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At the April Day Centre Research Forum
Reimagining day care’s role can they play in policy and practice. Relational practice in day centres.
At the DCRF on 11 April 2024, presenters Ailsa Cameron and Catrin Noone discussed their day centre research projects.
The 32 attendees were affiliated to different local authorities, universities, service providers and an NHS trust; two were international day centre experts or researchers from the US. Many asked questions and there was considerable discussion on several points after each presentation.
Ailsa Cameron considered the role of local authority funded day care in meeting policy objectives across the social care and health sectors. She set out three ‘reimagined’ models of day care provision suggested by data collected in the NIHR School for Social Care Research project ‘Reimagining Collective Forms of Day Care’. Ailsa's slides.
Catrin Noone shared insights from her study which used a Participatory Action Research approach. PAR is not a method, but an approach which involves committing to a set of principles. She discussed the value of generalist day centres as ‘sites’ for relational practice, emphasising their ability to go beyond person-centredness and toward person-led practices which can completely transformative lives. She discussed the challenges and opportunities of applying this approach in a day centre. Catrin's slides.
Both speakers demonstrated how valued day centres are by the people involved with them, for many reasons, not least because they are spaces in which genuine connections are built and in which people can find joy. Day centres’ ability to be adaptable was a running theme, and something which was thought to contribute to their continued relevance within the mosaic of services for older people. Ailsa’s ‘ecosystem’ of three models of day care that could work together was particularly interesting.
This event report by Katharine Orellana.
The Day Centre Research Forum is coordinated by Katharine Orellana of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, King's College London. See other events from the Unit.
This Forum meeting, on Thursday 11th April (2-4pm), will focus on day centres for older people: their role in meeting policy objectives, models of provision, doing participatory action research in them and relational practice in them. Each of the two presenters will speak for around 30 minutes and there will be time after each talk for questions and discussion.
It is free to attend and will take place virtually. Registered attendees will be able to access the event via the Online Event Page in Eventbrite.
Talk 1: Ailsa Cameron (University of Bristol)
Title: Reimagining day care for older adults: what role can they play in policy and practice?
Ailsa will consider the role of local authority funded day care in meeting policy objectives across the social care and health sectors and will set out three models of day care provision suggested by data collected in the NIHR School for Social Care Research project ‘Reimagining Collective Forms of Day Care’. Follow Ailsa.
Talk 2: Catrin Noone (Durham University)
The day centre: a site for relational practice?
Catrin will unpack insights from a Participatory Action Research study, delving into the challenges and opportunities of applying this approach in a day centre setting. Drawing on a social work perspective, she will explore the value of generalist day centres as ‘sites’ for relational practice, emphasising their unique ability to go beyond person-centredness and toward person-led practices. From here, we will discuss and reflect on the transformative potential of generalist day centres in fostering genuine connections for older people and reprioritising relational practice in social work. Follow Catrin.
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