research report

Older people’s attitudes to automatic awards of Pension Credit

This research looks at older people’s attitudes to the principle of automating parts of the Pension Credit awards process. Three key advantages to automation are highlighted: its capacity to raise awareness of entitlement, its ability to reduce perceptions of stigma, and its convenience. Although the study also reveals concerns about automation, such as privacy, these were rarely felt to be insurmountable and the advantages were generally thought to outweigh them.

International perspectives on parenting support: non-English language sources

This reports on a project to understand "what works" in parenting support, beyond the English language international evidence. English language literature was reviewed in 'What works in Parenting Support, (Moran, Ghate and van der Merwe 2004). This project focused on Denmark, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands and aimed to: consider what works in parenting support; describe processes, models of delivery and underlying philosophies of provision; identify key messages to inform policy and practice in England.

Parenting and the different ways it can affect children's lives: research evidence

Policy-makers and commentators often blame ‘bad parenting’ for children and young people’s troublesome behaviour. What can research tell us about the influence of parenting, especially the parent-child relationships in millions of ‘ordinary’ families? This report includes research based on the perspectives of mothers, fathers and children themselves. They were commissioned by the JRF to inform its own Parenting Research and Development programme.

Developing the use of 'MDS-RAI' reports for UK care homes

The MDS-RAI (Minimum Data Set Resident Assessment Instrument for Long Term Care Facilities) is designed to provide a comprehensive standard assessment of residents' needs for use in nursing and residential homes. This action research project explored how care home staff and management could raise care provision standards through embedding its use in daily practice.

Improving care in residential care homes: a literature review (summary report)

This review by a team from the University of Warwick and University of the West of England, with support from the University of York, examines research evidence available to support improved care for older people in residential homes. The review explores seven themes: residents' and relatives' views on care; clinical areas for improvement; medication in care homes; medical input into care homes; nursing care in care homes; interface between care homes and other services; care improvement in care homes.

Looked-after children: third report of session 2008-09: volume II: oral and written evidence

Provides the detailed oral and written evidence presented to the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee session on looked after children. The session aimed to investigate the performance of the care system in England, consider whether the Governments proposals for reform were soundly based, and to find out whether the Care Matters programme would be effective in helping looked after children. A summary of the findings are provided in Volume I.

Weighing in : dealing with the challenge of obesity (Policy Exchange research notes)

Paper describing and discussing ten examples of interventions for obesity which involve both healthy eating and physical activity. The examples featured all strive to be low cost interventions and fall in to the broad categories of community schemes, active travel initiatives, health in the workplace and lifestyle incentives.