Examining and exploring new approaches to therapeutic observation in health and social care, this multidisciplinary guide discusses and analyses its uses in a range of practical contexts with children, families and adults. Developing good observation skills is paramount to sustaining relationships in the challenging settings that health and social care professionals find themselves in. This guide shows how observation is taught, applied in practice, and how it will be returned to throughout professionals' careers. Drawing on psychoanalytic ideas and theories of human development as a base for professional learning, the experienced editors and authors offer theoretically informed models to teach observation skills in professional programmes, helping their readers prepare for successful intervention in any setting.

Karen Tanner and Pat Le Riche have brought together a range of contributions from practitioners and social work academics in order to discuss the application of ideas about observation to social work education and practice. The authors focus on how observation can be used to counteract oppressive and dehumanising practices.

Introducing the concept of observation to social work students can be a complex and challenging task. Assessing their observation skills and assignments can be even harder, especially if much of this work takes place implicitly, throughout their training and placements. This book will help students to grasp the fundamentals of social work observation, from the theories and methods to how these can be demonstrated in everyday practice. Skills are covered throughout, as well as effective observation work with different client groups and in different settings. The authors argue that an observant social worker is an effective and resilient one, and demonstrate this through case study material and research summaries.

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

This unique resource provides everything students need for the new OCR National Certificate in Health and Social Care and focuses on the differing levels of care required for individuals in a variety of settings.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

This book is aimed at various health and social care practitioners including: nurses, midwives, doctors, social workers, health promotion and public health practitioners, health visitors and hospital managers, and in particular, those who are studying a multidisciplinary research course. There appears to be no single book on the topic of general research issues that is relevant to all of the above. This lack has resulted in requests from a diverse range of research students for the development of a suitable textbook. Thus, the book is intended to complement a multidisciplinary research course or indeed, any other type of research endeavour such as a dissertation. Furthermore, the book should be of general use to anybody studying health and/or social care research at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Observing Organisations presents a unique approach derived from direct participant observation of small units within institutions, all in the health and social services sector. A range of contributors bring together the results of their own observational projects to show how they were able to come to a psychoanalytically informed understanding of the cultures that arise within healthcare organisations, and how this understanding can be used to overcome difficulties that arise.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

This student textbook matches the mandatory units and key skills of the GNVQ in Health and Social Care qualification, advanced level. This revised edition contains information on key areas. Chapters and sub-chapters match the headings in the AVCE specifications, to ensure students find their way easily through the book. Every chapter contains case studies about real organizations, so that students can see how the theory they are learning is used every day in the real world.