or renewals in treatments, policies and even the standard of care. There are
different types of research and this varies depending on what topic or situation is
being looked into. There are studies in laboratories, which is mainly for scientific
research such as analysing and observing people with different medical
conditions. This helps them find new ways to treat illnesses and diseases
through developing the necessary medication or prevention method. Some of
the people that can carry out research can be healthcare professionals such as
doctors, psychologists, sociologists as well as the main professionals,
researchers. Sometimes the members of the public as well as service users such
as patients and carers, can be involved in the research.
The function of research in health and social care is to help identify the needs of
the people. This is done to ensure that all the needs of the individuals are
identified and met through health and social care professionals which are
responsible in planning care. The information that is gathered from different
professionals is then looked into as some people might have similar needs to
other people which could need similar treatments. But before the treatment can
be carried out, it is necessary to carry out the specific study or research project
to ensure it will be beneficial for the people involved.
It is also used to help plan provision of services as these types of projects are
expensive and take many years to be developed. There are many professionals
involved and responsible for this kind of planning such as Primary Care Trusts,
Strategic health authorities as well as local authorities as it is either a health or
social care service like hospitals, care homes or even nurseries, which means it
has to be a good investment for both medical professionals as well the members
of the public. This means that kind of service that is developed has to relate and
link to the research that is carried as the information has to be accurate. For
example feedback from patients in a GP surgery might lead to the new opening
of more evening appointments that are walk in and require no appointment
Research is also used in Health and Social care to help improve policies and
practise. For example, research that was carried out showed that elder people
tend to live longer in their own homes compared to residential homes, which led
to the local authorities recognising that due to the accurate research and
proceeding to close down residential homes. They then realised that it is more
beneficial for them to provide the elderly with more home-based care as it is
more efficient and useful as it has been shown through the statistics which was
found through the research.
Practise is something that can be identified by any health and social care
professional in order to improve the care received as they are responsible for
their service. This can be associated with the needs of individuals or even
improving the quality of care which can involve changing how the professionals
work together or even changing the care routine to match every one’s needs for
example observations from staff and feedback from patients can lead to more