The risk of users’ choice: exploring the case of direct payments in German social care

Do Cash-For-Care Schemes Increase Care Users' Experience of Empowerment? A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

In cash-for-care schemes, care users are granted a budget or given a voucher to purchase care services, under the assumption that this will enable them to become engaged and empowered customers, leading to more person-centered care. However, opponents of such schemes argue that the responsibility of organizing care is thereby shifted from governments to care users, thus reducing care users' experience of empowerment. The tension between these opposing discourses supposes that other factors affect care users' experience of empowerment.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review explores the experiences of empowerment and person-centered care of budget holders in cash-for-care schemes and the antecedents that can affect this experience.

METHOD

We screened seven databases up to October 10, 2022. To be included, articles needed to be peer-reviewed, written in English or French, and contain empirical evidence of the experience of empowerment of budget holders in the form of qualitative or quantitative data.

RESULTS

The initial search identified 10,966 records of which 90 articles were retained for inclusion. The results show that several contextual and personal characteristics determine whether cash-for-care schemes increase empowerment. The identified contextual factors are establishing a culture of change, supportive financial climate, flexible regulatory framework, and access to support and information. The identified personal characteristics refer to the financial, social, and personal resources of the care user.

CONCLUSION

This review confirms that multiple factors can affect care users' experience of empowerment. However, active cooperation and communication between care user and care provider are essential if policy makers wish to increase care users' experience of empowerment.

Will housing tenure drive unequal outcomes for Consumer-Directed Care recipients?

Initiatives to promote consumer choice are increasingly a feature of Australian welfare policies and programs. Consumer Directed Care (CDC) for older people and the National Disability Insurance Scheme for people younger than 65 years with a disability are two examples of this move towards consumer choice in policy and program development. The ability for service users to benefit from these programs is premised on the fact that their housing is stable and suitable. Yet, there is evidence that this is not the case, and many older people and people with disabilities experience significant housing challenges and stress. This article focuses on CDC and its implications for one particular group under housing stress - low-income older renters. Might they be at risk of limited access to home care services, and what are the broader local neighbourhood implications of this policy?

Perspectives of self-direction: a systematic review of key areas contributing to service users' engagement and choice-making in self-directed disability services and supports

Self-directed disability support policies aim to encourage greater choice and control for service users in terms of the health and social care they receive. The proliferation of self-directed disability support policies throughout the developed world has resulted in a growing amount of research exploring the outcomes for service users, and their families and carers. Our understanding of the issues faced by people with disabilities, particularly how they make health and social care decisions and the key areas that determine their engagement with service providers within a self-directed environment is limited. A synthesis of research is timely and can provide knowledge for service users and health and social care support providers to ensure their successful participation. A systematic review guided by the PRISMA approach explored (i) the key areas determining service users' engagement with self-directed disability services and supports, and (ii) how service users make informed decisions about providers. In October 2014 and April 2016, three databases - MEDLINE, CINAHL and Web of Science - were searched for research and review articles. Eighteen sources met the search criteria. Findings were mapped into either: key areas determining service user engagement, or service users' informed decision-making. Findings concerning key areas determining engagement fell into three themes - personal responsibility for budgeting, personalised approaches, and a cultural shift in practice and delivery among service providers. Findings about decision-making yielded two themes - supporting informed decision-making and inhibiting informed decision-making. Literature suggests that self-directed models of care may provide service users with increased control over the services that they receive. Increased control for some service users and their families requires independent external decision-making support, particularly around the domains of budgeting, planning and hiring. Future research must continue to investigate the perspectives of service users pertaining to their engagement, as their participation is central to the effectiveness of the approach.