Information and Communication Technologies in the Welfare Services

Information technology is changing the role, responsibilities and practices of social care professionals, as well as policy and management within the field. Bringing together leading academics to discuss the application of new information technology (IT) in health and social care, this text examines a variety of technologies, including the Internet, multimedia and online communities. The contributors take a balanced approach, highlighting the anxiety and unease as well as the advantages brought about by these developments in technology and the resulting change in responsibilities. They also explore the wider implications of the changes in relations between experts, professionals and lay people that technology has brought about. Discussing issues such as child abuse and the Internet, computer mediated self-help and collaborative learning, Information and Communication Technologies in the Welfare Services is a ground-breaking book in the field of social care, bringing well-researched and up-to-date discussion of all aspects of information technology to those working and studying in health and social care.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Information and communications technologies in the welfare Services: Wired Wonderland or Hypertext Hell? Elizabeth Harlow, University of Bradford. Part 1. Social Work and Social Care. 1. The Caring Professions and Information Technology: In search of a theory. Nick Gould, University of Bath. 2. Using the Internet for Evidence Based Practice. Mark Watson, National Institute of Social Work. 3. Real Records, Virtual Clients. Annie Huntington, University of Salford and Bob Sapey, University of Lancaster. 4. Technology and systems of referral taking in Social Services: From Narrative to Code. Suzanne Regan, University of Lancaster. 5. Internet Child Abuse. Brian Relph, Luton Borough Council Children Service and Stephen Webb, University of Bradford. Part 2. Health and Welfare. 6.Information Technology and the Organisation of patient care. Walter Sermeus, University of Leuven. 7. Health, collaborative learning and the collapse of professionalism? The Information Brothel Joe Cullen, The Tavistock Institute. 8. From Self-Service Welfare to Virtual Self-Help. Nicholas Pleace, University of York, Roger Burrows, University of York, Brian Loader, University of Teeside, Sarah Nettleton, University of York and Steve Muncer, University of Durham. 9. Consumers, the Internet and Reconfiguration of expertise. Michael Hardey, University of Southampton.10. Conclusion: Technologies of Care Stephen Webb, University of Bradford. References. Index.

About the Author :
Elizabeth Harlow is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Bradford. She has authored and edited books on a variety of social work issues Stephen A. Webb is Lecturer in Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Bradford. He has published widely in the fields of social work theory and values and issues relating to child protection and gender.

Review :
This book provides an overview of the role of information technology in health and social care. Sociological and political perspectives are presented by academics within the context of a balanced discussion of the pros and cons of information technology for practitioners and service-users. Case studies are presented that are likely to enhance understanding of practical issues within health and social care. Harlow and Webb's edited collection provides an illuminating insight into the use and potential abuses of employing information and communication technology (ICT) within health and welfare services. The book offers a range of case studies, which describe, discuss and critique various types of ICT (e.g. Websites, chat rooms, databases, newsgroups) and their application to different health and welfare settings. This reader has a section entitled "Wired Wonderland or Hypertext Hell", which reflects the contributors varied approach to IT and new communication technologies. They explore and discuss their applications in health and social care, highlighting both anxieties and unease and the advantages new technologies can bring. The section covers caring professions and IT; using the internet for evidence-based practice; real records and virtual clients (covering matters like tick-box approaches to care); technology and systems of referral-taking in social services; internet child abuse. The second section focuses on health and welfare, covering: IT and the organisation of patient care; health, collaborative learning and "the collapse of professionalism"; consumers, the internet and the reconfiguration of expertise. This is a thoughtful and challenging publication. Some of the chapters are written in a lucid and accessible style, so the book ought to appeal to a wide cross-section of readers. The introduction, for example, gives a highly readable overview of the history of the development of technologies across a range of welfare services.