Research proposal

Investigating the role of carers in preventing neglect and abuse in care homes: a case study of Barnet Borough

Introduction

The health and social care professionals are playing crucial role in providing the best possible treatment and quality care to the individuals, who seek proper support and care from the care providers for maximising the wellbeing of them so that they can live a normal life like others. It is the responsibility of the care professionals to provide proper support and care to the vulnerable people, who are suffering from neglect and abuse. The study helps to analyse the roles and responsibilities of the health and social care professionals to secure the vulnerable people in the care home, Barnet Borough and in this regard the target population of the care givers are the vulnerable people across London, who are suffering from neglect and abuse in the society. The study provides a scope to develop proper aims and objectives as well as discuss the background and problem statement, where it is possible to understand the research topic and the existing problems in the society in which the people are suffering at a serious stage due to neglect and abuse. Additionally, the literature review and methodology are useful to carry out the action research in a systematic manner for fulfilling the research objectives and questions successfully.

Background of the research

The health and social care professionals are efficient to support the individuals with quality care and efficient treatment for maximising the wellbeing of the individuals and creating values for them so that they can improve their standard of living in the society. It is the roles and responsibilities of the care givers to develop preventive actions for handling the social issues, neglect and abuse, which is rising rapidly nowadays and there, is increasing numbers of people, who are suffering from abuse and neglect. Hereby, the heath care professionals and social workers are trying to collaborate with each other for supporting the victims in the society as well as giving them proper treatment and quality care, so that they can overcome their situation and improve their standard of living. In this regard, the organisation Barnet Borough is efficient to provide support and care to the people, who are vulnerable to neglect and abuse in the society(Muirhead et al., 2017). It is the responsibility of the care home to develop effective strategic planning, for the care givers, so that they can follow and improve their working capabilities to support the victims in the society. Recently, the social workers and care givers are concerned about the issue of neglect and abuse and they take active initiative to support the individuals with proper heath care treatment, so that they can improve their physical and mental health condition and live a normal life like others. It is the responsibility of the care givers and social workers to take positive initiatives to prevent neglect and abuse in the society (Hicks and Stein, 2015).

Problem statement of the research

In this recent era of globalisation, crime rate is increasing at a rapid rate, where there are increasing numbers of vulnerable people in the society across London, where the people are suffering from neglect and abuse. This is a serious issue for the policy makers and social workers, where they cannot control the crime rate of neglect and abuse, where in some cases; the family members are involved within the crime (Yıldız and Tanrıverdi, 2018). It is the responsibility of the care givers to take action initiative and the social workers to develop proper intervention planning to support the individuals and help them to overcome the traumatic situation of neglect and abuse.

Managing the project:

As per the figure above, in England and Wales, there is rapid increase in the crime rate due to neglect and abuse in the society. As per the police case, there is 18685 cases, reported in the year of 2019. Hereby, it becomes a serious problem in the society, where huge numbers of people are suffering from neglect and abuse, and it needs proper intervention planning to prevent the issue of neglect and abuse. The major issues related to the incident of neglect and abuse are trauma, depression, high stress, emotional breakdown, tendency of suicidal activities and self harm, which are also raising rapidly among the victims, where they cannot overcome the situation and they fail to live a normal life like others in the society. Hereby, there is urgent need for efficient care professionals and the clinical staff who can handle the situation and contribute positively in the society for preventing the incident of neglect and abuse among the individuals.

Aims and objectives of the research

The aim of the research is to analyse and investigate the roles and responsibilities of the careers in the organisation Barnet Borough in order to prevent neglect and abuse among the vulnerable people in the society.

The research objectives are such as,

• To identify the types of abuse experienced by service users in care homes of Barnet Borough
• To assess the roles of carers in preventing abuse in care homes

Research questions

What types of abuse does service user experience in care homes?

What are the roles of carers in preventing abuse in care homes?

Literature review

Through the literature review, it is possible to review the existing literatures including the books, journals and newspapers regarding the above mentioned research topic. In this regard, the theories related to the needs and preferences of the people suffering from neglect and abuse, organisational tactics to handle the care users and the role of the care givers are effective to develop effective understanding in future which are useful to progress in the research and analyse the collected data of further evaluation. In order to develop literature review, the researcher in this particular study reviewed 15 journals from which it is possible for the researcher to gather in depth knowledge and understanding related to the research topic of investigating the role of carers in preventing neglect and abuse in care homes.

Types and signs of abuse

According to, there are different types and symptoms of the abuse and neglect where the people are suffering from different issues in the society. The types of abuse and neglect are such as physical abuse, mental and emotional abuse, exploitation, sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment as well as self neglect from which the adults as well as the children are suffering. In this regard, as opined by Muirhead et al. (2017), the physical abuse is the intentional body injury for example slapping, choking, kicking, shoving, and pinching where the people suffering from physical injury. For example, there are some people in the family who are abusive and addicted to drug and alcohol and they conduct physical abuse with the family members. On the other hand, the sexual abuse is the consensual sexual torture such as unwanted touching, rape, sodomy, and coerced nudity and sexual explicit which is dangerous abuse for the people in the society (Ernst, 2019). Additionally, as stated by Uldum et al. (2017), mental abuse is another one, where the people are suffering from mental torture and emotional pain for example intimidation, ridiculing, harassment, treating adults like child, isolation, and coercion. According to Phelan (2018), these are the major abuse that the people including the adults and the children in the society are suffering from. Exploitation is another one where the vulnerable adults or their resources or income are illegally used by another person and for example it includes illegally withdrawing money out of other person’s account, forging checks or stealing things. Neglect is also crucial issue in the society where the people are suffering a lot due to social isolation and this affects the mental and physical health of the individuals who are vulnerable in the society. Self neglect is also another issue where the vulnerable adults are living in hazardous situation, unsafe and unnecessary living condition without having proper food or water. Abandonment occurs when the vulnerable people are left without the ability to obtain the basic need in the society such as food, water, shelter, clothing and health care.

As stated by Muirhead et al. (2017), there are different signs, through which the care givers try to assess the patient and give them proper support and treatment for maximising their wellbeing. In this regard, the signs of physical abuse are such as changes in behaviour, injury in the body parts including cuts, integrated injury, broken bone, Welts, black eyes or rope marks, which are the signs where the care givers can acknowledge the patient’s needs and provide suitable treatment according to their physical health condition. On the other hand, according to Phelan (2018), the signs of mental abuse are such as being emotionally upset, no-communicative, non-collaborative, extremely withdrawn, nervous, mentally mistreated and unusual behaviour of the individuals (Gonzalez, and McCall, 2018). On the other hand, as opined by Muirhead et al. (2017), the sign of neglect are such as malnutrition, untreated bed sores, poor personal hygiene, unsanitary and unclean living condition including dirt, lice on person, soiled bedding and inadequate clothing. Signs of sexual abuse are bleeding, sexually assaulted rape, torn stained and bloody clothing of the person. Hereby, though proper assessment of the service users, the health and social car4e professionals try to acknowledge actual needs and preferences of the individuals as well as develop effective care plan to treat them with better quality care and efficient treatment so that the maximisation of the health and mental condition of the patients can be ensured.

Needs and preferences of the vulnerable people

According to Uldum et al. (2017), after analysing the signs and symptoms of the individuals, the service providers try to analyse the patient’s condition and acknowledge the actual physical and mental health needs in the society. In this regard, it is the responsibility of the care givers to cooperate with the people suffering from abuse and neglect in order has proper patient diagnosis and understanding the actual needs of the people in living in the society. By considering the physical condition of the people, the diseases, injury need to be treated positively by utilising the latest treatment and car as well as medications and therapy (Gonzalez, and McCall, 2018). Hereby, the vulnerable adults or the children need proper monitoring and they need proper shelter under the supervision of the service providers so that they can get proper treatment and care successfully. Hereby, as stated by Palacios et al. (2019), the physical needs of the people suffering from neglect and abuse is mandatory where the people can get proper treatment and quality care from the social workers and health care professionals, whore skilled to treat them proficiently and improve their health condition successfully. As opined by Ernst (2019), by considering the social determinants of health, the people suffering from neglect and abuse need proper shelter where they can live with safety and security. The service providers need to provide the basic requirements of the people such as food, shelter, clothing, sanitary and hygiene, safe place, water and health care.

In this regard, as opined by Gonzalez, and McCall (2018), the service providers sometime spend the vulnerable adults or the children at the care home, hospitals or the charity home, where the people can be treated fairly with the modern treatment, medication as well as they are taken care under proper supervision of the skilled workforce. Hereby, social needs of the people require being taken care of by the service providers where the vulnerable people can live safely under the proper supervision of the social workers. On the other hand, as per mental aspects of health, the vulnerable people are suffering from anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, stress and depression as well as behavioural problems, sadness, feeling worthlessness and hopelessness in living in the society. Hereby, the service providers need to support the individuals properly with quality care and cooperation where the people can feel valued and safe under the care and treatment of the service providers (Fay-Stammbach, and Hawes, 2019). Hereby, as stated by Palacios et al. (2019), there is great role of the services providers to take care of the vulnerable people who are suffering from neglect and abuse. In addition to these, the services such as sending the people to the rehabilitation centres or the mental treatment centre is also another strategy where the people can get proper support to resolve their stress and depression and improve their behaviour towards others. Hereby, the mental requirements, social determinates and physical needs of the individuals are required to be taken care of where the health and social care providers can support all the individuals and cooperate with them for better understanding where they are also successful in building strong relationship with the people and improve their social inclusion to live normally like others.

Roles of the care givers in preventing neglect and abuse

According to Gonzalez, and McCall (2018), the care givers are responsible to take care of the vulnerable people in the society after proper diagnosis and where the professional try to provide physical care and emotional support to all the individuals who are suffering from the neglect and abuse. In this regard, the care givers are responsible to assess the medical needs of the individual and assess the basic needs of the people in order to provide them better care and treatment according to their heath needs and personal preferences. In addition to this, monitoring medication and proper assessment of the patients required so that the care professionals can provide better treatment and care. In this regard, the care givers need to communicate with the people who suffering from neglect and abuse so that they can interact with the patients and acknowledge their mental and physical issues (Uldum et al., 2017). According to Gonzalez, and McCall (2018), proper communication and open discussion of the care givers are effective to support the patient emotionally and physically and cooperate with them for developing better car plan. In this regard, the care givers are also responsible to develop patient centred care to provide quality care where the care givers need to empower the patient in the care plan and acknowledge their perception top deliver better care and support, proper cooperation and communication with the patients further help the care giver to take care of the individuals and fulfil their requirements successfully. In addition to this, it is the responsibility of the care givers to improve professionalism while treating the people in the society (Palacios et al., 2019). Providing proper information about the treatment and care to the people as well as managing adequate resources and developing intervention planning are the responsibility of the care givers where the care givers try to provide better care and treatment to the patients in the society. preparing a care plan as well as taking care of the patients with quality care are also the responsibility of the care givers where they are fulfilling the basic needs of the people and providing them proper safety and security in the society (Cooke, Day, and Mulcahy, 2019). In addition to this, as stated by Chang et al. (2016), the care givers are responsible to maintain professionalism in the context of health and social care to safeguard the people including the adults and children who are suffering from neglect and abuse. The care givers also monitor the safeguarding activities from abuse so that the people are not suffering from neglect abuse both physical and mental, emotional stress and social isolation. These are the major responsibilities of the care givers and the social workers to enhance the safeguarding activities in the society and improve the quality of care so that they can maximise the values for the patients in long run.

Organisational tactics

According to Crowley (2016), the organisational tactics to support the people suffering from neglect and abuse are playing curial role to develop suitable organisational culture as well as improve the quality of care for the benefits of the people in the society. In this regard, the organisational management team of the care homes are trying to develop suitable culture with transparency and accountability, where every people are treated fairly and the service providers try to treat all the people with respect and dignity. As opined by Fay-Stammbach, and Hawes (2019), the organisations are also taking care of the basic requirements of the people where the organisations restructure the infrastructure and reallocate the organisational resources to provide them the basic psychological needs of the people including food, shelter, water and clothing. Additionally, the health care organisations try to develop effective infrastructure in the care home to maintain safety and security as well as it provide sanitary ad hygienic place where he people can live with health and safety. Hereby, the organisational tactics to ensure the quality care and fulfilling the basic needs of the people are effective to support the vulnerable people in the society (Chang et al., 2016). Apart from that, the organisations focuses on developing suitable premises by maintaining sanitary and hygiene, cleaning the floors, and implementing the equipment in the care homes. Hiring skilled staff and experienced doctors and physicians are also the responsibility of the care homes, where the health care professionals are efficient to support the patient with physical treatment and emotional support (Zeanah, and Humphreys, 2018). According to Zeanah, and Humphreys (2018), the organisations also need to hire the counsellors and psychiatrics in the care homes in order to take care of the patients and treat mental health of the people so that the problems of sleep and anxiety disorders, stress and depression and the tendency of self harm can be managed well. Hereby, staffing is important where the care homes are responsible to hire competent and experienced staff to ensure that they can meet the quality standard of the care and treatment of the vulnerable people in the society (Phelan, 2018). As stated by Cooke, Day, and Mulcahy (2019), the organisations make sure that the staff members have proper qualifications, skill, competence and experience to maintain the patients and keep safety and security of the people staying in the care home. In addition to this, the organisations need to implement CCTV and monitor the place continuously so that the patients are under proper observation and supervision of the experienced health care manager (McCallion and Ferretti, 2017). Continuous support and treatment by utilising the latest equipments and machinery as well as proper medication of the people are ensured by the organisations in order to treat the people with care and efficient treatment and medications.

Prevention planning to support the people suffering from neglect and abuse

According to Goodman et al. (2017), the prevention planning to safeguard the adults and the children, who are suffering from abuse and neglect, is necessary where the care givers give their full potential to develop efficient care plan so that the people can overcome their problems and lead life normally like others in the society. It is the role of the social worker to identify the vulnerable adults and children in the society who are suffering from continuous abuse and neglect. Developing patient centred care is necessary where the care givers need to empower the people in the care plan and acknowledge their own perception successfully. Additionally, the care givers try to communicate and interact with the patients with dignity and respect. Showing respect and providing importance to their perception are effective to encourage the patient to communicate and cooperate with the care givers (Crowley, 2016). Moreover, as stated by McCallion and Ferretti (2017), the care professionals try to get proper consent from the patient before the treatment and ensure the data and information shared by the patient will be kept securely by implementing the General Data Protection Act 2018. In addition to this, the care professionals try to improve involvement with the patient and encourage them to overcome their problem both physical and mental. Continuous support and friendly atmosphere are effective for successful intervention where the patients feel safe and secured in discussing their feelings and corporate for better treatment and medications. The care givers then try to send the vulnerable to the care homes and charity homes for some days so that the people can get different environment where they can live safely.

In this regard, as opined by Hicks and Stein (2015), family intervention is required and necessary for successful intervention planning and the care givers try to involve the family members in the care plan were the bonding between the patient and the family members become strong and the members can also cooperate with the patient to overcome the trauma. For mental trauma and emotional stress, the care givers try to provide proper counselling session by engaging their family member too in the sessions so that pen conversation can be built which in turn helps the patients to overcome the trauma of neglect and abuse (Goodman et al., 2017). According to Yıldız and Tanrıverdi (2018), improving the participation of the patients in the social programs and give them support and confidence are also another important planning to provide them suitable support so that they can take active part in daily activities and ensure social inclusion of the people. In addition to this, the rehabilitation centre is another strategy where the people can get better environment and support to improve their emotional condition as well as get proper treatment for healthy wellbeing. Hereby, the patient centred care, continuous support and cooperation as well as quality care, building string relationship, fulfilling basic needs of the people, friendly atmosphere and involvement of the family members are effective intervention planning through which the health care professionals and the care givers can maximise the wellbeing of the vulnerable people and give them the chance for social inclusion and improve their physical; health and emotional wellbeing (Yıldız and Tanrıverdi, 2018).

Research methodology

As per the research methodology, the researcher tries to choose proper research methods to conduct the research efficiently by following suitable steps. In this regard, as per the research philosophy, the researcher chooses positivism research philosophy over the realism and interpretivism, where through the positivism philosophy, the researcher can collect the valid data and analyse it for further evaluation. In the research approach, between the deductive and inductive approach, the researcher selects deductive approach, where through the deductive approach, it is possible to explore the theories related to the research topic and analyse the collected data efficiently. On the other hand, under the data collection technique, the researcher considers both the primary and secondary data collection technique, where through the primary data collection, it is possible to collect and gather first hand data and experience directly from the participants. Additionally, the research uses qualitative data analysis for analysing the collected data over the quantitative data analysis technique for successful evaluation of the research topic.

In this regard, the primary data collection technique is suitable for this research, where the researcher can collect the first hand primary data from the participants. The researcher considered 50 people in the organisation named Barnet Borough for survey and the researcher also includes 5 health care managers for interview. It is important to collect the primary data to understand the patients perception in the care me, whether the patients get proper support and care or not. In addition to this, the secondary data collection technique is also effective in this study, where through reviewing the literatures including the books, journals, newspapers and business report, the researcher tries to collect the secondary information related to the research topic. The theories related to the research topic are also effective in this study to improve the skill and knowledge of the researcher so that the researcher can analyse the collected data efficiently. In this regard, after gathering the primary and secondary data, the researcher utilises the quantitative data analysis technique, to analyse and evaluated the findings on the basis of the existing theories and knowledge about the above mentioned research topic. The percentage of the respondent will be evaluated according to the interview questionnaire were the feedback are reliable and valid to analyse the above mentioned research topic.

Ethical considerations

For ethical considers, it is the responsibility of the researcher to maintain the research ethics to conduct the paper efficiently without any ethical issues. In this particular paper, the researcher trust to take proper consent from the participants to get the suitable answers and feedback from them. Apart from that, the researcher also focuses on maintaining integrity and transparency in collecting the data and information as well as validity and reliability of the data are ensured so that it is possible to analyse the research efficiently. In addition to this, the research ensures that the collected data and information are utilised only for the research purpose and implement the General Data Protection Act 2018 for managing data security. respecting the respondents and convincing them to take active part in giving their feedback through the questionnaire rather than forcing them are also ethical behaviour of the researcher which in turn helps the researcher to maintain research ethics and improve the involvement and cooperation of the participants in collecting valid and reliable data for further analysis and evaluation of the above mentioned research topic.

Anticipated research findings

It is the role of the health care professionals and the social workers to take care of the people in the society who are suffering from neglect and abuse. The care givers play a crucial and important role to serve better treatment, medication and support the individuals suffering from abuse and neglect. The care givers try to develop intervention planning by involving the patients and their family members in the care plan, so that they can have the opportunity to acknowledge the actual health needs and requirements of the mental support of the individuals (Hicks and Stein, 2015). Additionally, empowering the patients and giving importance to the perception of the patients are also necessary and apart from that the care givers respect the people and enhance open communication and cooperation with all the people so that the people can feel safe and secured to share their situation and the signs and symptoms of abuse. Additionally, the care givers give them proper treatment and quality care to fulfil their basic needs and provide support so that they can feel valued and safe under the observation of the experienced doctors and skilled staff members (Muirhead et al., 2017). Hereby, the care givers are experienced to handle the people suffering from neglect and abuse and they try to cooperate and develop proper intervention planning for the people for better social inclusion, having support from the family members, providing basic needs and safe place to live healthy and happy.

What are the symptoms you suffering from?

• Physical injury
• Sleep and anxiety disorders
• Self harm
• Depression
• Social isolation

What are your requirements in the organisation?

• Basic need of food and shelter
• Safety and security
• Mental support
• Physical treatment
• Counselling session
• Rehabilitation

Are you feeling safe and secured at Barnet Borough?

• Yes
• No

Are the staff members experienced to create values for you?

• Yes
• No

Are you satisfied with the treatment of Barnet Borough?

• Highly satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neutral
• Not satisfied
• Highly not satisfied

Are you satisfied with the support and quality standard maintained in the organisation Barnet Borough?

• Highly satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neutral
• Not satisfied
• Highly not satisfied

Is the organisation efficient to maintain data safety?

• Yes
• No

How does the organisational place for staying?

• Good place
• Average
• Not hygienic place

Are you comfortable in interacting with the care givers?

• Yes
• No

Do you feel empowered in developing intervention plan?

• Yes
• No

Interview questionnaire for the health care manager in Barnet Borough

• How do you manage the people at the organisation Barnet Borough?
• Is the organisation Barnet Borough resourceful?
• Are the employees are experienced enough to serve quality care to the patients?
• How do you manage the quality standard of the care provided to the people?
• What is the major intervention planning to serve the people in need?
• How do you maintain organisational culture?
• What is the technique to interact with the patients at Barnet Borough?
• What are the strategies to develop patient centred care in Barnet Borough?
• What are the strategies to maximise values for the people at Barnet Borough?
• What is your opinion about patient care at the organisation Barnet Borough?

Reference List

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