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Research

Dr. Sarah Earle, Associate Dean (Research) talks about our research

Transcript of this podcast (pdf)

The Faculty of Health & Social Care has a thriving research community that is engaged in leading-edge research. We have a strong multi-disciplinary focus and a distinctive record of developing innovative methodological approaches to research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise 60% of our research was judged to be world-class or internationally excellent (under Social Work, Social Policy and Administration), putting us in the top third of UK and Irish Universities.

Through engagement with practitioners, policy-makers and the wider academy our research activity is at the heart of the faculty’s mission to transform lives through health and social care education and practice. Our research underpins and informs all of our teaching and provides a springboard for public engagement and knowledge transfer.

Research

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Research highlights

A Better Life - what older people with high support needs value

As part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation A Better Life programme Open University researchers Jeanne Katz, Caroline Holland and Sheila Peace have investigated what older people with high physical and mental support needs say they want and value in their lives.  The recently published report A Better Life - what older people with high support needs value explores the views of older people, the factors that help or hinder them and proposes a model which demonstrates how their needs could be met. 

Protecting our children: Valuable lessons for Social Work

Following the OU/BBC series Protecting our children, Dr Lucy Rai, senior social work lecturer at the Open University, reflects on its impact in Community Care Online. 

At a loss documentary

In this audio documentary, parents who consented to post-mortem, and parents who did not, talk about the circumstances of their child's death.