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BJSW Advance Access published online on September 2, 2009
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcp100
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Smarter Working in Social and Health Care: Professional Perspectives on a New Technology for Risk Appraisal with Older People

Jill Manthorpe, Kalpa Kharicha, Claire Goodman, Danielle Harari, Cameron Swift and Steve Iliffe

Jill Manthorpe is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King's College London. She has particular research interests in ageing and social care. Kalpa Kharicha is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Primary Care and University College London, Clare Goodman is Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Hertfordshire, Danille Harari is Consultant Geriatrician and Senior Lecturer at St Thomas' Hospital, London, Cameron Swift is Professor of Health Care of the Elderly, King's College London, Steve Iliffe is Professor of Primary Care at University College London.

Correspondence to Professor Jill Manthorpe, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King's College London, Strand, WC2B 4LL, UK. E-mail: Jill.manthorpe{at}kcl.ac.uk


  Abstract

There is growing emphasis on prevention, personalisation and self-care or active citizenship in England. This paper reports on the Smarter Working in Social care & Health (SWISH) study of the development of an information technology system that allows older people to assess their own health and to receive personalised feedback and considers the implications for social work practice and commissioning. The study took place in two London areas (2005–7). Its objectives were 1) to refine a method to improve access to information and services, and to identify older people at risk, and 2) to examine the potential of the method to enrich public sector information and to profile local populations to inform local commissioners. A multi-method approach consolidated findings from focus groups and interviews with older people and professionals. Under the first objective, views were mixed. The existing health risk assessment tool was seen as comprehensive, with the capacity to identify low-level risks to well-being, although possibly burdensome. Under the second objective, social workers and managers were uncertain how to make use of local population data and to the capacity of local resources to meet information needs. Messages for practitioners and managers are drawn.

Keywords: Older people, needs assessment, community development


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