Models of Safeguarding
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Models of Safeguarding: A study exploring and comparing models of adult safeguarding.
IRAS ID
133683
Contact name
Martin Stevens
Contact email
Research summary
Adult safeguarding has received increasing attention over the past decade, and continues to be a government priority (Ministerial Statement May 2011). Developing good models of safeguarding practice is of prime importance for local authorities to ensure that attempts to protect people thought to be at risk of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect are effective but do not over-protect them or deprive them of their human rights.
We do not know much about how this work is done. The research aims to describe different approaches to safeguarding that are being taken in a range of local authorities and which appear to be representative of most. This will firstly be achieved through a review of the literature to identify the most important ways approaches might differ. In addition, we will interview up to 30 local authority adult safeguarding coordinators, to ask them to describe the way that safeguarding is organised locally and to give the reasons why it is organised in particular ways.
We will compare ways of organising safeguarding in local authorities. This could range from having specialist teams or workers to seeing it as the as the duty of all staff. In the second stage of the research, we will recruit six local authorities that operate different models of safeguarding. In these sites, we will analyse anonymised information collected by the authorities about referrals, investigations and outcomes. In addition, we will interview managers, care managers (or similar social workers), service users and carers/relatives/advocates, to collect further information on the costs, process and outcomes of safeguarding referrals.
In the final stage of the research, we will observe practice in both specialist safeguarding and other teams, and interview social workers, team managers, senior managers and local authority solicitors/legal services about their practice.
This will be the first UK study to compare different models of adult safeguarding practice and organisation. It will combine cost data, practice observation, analysis of records and interviews. Including people who have been involved in safeguarding referrals and investigations will be a small but important element of the study, as we recognise that the participation of many alleged victims/survivors may be limited in light of the frailty or severe disabilities including cognitive impairment of alleged victims/survivors and the fact that some may have died since their referral). We will include the perspectives of carers and advocates whose perspectives may shed light on the processes and outcomes. The aim is to produce material to help shape the practice and design of safeguarding services and practice for adults. It will inform the planning of local safeguarding policies, day-to-day safeguarding interventions, and more general social care practice.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
13/IEC08/0032
Date of REC Opinion
13 Aug 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion