Evaluation brief: Impact on service users of community day services’ cessation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol31iss4id673Keywords:
Community day services, Ministry of Health Disability Support ServicesAbstract
INTRODUCTION: This is a brief of a year-long evaluative study and service analysis undertaken by Disability Support Link (DSL), Waikato DHB.
APPROACH: This briefing provides an insight into the evaluative study on the associated impact of cessation of community day services which are key components within the disability sector’s service provision. These day services provide an integral outlet of meaningful activities for disabled adults whose current needs impact on their employment. The focus was on analysing repository information over the last decade. The data sources include documented narratives from the needs assessment process and longitudinal resourcing information. In addition, contemporary literature on the role of day activity centres were sourced to identify similar work within this area. The subsequent findings were submitted to the Ministry of Health of Aotearoa New Zealand.
FINDINGS: An association was found between service users’ lack of access to day services and initial short-term savings to publicly funded disability services budget. However, initial savings were essentially overshadowed by subsequent, increasing, costs over time. There are also associated impacts on disabled adults, such as reports of increasing isolation, decreasing sense of meaningful structured day activities, declining daily functions and possibly resultant maladaptive behaviours. Notably, these issues are not just about funding and resourcing as they impact on disabled people’s rights and social connections.
CONCLUSION: This study indicates that cessation and or reduction of day community services derived initial short-term cost savings but subsequent long-term increased support needs requires more costly support packages. Future efficacy lies in further reviewing the positive impact of health-related community day services for people with disabilities; an iteration of day service contracts that produces meaning to the individual and cost efficiency to public health spending.
References
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust. (2018). Day centres – physical and sensory disability. Retrieved from http://www.belfasttrust.hscni.net/ DayCentresPhysicalSensoryDisability.htm
Beyer, S., Brown, T., Akandi, R., & Rapley, M. (2010). A comparison of quality of life outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities in supported employment, day services and employment enterprises. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(3), 290–295. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3148.2009.00534.x
Drăghici, E. (2015). The importance of day care centers in the life of the disabled people and their families. Social Work Review / Revista de Asistenta Sociala, 14(3), 137–151.
Fleming, P., McGilloway, S., & Barry, S. (2017). Day service provision for people with intellectual disabilities: A case study mapping 15-year trends in Ireland. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(2), 383–394.
Health Service Executive. (2018). Time to move on from congregated settings a strategy for community inclusion. Retrieved from https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/disability/congregatedsettings/timetomoveon.html
Luton Council. (2018). Adult day services—Luton Council. Retrieved from https://www.luton.gov.uk/Health_and_social_care/adult_social_care/disabilities/Pages/Adult- day-services.aspx
Ministry of Health–Manatū Hauora. (2014). Community day services. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/ your-health/services-and-support/disability-services/ types-disability-support/community-day-services
Social Care Institute for Excellence. (2007). Community- based day activities for adults with learning disabilities. Community Care, (1677), 32–34.
Whānau Tahi Ltd. (2018). Whānau Tahi | Socrates—enabling services for those with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.whanautahi.com/simplhealth/122-socrates- enabling-services-for-those-with-disabilities
Whittaker, A., & McIntosh, B. (2000). Changing days. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-3156.2000.00024.x
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
