Kate Baxter discusses a paper by Hillcoat-Nallétamby about the limitations of rational choice theory as an approach to understanding choice-making processes among older people around the decision to move into extra-care housing schemes.
Catherine Needham reviews a study by Chapman (2019) which considers older people’s knowledge and understanding of the social care system in Northern Ireland.
Mike Clark on a scoping review of effectiveness research, methods, outcomes and reporting in social work across a broad spectrum of adult social care contexts.
Martin Stevens examines a study on mental health service user and practitioner experiences of personal budgets and finds that power and attitudes remain important factors.
Mike Clark investigates a US study into social work student use of research for evidence-based practice and wonders if the findings would apply to the UK.
Jeanne Carlin explores a study on decision making in male carers of people with dementia and reflects on her own experiences in interpreting the findings.
Sarah Carr takes an unusual step of appraising a ‘think tank’ research report on e-marketplaces for social care and discusses the work in relation to the broader context of evidence-based policy.
Caroline Struthers comes to grips with a Cochrane Review on case management for people with dementia and finds relevant messages for both practitioners and researchers.
Clarissa Giebel tackles a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of telecare assistive technology and examines the findings on cost effectiveness and quality of life.