Shereen Hussein

An International Review of the Long-Term Care Workforce: Policies and Shortages

Abstract The developed worlds population is aging, due to trends of increased life expectancies and decreased fertility rates. These trends are predicted to increase demand on long-term care services. At the same time, the long-term care workforce is in shortage in most of the developed world. Moreover, such shortages are expected to increase due to parallel socio-demographic factors. The increase in demand for long-term care, coupled with shortage in supply of care workers, has promoted some attention from policymakers. The current paper provides an international review of institutional arrangements for long-term care in different developed countries and in particular explores different strategies used or proposed to resolve the shortage in the long-term care workforce.

The dementia social care workforce in England: Secondary analysis of a national workforce dataset

Objective: Little is known about the social care workforce supporting people with dementia in England. This article seeks to compare the characteristics of people employed in the social care sector supporting people with dementia with other members of the social care workforce. Methods: This article reports on the secondary analysis of a new national workforce dataset from England covering social care employees. Secondary analysis of this dataset was undertaken using 457,031 unique workers’ records. Results: There are some important differences between the dementia care workforce and other parts of the social care workforce in respect of the dementia care workforce being more likely to be female, to work part-time, to be employed by agencies and to be less qualified. Many work for medium-sized care businesses and in peoples own homes. The findings are set in the context of efforts to increase training and skills. Conclusion: Knowledge of the social care workforce is relevant to care quality and should be borne in mind when planning interventions and commissioning services.

Helping others or a rewarding career? Investigating student motivations to train as social workers in England

• Summary: Understanding why people want to be social workers is important both for developing social work education and for the profession as a whole. This article presents evidence about the motivations of students enrolled on social work degree programmes in England and draws on data from 3000 responses of three successive intakes of students responding to six online surveys and 26 focus group interviews involving 168 students from nine different social work programmes in six case study sites. The article locates these data in the context of earlier studies of social workers’ motivations, the changing policy context and the changes introduced by the new degree. • Findings: Similar to previous studies, the current analysis shows that altruistic motivations dominated, but students were also influenced by career issues and the day-to-day aspects of social work. The data highlight continuities with the former qualification in social work in the UK (the DipSW) and provide evidence that the introduction of the social work degree has not dramatically changed the underlying motivations of social work students. • Applications: Understanding student motivations is important in terms of recruitment to social work qualifying programmes and subsequent retention within the profession. Social work educators and employers need to pay attention to the consequences of mismatches between motivations and expectations about what professional practice involves.

Support workers in social care in England: a scoping study

This paper reports the findings of a scoping study designed to describe the evidence base with regard to support workers in social care in the United Kingdom and to identify gaps in knowledge. Multiple bibliographic databases were searched for studies published since 2003. The results revealed that the support worker role, though not well-defined, could be characterised as one aimed at fostering independence among service users, undertaking tasks across social and health-care, and not being trained in, or a member of, a specific profession. The studies identified were predominantly small-scale qualitative projects which considered issues such as role clarity, training and pay, worker satisfaction, service user views and the amount of time support workers are able to spend with service users compared to other staff. The review concluded that the research base lacks longitudinal studies, there is definitional confusion and imprecision, and there is limited evidence about employment terms and conditions for support workers or about their accountability and performance. The desirability and value of training and how it is resourced need further analysis. It is concluded that moves to self-directed support or personalisation and the increased reliance on and use of support workers, in the form of personal assistants, call for closer scrutiny of the role.

Partnership means protection? Perceptions of the effectiveness of multi‐agency working and the regulatory framework within adult protection in England and Wales

This article examines the effectiveness of the multi‐agency approach in adult protection and draws on findings from research that examined the effectiveness of both partnership working and perceptions of the regulatory framework to protect vulnerable adults. The research findings were collected through the use of a survey of all local councils with social services responsibilities in England and Wales. Examples of good practice in partnership working were found. However, resource pressures, insufficient information sharing and a lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities were reported to hinder a multi‐agency approach.

‘Hanging on a Little Thin Line’: Barriers to Progression and Retention in Social Work Education

Identifying the reasons why students leave higher education without completing their studies has become an increasingly important issue in higher education in the United Kingdom. This paper reports on a series of interviews held with social work students, social work educators, and higher education staff with responsibilities for recruitment and retention in four English higher education institutions (HEIs). The interviews aimed to identify some of the reasons why students might consider leaving before achieving a social work qualification and some of the initiatives the HEIs had set in place to reduce this risk. The findings suggest that some of the widening participation initiatives established in many HEIs are aimed at students at the beginning of their studies but that social work students might benefit from additional support at other periods, for example, both during and on their return from practice placements. Furthermore, the changing profile of social work students may have implications for cohort dynamics and social work educators need to be alert to these developments.

Experiences of racism and discrimination among migrant care workers in England: Findings from a mixed-methods research project

Abstract This article reports part of the findings of research undertaken between 2007 and 2009 that aimed to investigate the contribution made by migrant workers to the care workforce in England. The study involved analysis of national statistics on social care and social workers and semi-structured interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, including ninety six migrant care workers. The interviews elicited some accounts relating experiences of racism and discrimination from some people using social care services, employers, and UK-born care workers. This included directly racist comments and refusals to receive services from workers from a visibly different ethnicity alongside more subtle racism. The research highlights the different kinds of racism experienced by migrant care workers and the importance of the support they receive in terms of balancing their right to protection, managing the workforce, and respecting the choice of people using social care services.

International social workers in England: Factors influencing supply and demand

Recent years have seen considerable increases in the number of internationally-qualified social workers in England. This article presents trends in the international labour mobility of social workers migrating to work in England alongside information on the supply of UK-trained social workers. It concludes that demographic changes and policy imperatives have accentuated structural issues making it difficult to ensure an adequate supply in the number of domestically-trained social workers. We suggest that more cross-national research is needed to achieve a better understanding of the factors influencing social workers’ decisions to work in international settings and the extent to which this reflects permanent or temporary migration between countries.

The experiences of migrant social work and social care practitioners in the UK: findings from an online survey

Over recent years there has been a growing interest in the role of migrants in the social care sector in the United Kingdom (UK) and beyond. This article reports on the findings of an online survey of migrant social care workers in the UK, undertaken to complement a larger scale qualitative study on the subject. The survey aimed to test hypothesised relationships between migrant workers’ characteristics, circumstances, experiences and future plans. The survey ran from February to May 2009 and was advertised widely. A total of 101 responses were received (73% of those sent a survey link). A focus group was held with seven newly appointed migrant social workers to discuss issues arising from their experiences. Survey respondents were aged 39 years on average and were predominantly (75%) women. They came from a wide range of countries and job roles, although almost half (47%) were social workers. Most mentioned financial needs and opportunity, in addition to altruistic motivations. Challenges, including bullying and mistreatment in the sector, were highlighted. These and other findings are discussed in the context of increased demand for social care workers in the developed world, and specific barriers and challenges facing different groups of migrant social care workers.

Social care stakeholders' perceptions of the recruitment of international practitioners in the United Kingdom-a qualitative study

Mobility of labour is common within Europe and globally, particularly in social and health care. This article examines the findings from a qualitative study of 15 expert or stakeholder views that explored supply and demand factors in international social care staff recruitment to the United Kingdom (UK). Findings are that international social care workers have a better reputation and are perceived as being harder workers, more productive, more reliable, more focused and more likely to stay in a post longer than local workers. However, there is also the perception that employment in social care is a stepping-stone into other forms of employment both in the UK and when returning to home countries, through access to training, experience and improved job opportunities. The impact of migration policies on the composition of international workers is further noted because greater numbers of social care staff are coming to the UK from the European Union and fewer from Commonwealth states. Changes in the profile of international workers are discussed, with a need identified to address cultural and language differences to ensure good outcomes for service users.