Priority 1 from the Adult Social Work PSP

UNCERTAINTY: How is availability of funding impacting on (a) adult social workers' practice and (b) the decisions made? (JLA PSP Priority 1)
Overall ranking 1
JLA question ID 0074/1
Explanatory note Not available for this PSP
Evidence

There are various studies exploring the impact/outcomes of austerity on people using or not using social care.  These include:

Watkins J, Wulaningsih W, Da Zhou C, et al, Effects of health and social care spending constraints on mortality in England: a time trend analysis BMJ Open 2017;7:e017722. doi 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017722

Loopstra R, McKee M, Katikireddi SV, et al, Austerity and old-age mortality in England: a longitudinal cross-local area analysis, 2007-2013.  J R Soc Med 2016; 109:109-16

Hiam L, Dorling D, Harrison D, et al, Why has mortality in England and Wales been increasing?  An iterative demographic analysis.  J R Soc Med 2017;110:153-62

There are several recent studies of morale:

Hussein S (2018), Job demand, control and unresolved stress within the emotional work of long-term care in England.  International Journal of Care and Caring, 2(1): 89-107

McFadden P, Manthrope G, Mallett J (2017), Commonalities and Differences in Social Work with Learning Disability and Child Protection: Findings from a UK Burnout National Survey, The British Journal of Social Work, 10.1093/bjsw/bcx070
Health Research Classification System category Generic Health Relevance
Extra information provided by this PSP
Original uncertainty examples Adult social workers offer options, managers make the decisions in local authority around what is and isn't funded.  Research that looks at the impact on social workers resilience and professionalism is affected by management not taking their advice, over-riding decisions due to funding issues etc...and then how this impacts on service user experiences.  ~  Is there a correlation between adults being allowed to make unwise decisions that put them at risk of harm and limited resources? ~ The social worker listened to our concerns about placement and was a helpful as he could be however he was limited due to budget
Submitted by Individual survey submissions categorised by Carer, Service User, Other, Group Member, Educator, Manager, Other, Frontline Practitioner, Student, Volunteer.  For full details of the type of submitter for each individual question, please see the spreadsheet of data held on the JLA website.
PSP information
PSP unique ID 0074
PSP name Adult Social Work
Total number of uncertainties identified by this PSP. 61  (To see a full list of all uncertainties identified, please see the detailed spreadsheet held on the JLA website)
Date of priority setting workshop 20 July 2018