IFMH
Inform Volume 16, Number 2
Click here to download the full issue (pdf
file)
CONTENTS:
Front-line
staff’s participation into MIS implementation in social services:
dream or reality?
Despina Cochliou,
PhD Candidate in Social Work, University of Bath
Information Technology (IT) was
introduced in English social services almost twenty years ago.
Since then the context of social care has changed a lot and with
that more advanced IT applications are required to respond to
increased needs for recording and managing information within
social services. In the context of a qualitative study, case
studies methodology was utilised to study the role of front-line
staff in the process of design and implementation of a Management
Information System (MIS) and to address the impact of that
participation on their professional practice and on policy
implementation. Two social services departments were used as
fieldwork sites for direct observations and 46 people in various
levels of the hierarchy participated in semi-structured
interviews. The research findings suggest that organisational
changes in social work practice and culture have affected the way
practitioners work and deliver social care. Furthermore, the study
when practitioners were consulted about the introduction of a new
MIS they were more able to engage with it.
IFM
Healthcare sponsorship of a VSO project in Namibia
Susan Mottram,
IFMH Joint Study Day Co-ordinator, and Anita
Pearson, VSO VolunteerIFMH has
donated £2000 for one year to support a project raising awareness
of issues concerning people with disabilities among carers and key
service delivery agencies in the Kunene region of Namibia. This
article reports on the progress of the project. For more
details of the project see:
http://www.ifmh.org.uk/VSO.html.
Social care just got clearer
Annie Goss,
Communications Assistant, Social Care
Institute for Excellence
The Social Care
Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has launched
Social Care
Online – the UK’s most extensive database of social care
information.
Formerly the
electronic Library for Social Care (eLSC), which included CareData,
Social Care Online, is free and easy to use.
The database contains tens of thousands of
pieces of information including good practice guidance, government
publications, inspection reports, legislation, service user
knowledge, social care practice reports, standards documents and
training material, consultation documents, directories of other
social care resources and organisations, and free access to other
major social care databases and websites.
IFM Healthcare News Maria J Grant, Chair, Information
for the Management of Healthcare (IFMH)
IFMH Committee meeting: 19th
May 2005: digest of minutes
Karen Macpherson, Secretary, Information for the Management of
Healthcare (IFMH)
Surf's Up - Internet sites of interest
Caron Hartley, Research
Librarian, King's Fund Information and Library Service, and Anthea
Sutton, Information Officer (Reviews and Special Projects), SCHARR
National
Library for Health update Alison Turner,
Library
Partnership Co-ordinator, National Library for Health (NLH)
NLH Management News Lynette Cawthra, Joint Project Manager,
NLH Management
National Library for Health Management Briefing 02/01:
How do Social Services Departments (Adult Services) Work?
Compiled by Brian Harman To become a member of IFM Healthcare and receive regular copies
of IFMH Inform, please see the information on
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Please note: Many Inform articles contain links
to web pages. These links were active at the date of publication
but IFMH cannot guarantee to maintain links to pages which have
subsequently moved or ceased to exist. | 
