| Abstract: | Correspondence to Dr Karen Ross, Centre for Policy and Health Research Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, The Park Campus, The Park, P.O. Box 220, Cheltenham, Glos. GL50 2QF. Summary The new focus on the importance of user involvement within arange of public services, as witnessed by legislation and policysuch as the NHS and Community Care Act (1990) and the Citizen'sand other Charters, has significant implicaions for the wayin which users will be encouraged to have a voice in serviceplanning and delivery. A crucial factor in the success of participativestrategies is training for both users and workers, to enableinvolvement and participation to be something more than token.This paper is based on a study which set out to explore thereality behind the rhetoric of user involvement in day careservices. It found that the most significant factor in determiningthe extent of user involvement in day centres was the organizationalculture of individual establishents. Empowering strategies weremore likely to exist in those centres where staff felt valuedand where senior officers were committed to the principle ofpower-sharing and partnership between users and workers: trainingwas rarely provided for users and workers as a matter of routine.A number of suggestions are made as to ways forward, in thelight of research findings. |
