Community care and independence: self-sufficiency or empowerment?

Abstract

In the UK there is currently a new focus on the basic purpose and objectives of services, not on organizational structure or the efficiency of the systems alone, but on the outcome of services for people who receive them. The Labour government has defined the promotion of independence as a priority for health and social services, but this outcome can be interpreted in a variety of ways which may not be compatible. As part of a programme of research into identifying ways of measuring the outcomes of community care, views about outcomes have been gathered from a number of stakeholders—disabled and older service users, family members and social service staff. This article outlines the views of disabled service users collected from both in-depth interviews and focus groups in a northern city. The article focuses on outcomes of services which they identified as important and considers the meaning of independence and the wider implications for clarifying objectives and defining service quality.