Rachel Forrester-Jones
Biographic Data
| ID | 368681 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rachel Forrester-Jones |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rachel |
| FAMILY NAME | Forrester-Jones |
| SIGNATURE | FORRESTER-JONES R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Western University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6840-6715 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Factors That Affect Refugees’ Perceptions of Mental Health Services in the UK
The UNHCR reported that over 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of 2024, with the mental health of refugees emerging as a critical issue. In the UK, asylum seekers and refugees make up around 13% of immigrants and the number is increasing year on year. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 aimed to ensure that most cases of asylum seekers would be decided fairly, and within six months. However, it has been argued that…
Exploring the Role of Social Protection in UK Asylum-Seeker Wellbeing Using Human Scale Development Theory
This article utilises Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework (1991) to answer two research questions: what impact does government and community-based social protection (SP) have on UK asylum-seeker wellbeing; how are interactions with all forms of SP, both as giver and receiver, supporting or harming the satisfaction of asylum-seekers’ fundamental human needs at this time? The research study utilised a mixed-methods, collaborative, ca…
Living policy Labs
International audience
The dynamic effects of becoming disabled on work, wages and wellbeing in the UK from 1991 to 2018
Over recent decades it has consistently been shown that disabled adults in the UK fare worse in the labour market and have lower levels of wellbeing than non-disabled adults. However, this is in part due to the selection into dis-ability of those with existing socio-economic disadvantages. In this article, we use panel data from the combined British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, covering the 27 years from 1991 to 2018, to dist…
Exploring romantic need as part of mental health social care practice
The ability to form strong relationships is viewed as central to mental health recovery. Few studies have explored the experiences of people with mental health problems in forming or maintaining romantic relationships. Our study addressed this gap through conducting focus groups with ten people with mental health problems, six carers and six professionals. All three participant groups considered romantic relationships to be important aspects of w…
Human-Centred Design in UK Asylum Social Protection
This paper considers United Kingdom welfare provision for asylum seekers in the context of social protection scholarship, policy discourse more commonly associated with international development. Social protection definitions are contested, ranging from those focused on state provision to wider interpretations reflecting debates on holistic wellbeing, human rights and self-actualisation. Most recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development …
She misses the subtleties and I have to help – help to make the invisible visible’
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities often need support to develop and maintain intimate relationships; however, little is known regarding the role of family carers in this area. Focus groups were conducted with 19 family members to explore the support they provide to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to find a potential partner and any support they may have to provide to support/develop an existing relati…
An Exploratory Study of Attitudes toward Autism Amongst Church-Going Christians in the South East of England, United Kingdom
Access to church communities can be difficult for autistic people. Whilst specific autism guidelines are available for churches to follow, their dissemination among church communities, as well as churchgoers’ attitudes towards autism is unknown. Semi-structured interviews were used with twenty-one adult church-goers from four Protestant churches in England, UK. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze the data, three themes were identified: “d…
Communication and cross-examination in court for children and adults with intellectual disabilities
Courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have identified children and adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) as vulnerable witnesses. The call from the English Court of Appeal is for advocates to adjust questioning during cross-examination according to individual needs. This review systematically examined previous empirical studies with the aim of delineating the particular communication needs of children and adults with ID during cross-…
Including the ‘Spiritual’ Within Mental Health Care in the UK, from the Experiences of People with Mental Health Problems
Spirituality as a dimension of quality of life and well-being has recently begun to be more valued within person-centred treatment approaches to mental health in the UK. The aim of this paper is to provide indicators of the extent to which accessing a spiritual support group may be useful within mental health recovery from the view point of those in receipt of it. The study design was a small-scale exploratory study utilising mixed methods. Quant…
Austerity and the lives of people with learning disabilities. A thematic synthesis of current literature
The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to the…
Experiences of university life for students with Asperger’s Syndrome
Research has consistently shown that young people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) are likely to experience increased anxiety during new social situations; yet, studies have been regionally and culturally bound. The aim of this study was to explore how higher education students with AS experienced attending university in two European countries: the UK and Spain. The objective was to find out if experiences differed between the two countries in relat…
Learning in the real world? Exploring widening participation student views concerning the ‘fit’ between knowledge learnt and work practices
The aim of this research was to explore why workers in health and social services embarked on a Certificate in Community Care Practice and the extent to which they felt knowledge learnt related to their every‐day work practice. The objective was to indicate how useful more academic courses are for health and social care staff, and to find out the kinds of barriers to practicing theory learnt in the classroom students face in their ‘real world’ of…
Students' Perceptions of Teaching
This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating students' perceptions of lectures, seminars and modules in a university school of sociology and social policy. An anonymous questionnaire was used which incorporated both closed and open-ended questions. Results show that students thought lectures were well structured and audible, the latter being linked to easy note-taking. Lecturers were also viewed as enthusiastic and available for di…
The Quality of Life of People 12 Years after Resettlement from Long Stay Hospitals
We report service users' views on three important domains of their quality of life in the community 12 years after resettlement for long-stay hospitals. These concerned their living environments, daily activities and future aspirations. We asked a series of open questions as part of a structured interview with service users with learning disabilities (n = 196) and mental health problems (n = 102). The study is the longest reported follow-up of de…
Austerity and the lives of people with learning disabilities. A thematic synthesis of current literature
The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to the…
The Quality of Life of People 12 Years after Resettlement from Long Stay Hospitals
We report service users' views on three important domains of their quality of life in the community 12 years after resettlement for long-stay hospitals. These concerned their living environments, daily activities and future aspirations. We asked a series of open questions as part of a structured interview with service users with learning disabilities (n = 196) and mental health problems (n = 102). The study is the longest reported follow-up of de…
Human-Centred Design in UK Asylum Social Protection
This paper considers United Kingdom welfare provision for asylum seekers in the context of social protection scholarship, policy discourse more commonly associated with international development. Social protection definitions are contested, ranging from those focused on state provision to wider interpretations reflecting debates on holistic wellbeing, human rights and self-actualisation. Most recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development …
Living policy Labs
International audience
The Quality of Life of People 12 Years after Resettlement from Long Stay Hospitals
We report service users' views on three important domains of their quality of life in the community 12 years after resettlement for long-stay hospitals. These concerned their living environments, daily activities and future aspirations. We asked a series of open questions as part of a structured interview with service users with learning disabilities (n = 196) and mental health problems (n = 102). The study is the longest reported follow-up of de…
Students' Perceptions of Teaching
This paper reports on the findings of a study investigating students' perceptions of lectures, seminars and modules in a university school of sociology and social policy. An anonymous questionnaire was used which incorporated both closed and open-ended questions. Results show that students thought lectures were well structured and audible, the latter being linked to easy note-taking. Lecturers were also viewed as enthusiastic and available for di…
Learning in the real world? Exploring widening participation student views concerning the ‘fit’ between knowledge learnt and work practices
The aim of this research was to explore why workers in health and social services embarked on a Certificate in Community Care Practice and the extent to which they felt knowledge learnt related to their every‐day work practice. The objective was to indicate how useful more academic courses are for health and social care staff, and to find out the kinds of barriers to practicing theory learnt in the classroom students face in their ‘real world’ of…
Experiences of university life for students with Asperger’s Syndrome
Research has consistently shown that young people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) are likely to experience increased anxiety during new social situations; yet, studies have been regionally and culturally bound. The aim of this study was to explore how higher education students with AS experienced attending university in two European countries: the UK and Spain. The objective was to find out if experiences differed between the two countries in relat…
Including the ‘Spiritual’ Within Mental Health Care in the UK, from the Experiences of People with Mental Health Problems
Spirituality as a dimension of quality of life and well-being has recently begun to be more valued within person-centred treatment approaches to mental health in the UK. The aim of this paper is to provide indicators of the extent to which accessing a spiritual support group may be useful within mental health recovery from the view point of those in receipt of it. The study design was a small-scale exploratory study utilising mixed methods. Quant…
Austerity and the lives of people with learning disabilities. A thematic synthesis of current literature
The Financial Crisis of 2008 resulted in many western economies implementing cuts in health and social care. This systematic review provides a holistic picture of the impact of austerity policy on the lives of people with learning disabilities (LD) and the collateral effects on the people who support them. Our review suggests that in the current climate of economic austerity, available funding to support people with LD is no longer aligned to the…
Communication and cross-examination in court for children and adults with intellectual disabilities
Courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have identified children and adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) as vulnerable witnesses. The call from the English Court of Appeal is for advocates to adjust questioning during cross-examination according to individual needs. This review systematically examined previous empirical studies with the aim of delineating the particular communication needs of children and adults with ID during cross-…
An Exploratory Study of Attitudes toward Autism Amongst Church-Going Christians in the South East of England, United Kingdom
Access to church communities can be difficult for autistic people. Whilst specific autism guidelines are available for churches to follow, their dissemination among church communities, as well as churchgoers’ attitudes towards autism is unknown. Semi-structured interviews were used with twenty-one adult church-goers from four Protestant churches in England, UK. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze the data, three themes were identified: “d…
She misses the subtleties and I have to help – help to make the invisible visible’
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities often need support to develop and maintain intimate relationships; however, little is known regarding the role of family carers in this area. Focus groups were conducted with 19 family members to explore the support they provide to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to find a potential partner and any support they may have to provide to support/develop an existing relati…
Human-Centred Design in UK Asylum Social Protection
This paper considers United Kingdom welfare provision for asylum seekers in the context of social protection scholarship, policy discourse more commonly associated with international development. Social protection definitions are contested, ranging from those focused on state provision to wider interpretations reflecting debates on holistic wellbeing, human rights and self-actualisation. Most recently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development …
Exploring romantic need as part of mental health social care practice
The ability to form strong relationships is viewed as central to mental health recovery. Few studies have explored the experiences of people with mental health problems in forming or maintaining romantic relationships. Our study addressed this gap through conducting focus groups with ten people with mental health problems, six carers and six professionals. All three participant groups considered romantic relationships to be important aspects of w…
Living policy Labs
International audience
The dynamic effects of becoming disabled on work, wages and wellbeing in the UK from 1991 to 2018
Over recent decades it has consistently been shown that disabled adults in the UK fare worse in the labour market and have lower levels of wellbeing than non-disabled adults. However, this is in part due to the selection into dis-ability of those with existing socio-economic disadvantages. In this article, we use panel data from the combined British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, covering the 27 years from 1991 to 2018, to dist…
Factors That Affect Refugees’ Perceptions of Mental Health Services in the UK
The UNHCR reported that over 123.2 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of 2024, with the mental health of refugees emerging as a critical issue. In the UK, asylum seekers and refugees make up around 13% of immigrants and the number is increasing year on year. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 aimed to ensure that most cases of asylum seekers would be decided fairly, and within six months. However, it has been argued that…
Exploring the Role of Social Protection in UK Asylum-Seeker Wellbeing Using Human Scale Development Theory
This article utilises Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework (1991) to answer two research questions: what impact does government and community-based social protection (SP) have on UK asylum-seeker wellbeing; how are interactions with all forms of SP, both as giver and receiver, supporting or harming the satisfaction of asylum-seekers’ fundamental human needs at this time? The research study utilised a mixed-methods, collaborative, ca…
Psychology (11 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Mental health (5 works) · Qualitative research (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Social science (5 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works) · Economics (4 works)