Eileen McLeod

Consciousness Raising and Social Work Practice

By drawing on experiences with womens and mens groups, the use of consciousness raising within many fields of practice is described and encouraged. Issues related to purpose and scope, process and content, and structure in the use of consciousness raising as a skill and a tool for social change are explicated.

Social Work, Health and Equality

Suggests what social work can contribute to peoples health. By focusing on the human suffering which arises from the impact of social inequalities on health, social work can make a significant contribution to more equal chances and experiences of health and illness.

Working for equality in health

Unequal social relations are reflected in uneven patterns of health within and between populations. In Working for Equality in Health, health workers and academics distil the results of their efforts to understand, oppose and change health inequalities. Working for Equality in Health brings to bear the understanding of a unique combination of practitioners and activists on a key issue for health experience, policy and practice. Common themes and common obstacles become apparent: the need for ever better understandings of the interactive effects of social disadvantage; the damage wrought to peoples health by inegalitarian economic, social and health policies and the benefits of alliances between health professionals and other health workers to combat social and health inequalities.

Good intentions, increased inequities: developing social care services in Emergency Departments in the UK.

Addressing the quality of services provided in Emergency Departments (EDs) has been a central area of development for UK government policy since 1997. Amongst other aspects of this concern has been the recognition that EDs constitute a critical boundary between the community and the hospital and a key point for the identification of social care needs. Consequently, EDs have become the focus for a variety of service developments which combine the provision of acute medical and nursing assessment and care with a range of activities in which social care is a prominent feature. One approach to this has been the establishment of multidisciplinary teams aiming to prevent re-attendance or admission, re-direct patients to other services, or speed patients through EDs with the aim of providing improved quality of care. This study, carried out between September 2007 and April 2008, was the first UK national survey of social care initiatives based in EDs and aimed to determine the objectives, organisation, extent, functions, funding and evidence on outcomes of such interventions. Eighty-three per cent of UK Type I and II EDs responded to the survey. Approximately, one-third of EDs had embedded social care teams, with two-thirds relying on referrals to external social care services. These teams varied in their focus, size and composition, leadership, availability, funding and permanence. As a result, the unintended effect has been to increase inequities in access to social care services through EDs. Three further conclusions are drawn about policy led, locally-based service development. This survey adds to international evidence pointing to the potential benefits of a variety of social care interventions being based in EDs and justifies the establishment of a research programme which can provide answers to key outstanding questions.

Exploring the impact of health inequalities on the health of adults with intellectual disability from their perspective

Abstract Across every indicator of health inequality, adults with intellectual disability are disadvantaged. However, first-hand accounts from adults with intellectual disability exploring the impact health inequalities have for their health and are absent from the literature. The research was underpinned by a participatory approach, involving Men with intellectual disability as members of a steering group and through 20 interviews. Thematic analysis revealed how low income and reduced employment had a negative impact on the men’s physical and psychological health. New findings show how living in deprived areas exposed men to constant threats to their safety with an adverse effect on their health.