S.H.A.R.E and care: a qualitative study exploring the needs of service users engaging with S.H.A.R.E older person day centre in Cork city

O'Donoghue, Miriam

S.H.A.R.E and care: a qualitative study exploring the needs of service users engaging with S.H.A.R.E older person day centre in Cork city

Files

MiriamODonoghueCARLReport2019.pdf(838.38 KB)

Published Version

Date

2019-04-18

Authors

O'Donoghue, Miriam

Publisher

Community-Academic Research Links, University College Cork

Abstract

As Ireland’s ageing population grows, there is an increasing demand for services in the community to meet the needs of older people. One such service is the older person day centre in Cork city provided by the charity S.H.A.R.E. This dissertation seeks to explore the holistic needs of the service users that attend this day centre and to examine the role of the day centre in meeting these needs. As part of this qualitative study, semi structured interviews were undertaken with nine service users in S.H.A.R.E. The research found that the day centre meets five key needs as expressed by the service users themselves ranging from practical needs such as the provision of meals and assistance with personal care to psychosocial needs such as the need for social connection, the need to feel valued and the need for enjoyment. A review of the literature found that policy on day centres appear to place more emphasis on meeting the practical needs of older people rather than meeting more psychological needs such as the desire for enjoyment and fun. Underpinning this research is the theory of person-centred care which views service users as individuals in their own right with varying needs, wishes and preferences. The research concludes by offering a number of recommendations, based on the finding of the study, which may assist S.H.A.R.E in building upon an already inclusive and caring service and which may assist the social work profession in ensuring that person centred care is always at the heart of its practice.

Keywords

S.H.A.R.E. , Ireland’s ageing population , Needs of older people , Person-centred care

Citation

O’Donoghue, M. (2019) S.H.A.R.E and care: a qualitative study exploring the needs of service users engaging with S.H.A.R.E older person day centre in Cork city. Cork: Community-Academic Research Links, University College Cork.