Promoting older people's voices- the contribution of social work to inter-disciplinary research.

UK government policies over the last decade or more have focussed on giving older people more voice in the design, delivery and assessment of services. Mirroring these trends, there has been a shift towards increased involvement of older people in the research process. Drawing on three research studies, this paper examines the contribution of social work to an inter-disciplinary research agenda designed to promote increased involvement of older people in issues of service quality in primarily health settings.

Nutraceuticals: potential roles and potential risks for pain management.

Over the past 2 decades, the world health market has been flooded with over the counter herbal products, also known as nutraceuticals. Although many of these products are neither recommended nor prescribed by conventional medical practitioners, an increasing number of people are taking these products on a daily basis. A recent survey at Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Lubbock, Texas concluded that 32% of patients scheduled for elective surgery or pain procedures were taking one or more herbal supplements; however, 70% did not disclose these during a routine anesthetic assessment.

Nurse-led implementation of the single assessment process in primary care: a descriptive feasibility study.

Objective: to determine the resources required to carry out the single assessment process in primary care.

Design: prospective descriptive study.

Setting: one urban primary care practice, Southampton.

The effectiveness of implementing a care pathway for femoral neck fracture in older people: a prospective controlled before and after study.

Objectives: To investigate whether a care pathway for older hip fracture patients can reduce length of stay while maintaining the quality of clinical care.

Design: Prospective study of patients admitted 12 months before and after implementation of a care pathway for the management of femoral neck fracture. Audit data for corresponding time periods from nearby orthopaedic units was used to control for secular trends.

Appraising the evidence: reviewing disparate data systematically.

The authors describe a method of systematically reviewing research from different paradigms. They draw on the methods adapted, developed, and designed during a study concerned with the delivery of care across professional boundaries. Informed by the established method of systematic review, the authors undertook the review in distinct stages.

Identifying 'value' in day care provision for older people.

Day care can play a prominent part in the overall development of high quality health and social care provision for older people. This paper describes an approach to evaluating day care services which brings together costs and service users' views as a means of establishing the overall 'value'. This strategy, it is argued, underlines the purpose of day care itself as a means of promoting the independence and autonomy of older people.

The communication of information about older people between health and social care practitioners.

Aim: to provide an evidence base for strategies, and effectiveness of the transfer of patient information between hospital and community for older people with physical illness.

Design: a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative literature.

Search Strategy: literature from medical, health-related and social science databases as well as work in progress from national databases, the Internet, British PhD theses and other grey literature and policy documents.

Goal negotiation with older people in three day care settings.

Drawing on a wider study of effectiveness in three models of day care, this paper explores the process and outcome of goal negotiation with older people in a day hospital, an outreach service and a day centre. Using qualitative data from interviews with day care attenders and focus groups with service providers, differing perspectives on goal setting and achievement are presented. It concludes with a brief discussion of this approach in the wider context of promoting older people's participation in decision-making in day care settings, where the espoused emphasis is on maintaining and maximising personal autonomy and independent living.