Meanings and understandings of user involvement amongst elders in a northern town

The principles of user involvement have developed strongly in parts of UK social policy over the past fifty years. However despite the apparent commitment of governments to creating and establishing 'spaces' for user voices, and academic comment on the need for involvement, only a limited amount of research has concentrated on the meanings and understandings of user involvement as portrayed in official documents and as perceived by users and practitioners. This thesis builds on three main elements: first a literature review in two parts (one on the user involvement academic literature, and the other on key trends and issues associated with ageing and old age). The second strand is a review of official strategies, policies and practices, to outline the development of involvement initiatives and programmes directed by government over time. Complementing these, the thesis also reports a local empirical case study into the practice of user involvement in a metropolitan borough in northern England. Within that study interviews were conducted both with Key Informants and local older people, to gather practitioner and user perceptions and perspectives on involvement and their observations as to its impact on them. Conclusions are drawn about the development of user involvement in the UK, trends in recent practices in the fields of social care and health services and about the perceptions of real people - variously the beneficiaries and victims of user involvement - as to its meaning and value.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo