welfare is discussed, and the outcomes for users considered. The book draws on extensive research and case studies, and also considers the methodology and ethical dilemmas of carrying out research.

User Involvement and Participation in Social Care is an authoritative, thought-provoking overview of the current situation in social care delivery and presents a convincing argument for greater direct involvement of users at every level of policy making. It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners and researchers involved in social and health care delivery at all levels.

Chris Dearden is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University. She has undertaken extensive research on young carers, and is currently engaged in research on children's perspectives on poverty.