Proposed area of study
The proposed area of study for the present research is the learning disability and the availability of social care, familial care, and support system for adults having learning disabilities. The social support and medical services that are provided to adults having learning disabilities have gone through several changes over the past twenty years. In contemporary society, the prime focus of services provided to adults with a learning disability is shifting towards health care professional services and care provided to their families. Family-centeredness is presented as the cardinal method and philosophy of delivering services to professionals and children and is presented as the partnership between social services and support providers and professionals and the major focus is the consideration of health care professional’s role in making the decision for adults by considering the part of an expert team to understand the needs and status of adults (Kokorelias, Gignac, Naglie & Cameron, 2019). Now, these approaches are recognized as an appropriate working method at the international level for addressing the family-centered services and needs of adults with a learning disabilities.
This research will be carried out in Blackpool and my focus will be based on taking the response of people about the social services familial care in Blackpool to deal with adults with learning disabilities. The change in the support system (family) and services (medical services) will be taken into account to know the level of awareness of people.
Furthermore, it emphasizes the strategies and changes in social services and support for adults with learning disabilities.
Aims of the study
- The predestined aim of this study will be to conduct an investigation on the role of family-centered support and care services for adults with a learning disability and look at the improvement from the last 5 years of care support for learning disabilities.
- The investigation of the previously available social and care services for adults and opportunities and benefits associated with shifting focus toward family-centered support services will be presented in this research.
- This research will also present the role of health care professionals in social care and support systems for adults having learning disabilities.
Ethical considerations
Ethical considerations are taken into account for the present research to ensure the ethical integrity of the study. The complete description of the ethical considerations for the presented research is presented in forms EA1 & EA2.
Sources of data and methodology
The research methodology that will be employed for the current study is quantitative in nature. This type of research methodology is based on the collection and processing of numerical information (Queirós, Faria & Almeida, 2017). It is presented as the systematic method for investigation by gathering data that can be quantified and performing computational, mathematical, or statistical techniques. There are different sources for the collection of quantitative information that can be processed for statistical or mathematical testing. For instance, a survey is a form of a quantitative method for data collection and the result is represented in numerical form (Basias & Pollalis, 2018). This data collection technique is primarily used in social sciences and the benefits of this method are that statistical, unbiased, and logical data can be achieved from quantitative methods. It is also presented as a structured way for information collection.
The sources of data for the present study are primary and secondary.
Primary Data: The primary data for this study will be collected with the aid of a questionnaire and close-ended questions will be asked from the participant. There will be also options for these close-ended questions such as yes or no.
Secondary Data: For the secondary data, research articles, books, and internet sources will be used for collecting information about learning disabilities, the effectiveness of the social services, the family-centered approach, and the previous and current strategies used in Blackpool for adults with learning disabilities.
Sample Population, Sampling Technique, and Sample Size: The sample population will be health care professionals such as medical carers and social care providers addressing the needs of adults with a learning disabilities.
Questionnaire
Some questions that will be included in the questionnaire are;
- The awareness of society and acceptance of support for adults having learning disabilities has increased.
- Complex Difficulties Team has been effectively meeting the needs of adults having learning disabilities, and their care providers.
- Do you think the current support services for adults with learning disabilities and their families are effective and proactive?
- The family-centered support services would be effective for meeting the current support issues in adults with learning disabilities?
- Would involving parents and partners in the decision-making process assist in addressing the needs of adults with learning disabilities?
- Do you think that there is a need for proactive and timely multi-disciplinary services for adults having learning disabilities?
Reading already undertaken
Health care professionals and social workers have an important role in the life of learning disability patients, specifically adults facing learning disabilities. They play the main contribution in providing the required needs and support for such adults when they are at their vulnerable stage of life. According to the research conducted by Care Quality Commission, the medical and social services provided to adults with a learning disability in England are insufficient and unjustifiable. The strategic formulation of family-centered approaches on adults with a learning disability will elucidate a better environment for such individuals to improve the quality of their lives. Due to extensive pressure on social and healthcare professionals, they can also experience stress leading to health consequences (Sukkar, Dunst & Kirkby, 2016). Therefore, the social support system must encourage coping and stress facilitation in such professionals by providing a support network. Oliver and Sappy (1999) emphasize the significance and influence of health care, social care, and general medicine on people with a learning disabilities. Though ample proof of worthy practice has been testified under these paradigms, however more research and practical implications are required in this field to improve the medical and social services given to adults with learning disabilities.
In one of the recent studies, the whole family of the adult with a learning disability should be viewed as a “priority client” to provide medical care and social services (Knox, 2000). The social workers are now encouraged to implicate strength-based practice for effective-decision making and normal living in the local community. Furthermore, the social workers are exhilarated to work cooperatively with disabled people and their families to sustain the support system. (Munford, 2012).In addition, Kokorelias, Gignac, Naglie, and Cameron (2019) also mentioned family-centered methods to address the social and medical issues related to learning disabilities.
References
• Basias, N., & Pollalis, Y. (2018). Quantitative and qualitative research in business & technology: Justifying a suitable research methodology. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 7, 91-105.
• Care Quality Commission. (2013). Care Quality Commission: The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England-HC 838 (Vol. 838). The Stationery Office.
• Knox, M. (2000). Family control: The views of families who have a child with an intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 13(1), 17–28.
• Kokorelias, K. M., Gignac, M. A., Naglie, G., & Cameron, J. I. (2019). Towards a universal model of family-centered care: a scoping review. BMC health services research, 19(1), 564.
• Munford, R. (2012) Supporting Families: Building Strengths and Resilience. Keynote presentation at the ASID conference, 9 November, Wellington, New Zealand. HTTP:// www.asid-2012.org.nz/.
• Oliver, M., & Sapey, B. (1999). Social work with disabled people. Macmillan International Higher Education.
• Queirós, A., Faria, D., & Almeida, F. (2017). Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research methods. European Journal of Education Studies.
Plan and timescales
This research will be carried out in Blackpool and the focus will be taking the response of professionals having or caring for adults with a learning disability or social care providers about the social services in Blackpool to deal with the participant (specifical adults) with learning disabilities. The focus of the research will be the changes in social services and family support for learning disabilities and further strategies. The focus will be to evaluate the changing trend of social and care services in the last five years for supporting participants with learning disabilities and the significance of applying family-centered approaches instead of just focusing on individual-centered approaches. The whole research process will be completed in 1 year and timescales for different tasks is presented below;
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