Enlarging the Caring Capacity of the Community
Informal Support Networks and the Welfare State
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23185367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alan Walker (0000-0002-7576-3948) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 369-386 |
| Publication date | 1987-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Health Services (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7314 • E-ISSN: 1541-4469 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2190/q4x5-ac1d-lbg0-5l63 |
| PMID | 3623774 |
| OpenAlex | W2018748493 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 13 |
In common with most modern industrial societies, Great Britain is facing the unique late 20th century phenomenon of rapidly increasing numbers of people, especially very elderly people, requiring health and social care. The response in Britain has been to search for ways to enlarge the caring capacity of the “community” and, thereby, reduce the demands on public health and social services. Similar policy responses have been developed in other capitalist societies such as Canada, France, and the United States. Although a policy of “community care”-the provision of state services in people's own homes-was followed by governments of both major British political parties over the postwar period, under the right wing neo-monetarist regime of the present Thatcher administration the locus of policy has shifted toward encouraging greater reliance on the informal support networks of kin, friends, and neighbors. The reasons for this sea-change are explored and the assumptions that these networks are “natural” and necessarily the proper matrix of care are examined critically. This analysis draws on the results of recent research which indicates that informal support networks have significant limitations and that a policy based on withdrawing public services in the hope that these networks will fill the growing care gap is likely to be counterproductive. In conclusion, the author indicates the areas where further research is required to provide a sound basis for policy.
Economic growth · Economics · Health care · Political science · Politics · Public policy · Social policy · Social Welfare · Sociology · State (computer science) · Welfare · Welfare state · Employment and Welfare Studies · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Informal care-two-tiered care? The work of family members and friends in hospitals and cancer centres
The Relationship Between the Family and the State in the Care of Older People
Health on borrowed time? Prioritizing and meeting needs in low-income households
Housing for health in a post‐welfare state
Evolution across two revolutions
Looking after the old folks
The informal sector of welfare
Éclatement ou recomposition du social ? Quelques réflexions à partir de la situation du Québec et d'ailleurs
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,21 |
| Citation span | 1987 - 2015 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |