Meaning in hoarding: perspectives of people who hoard on clutter, culture and agency.

Hoarding has become increasingly prominent in clinical practice and popular culture in recent years, giving rise to extensive research and commentary. Critical responses in the social sciences have criticised the cultural assumptions built in to the construct of 'hoarding disorder' and expressed fears that it may generate stigma outweighing its benefits; however, few of these studies have engaged directly with 'hoarders' themselves. This paper reports on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 individuals living in England, who received assessment and intervention for hoarding from Social Services.

"Supporting nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students to raise concerns with the quality of care: A review of the research literature".

Background: This article reports aspects of a systematic literature review commissioned by the UK Council of Deans of Health. The review collated and analysed UK and international literature on pre-registration healthcare students raising concerns with poor quality care. The research found in that review is summarised here.

Exploring UK medical and social work students' legal literacy: comparisons, contrasts and implications.

To ensure acceptable practice standards both doctors and social workers should draw on relevant legal rules when reaching professional judgements concerning, for instance, children requiring protection, people with severe mental distress and adults at risk, information sharing, consent to intervention and service user involvement in their care and treatment. Many practitioners use the law to maintain high standards of professionalism. However, research has uncovered limited awareness of legal rules and poor standards of health and social care.

Readiness for legally literate medical practice? Student perceptions of their undergraduate medico-legal education.

Medical councils increasingly require graduates to understand law and to practise medicine mindful of the legal rules. In the UK a revised curriculum for medical law and ethics has been published. However, coverage of law in medical education remains variable and doubts exist about how far students acquire legal knowledge and skills in its implementation.

Towards effective outcomes in teaching, learning and assessment of law in medical education.

Context: Law is slowly emerging as a core subject area in medical education, alongside content on the ethical responsibilities of doctors to protect and promote patient health and well-being. Curriculum statements have begun to advise on core content and methods for organising teaching and assessment. However, no comprehensive overview of approaches to the delivery of this law curriculum has been undertaken.

Prepared for practice? Law teaching and assessment in UK medical schools.

A revised core curriculum for medical ethics and law in UK medical schools has been published. The General Medical Council requires medical graduates to understand law and ethics and behave in accordance with ethical and legal principles. A parallel policy agenda emphasises accountability, the development of professionalism and patient safety.

Constructing resilience: social workers' understandings and practice.

Concepts and constructions of resilience have assumed a significant position in contributing to understandings of the psychosocial development of children and young people. This paper examines how concepts of resilience are constructed within the literature, and then explores social workers' perceptions and use of resilience with young people who were 'looked after' or at risk of becoming 'looked after'. It addresses the interface between social workers' views and understandings of the emotional health needs of their clients, and the responsiveness of accompanying service interventions.