Preston-Shoot, Michael

Many of us may be able to remember the general air of excitement that surrounded the writing and publishing of “No Secrets” (Department of Health, 2000) and “In Safe Hands”(Welsh Assembly Government, 2000), although we might wish we were young enough not to! At the time, the documents generated mixed feelings amongst service users/customers and carers as well as professionals/practitioners.

Differences in perspective between clients, carers and practitioners are familiar from the literature. Findings from two research projects are reported here, which identify mismatched perspectives and appear to question the foundations on which community care policy and practice rest. The article discusses features of the policy and practice context that contribute to the likelihood of divergent views about need and appropriate or effective service provision within community care.

The systematic review methodology literature refers to the importance of involving stakeholders, including service users and carers, in the research. However, compared with other aspects of the methodology, this aspect of conducting systematic reviews is underdeveloped and the practice of involvement appears highly variable. This article draws on the experience of working with service users and carers in one systematic review to review the barriers to participation and the components of effective involvement.