Levels of dependency in local authority homes for the elderly

Abstract

The authors report the results from an interim analysis of a census of residents in homes for the elderly in four local authority social services departments. The census was undertaken by the Joint Unit for Social Services Research at Sheffield University, which brings together academic research workers and senior research staff from local authority social services departments and allied agencies. It was designed to provide a broad picture of the characteristics of residents and the patterns of dependency. Throughout the paper the authors have used the concept of dependency in preference to the notion of functional handicap in order to convey how the abilities and incapacities which residents present may be seen in part as a quality or consequence of their relationships with others - especially their careers - rather than simply as personal attributes rooted in the facts of illness, impairment, or old age.