equality and access

Equality and access: balancing research perspectivesJO MORIARTY

ESRC SEMINAR SERIES: AGEING, RACE AND ETHNICITY

Ageing, Race & Ethnicity Seminar

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Outline

'Equality and access: developing research frameworks that balance the concerns of researchers, policymakers and practitioners'

Use personal experience on different research projects looking at ethnicity and ageing and other research

Discuss Where we are

What progress can we make

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Who wrote this?

‘Our personal experience of conferences and seminars on the subject is that some misunderstandings are still quite common .... Despite such misconceptions it has often been argued at the same conferences and seminars that too much ink has been spilled on reports and surveys. Are older people [from black and minority ethnic groups] and their needs over researched? Has research taken the place of, or priority over, action?’

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The answer

Blakemore, K. & Boneham, M. (1994) Age, Race and Ethnicity: A Comparative Approach, Open University Press, Buckingham, p. 9

Changed ‘black’ in original to black and minority ethnic groups

Misconceptions still exist ‘Over researched’ astonishing then but

would still be surprising now!30 October

2013


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Starting with….

SOME GENERAL ISSUES:

Impact

Policy pressures

Practitioners’ access to research

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Achieving impact

Impact now a major criteria in judging success of research Looks at whether

research makes a difference outside academic context

Challenges in quantifying this Short term or long term?

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The Study in 10 Downing Street. Credit: Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC/Crown Copyright/PA Wire


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Evidence based policy

Famous Tony Blair quotation ‘What matters is what works?’

Read chapters such as ‘research sometimes matters’ to see how we could influence policy

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Unfortunately....‘A simple prescription would be to review the scientific evidence of what would make a difference, formulate policies, and implement them—evidence based policy making. Unfortunately this simple prescription, applied to real life, is simplistic. The relation between science and policy is more complicated. Scientific findings do not fall on blank minds that get made up as a result. Science engages with busy minds that have strong views about how things are and ought to be’

Marmot, 2004

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Perhaps more realistically..

More often now see references to ‘policy based evidence’ Pressures on government funded researchers to

produce findings supporting policy

More accurately, it’s an issue about what sort of research is funded

Greater acknowledgement that other factors as well as ‘evidence’ have to influence political decisions

Apocryphal quotation: “I have made up my mind, don’t confuse me with the facts.”

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10Equality impact assessments

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Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images. November 2012

[The Equality Act was] not a bad

piece of legislation [but] we don't need all this extra tick-box stuff. So I can tell you today, we are calling time on

equality impact assessments.."


11Recognise differences

Researchers ‘Longer it takes to do a

research study the better it is’ (Choi et al, 2005)

Might spend lifetime working on a particular issue

May concentrate on a specific narrow issue

Policymakers Answers usually needed

instantly

Move between different subject areas

Looking for broad solutions

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12Accountabilities: two communities thesis (Innvaer et al 2002)

The taxpayer

Research funders

Journal editors

Government

Political parties

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Adapted from Choi et al, 2005


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Practitioners

Rise in number of practitioner research studies (Shaw & Lunt, 2011)

But not clear how many enter public domain Barriers to getting published

Extent to which practitioners engage with research is variable SCWRU research on social work education

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14Enrolments on social work post qualifying awards 2006-2011

Combine

d pa

thway

Lead

ersh

ip a

nd m

anag

emen

t

Men

tal h

ealth

Prac

tice

educ

ation

Socia

l wor

k with

adu

lts

Childre

n, you

ng p

eople,

their f

amilie

s and

car

ers

0

2000

4000

6000

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CPD and social workers

Amounts to just under 12k enrolments

Represents about 14 per cent of those working in statutory social work with children and adults (Moriarty, 2012)

Although need to take account of those holding predecessor awards and undertaking other types of CPD, most CPD is probably self directed

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16Engaging with rest of social care sector

Need to take account of diversity of sector Only 12 per cent of people working in adult social

care work for a local council

Overwhelming majority in private sector

Ranges from large private equity companies to small ‘mom and pop’ care homes

40,626 establishments (Eborall et al, 2010)

About 25 per cent in voluntary sector (Eborall et al, 2010)

Policy of personalisation has led to increasing numbers of self employed people – no precise numbers on self funders

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Older people themselves

What difference can research make to lives of older people from minority ethnic groups and their carers?

‘Let’s move on’ (Butt and O’Neil, 2004)

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Summary

Researchers, policymakers, older people, and practitioners have different reasons for using research and this influences what they are concerned about

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Moving onto research about ethnicity

SOME REASONS WHY IT’S DIFFICULT

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Equality Act 2010 (1)

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Rationalised existing anti-discrimination legislation For example, race & gender

New provisions For example, indirect discrimination

against people with a disability

Most provisions came into force October 2010

Age discrimination October 2012


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Nine ‘protected characteristics’ age

disability

gender reassignment

marriage and civil partnership*

pregnancy and maternity*

race

religion or belief

sex

sexual orientation

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Equality Act 2010 (2)

*Excluded from review as relate to

paid employment


22Impact of Equality Act 2010

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Scoping review for Age UK

Focus on impact of Equality Act 2010 on five key services: Falls prevention

Day services

Befriending

Home from hospital

Handyperson schemes


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What we found

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Very little research focuses specifically on issues of equality and diversity

Routine monitoring for different protected characteristics uneven Religious belief

Sexual orientation and sexual identity

Differing reporting standards ‘Strikingly short on detail’ (Glasby et al,

2006)

William Harrigan and Claude Rains ‘The Invisible Man’


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Produces very limited evidence base

NB: Illustrative example – not precise search


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What intersectionality?


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Why so difficult?

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Very little research focuses specifically on issues of equality and diversity

Routine monitoring for different protected characteristics uneven Religious belief

Sexual orientation and sexual identity

Differing reporting standards ‘Strikingly short on detail’ (Glasby et al,

2006)

William Harrigan and Claude Rains ‘The Invisible Man’


27Relationship with medical research (1)

High proportion of research on ethnicity and ageing concentrates on people needing health and social care support

Implications of Reporting standards on ethnicity

Exclusion of people from black and minority ethnic groups from clinical trials (Hussain Gambles et al, 2004, 2006)

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28Relationship with medical research (2)

Risk of following particular agendas

Implications of Reporting standards on

ethnicity

Exclusion of people from black and minority ethnic groups from clinical trials (Hussain Gambles et al, 2004, 2006)

Mainstreaming research agendas (see right)

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Making it better

BETTER REPORTING

CHOICE OF TOPIC

WAY WE RESPOND TO LANGUAGE BARRIERS

RECOGNISING EXPERTISE THAT IS OUT THERE

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Better reporting

It has been suggested (Sterling, 2011) that journal editors should only publish articles reporting on ethnicity (or giving a good reason why the information is absent)

Analogy here with ethics reporting

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Discussion on sampling

Practical issues of recruiting diverse samples have been debated Multiple sampling strategies (Moriarty &

butt, 2004)

Issues for qualitative researchers Cautious to question under representation

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Choosing research topics

Deliberately focused on areas with comparatively few BAME people

Strong theme among practitioners was how unskilled they felt Fear of ‘saying the

wrong thing’

Not ‘meeting needs’

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‘Outreach’ research

Small project for Age UK on diverse and accessible services

NIHR SSCR research on social care practice with carers

Role of specialist workers Struck by informants’ expertise

‘Squaring the circle’ between researchers, policymakers and practitioners

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Translation/interpreting

Often couched only in terms of risks of using family members

Discussion about translation almost absent from textbooks on qualitative analysis

What is impact on data quality

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BIAS ALERT!


35Summary: things I’ve learned

Nobody else apart from researchers/funders are interested in methodology Unless they want to criticise your findings

BAME older people do want to engage and discuss research Need to engage on their terms

Practitioners are an under used resource

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Disclaimer

We acknowledge the contribution of the Policy Research Programme at the Department of Health for its support for the Unit

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Department of Health

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equality and access

Healthcare