My home your workplace: the impact of health and safety regulation on care homes for older adults

It has been argued that concepts of independence and care are often interpreted differently and more restrictively for older adults. Services are typically more concerned with issues of safety than with enabling participation or inclusion. Whilst the rhetoric of housing and care for older adults tends to be underpinned by ideas about independence, privacy, dignity and choice, there appears to be a paradox between these concepts and the goals of regulatory policy with its emphasis on safety, performance, and monitoring. Care homes exemplify this paradox where an imperative for ‘homely values’ contrasts with the application of safety regulation designed to protect people ‘at work’ from harm. This study offers a new and original qualitative data set providing an empirically grounded and context based understanding of how important social and regulatory policy has been translated into local policy, applied by staff and ultimately experienced by residents. The research design comprises qualitative semi-structured interviews, observation and the evaluation of documentary sources positioned within an eight care home case study framework. The primary sources of data are care home inspection reports and semi-structured qualitative interviews with residents, staff and home managers. The analytical framework includes thematic analysis within a system oriented Grid and Group typology designed to elucidate how the different case study homes apply regulation, interpret risk, and subsequently how this shapes participant experience.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Kelly, T

Language dc:language

en