Vulnerable groups in health and social care

209 Pages·2009·3.25 MB·English

by  Mary Larkin

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Vulnerable Groups in Health
and Social Care
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Vulnerable Groups in Health
and Social Care
Mary Larkin
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©MaryLarkin2009
Firstpublished2009
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For Shaun, Ruth and Matt
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Contents
List of illustrations viii
Introducing vulnerable groups 1
1 Lone parents 11
2 People with disabilities 29
3 Older people 47
4 Children 71
5 Ethnic minority groups 87
6 The mentally ill 104
7 The homeless 120
8 Asylum seekers and refugees 141
9 Concluding comments: the future for vulnerable
groups in health and social care 162

Glossary 166
References 174
Index 192
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List of
Illustrations
FIGURES
2.1 The medical model of disability 34
2.2 The social model of disability 35
3.1 People aged under 16 and over 65 in the UK 48
3.2 Age structure of UK population 49
3.3 Pensioners’ incomes 1994/1995 to 2003/2004 55
3.4 Percentage reporting chronic illness 56
3.5 Age-standardised rates of long-term illness or disability 57
3.6 Time spent on selected activities 58
5.1 Unemployment, 2004 90
5.2 Income poverty rates 92
5.3 Proportion of adults who have experienced a crime 92
5.4 Age-standardised limiting long-term illness 94
6.1 Weekly prevalence of neurotic disorders 108
6.2 Brown and Harr is’s model 109
7.1 Households owed the main homelessness duty 131
7.2 Households in temporary accommodation 132
8.1 Asylum seeker applicants, 2005–2007 145
TABLES
1.1 Household composition by tenure, 2005 18
2.1 Welfare-to-work strategies 41
6.1 Prevalence of neurotic disorders 108
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Introducing
Vulnerable
Groups
OVERVIEW
• The meaning of‘vulnerable’ and‘vulnerability’
• The definition of‘vulnerable groups’ used in this book
• The concepts of social exclusion and citizenship and their implications
for policies directed at vulnerable groups
• Outline of the content and format of the book
• Suggestions for further exploration of issues addressed in the chapter
THE CONCEPT OF ‘VULNERABLE’

Althoughtheword‘vulnerable’isnowwidelyusedinhealthandsocialcare,
its precise definition remains elusive. This is partly because of its univer-
sality and dynamism in that everyone becomes or feels vulnerable to a
greater or lesser extent at different times in their lives (Rogers, 1997;
Pritchard,2001).Therearealsomanyotherreasons.Theseincludethefact
thatithasavarietyofmeanings,suchasthatapersonisindanger,atrisk,
under threat, susceptible to problems, helpless, and in need of protection
and/support (Rogers, 1997; Sloboda, 1999; Spiers, 2000; Mawby, 2004;
Grundy,2006;Simpson,2006).Itsmeaningalsovariesaccordingtothecon-
text in which it is used. For instance, the Department of Health regards an
adultasbeing‘vulnerable’whenhe/sheis‘unabletotakecareofhimorher-
self’ (DOH, 2000, Section 2.3). In contrast, within youth justice the concept