This essay aims to discuss the ways in which service user involvement can help to address power imbalances in health and social care. It will firstly discuss the notion of power and the ways in which power is shown in certain situations and relationships. It will then go on to discuss what is meant by power imbalances and explain the reasons why power imbalances emerge within health and social care, and the impacts they could have on service users. Lastly it will discuss the ways in which service user involvement can address power imbalances by looking at theoretical ideas, such as the three concepts of power and Arnstein’s (1969) ladder of participation. It will also use evidence from an article written by Aideen McDonnell (2015) called ‘Transitioning:
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9). This gave service providers considerable power and control over service users in terms of defining sickness, health or insanity. This imbalance of power meant that anybody service providers saw as diseased or mentally defective would be segregated from society, spending their lives in institutions and having little to no power to make even the most basic of decisions about their care. This can be seen even today in McDonnell’s (2015) study, when one of the interviewees states ‘in college you were taught that these are the mad people, these are insane and we are there to help them’ (informant 3 cited in McDonnell, 2015, p. 15).
Despite this, the medical model has been hugely beneficial for health and social care, helping to tackle some of the largest causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. With the advancements of science and knowledge through the years, ‘the detailed training needed to practice medicine or provide complicated social care safely, make it highly appropriate that practice should be restricted to the ‘professionals’’ (MacKian, 2010, p. …show more content…
Illich (1976) cited in MacKian (2010, p. 11) suggested that ‘medical care enslaves people rather than freeing them, making people less self sufficient and less able to care for themselves.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, there was escalating public and political pressure about increasing the power of users of health and social care services. Changing social and political views about service provision began to challenge the dominant powers of professionalisation and medicalisation, and began to reflect Illich’s argument about service users being ‘competent participants in the process’ (MacKian, 2010, p. 11).
With the widespread access to information due to advances in technology, and the growth of service user support groups, the balance of power started to change and service users found they had other forms of power which enabled them to participate in their care.
Underpinning this power was a redefinition of the relationship between service users and service providers. Moving from the lay-professional model where the service provider had the power, to a consumerist model where the service user has much greater power to be an active participant in their
9). This gave service providers considerable power and control over service users in terms of defining sickness, health or insanity. This imbalance of power meant that anybody service providers saw as diseased or mentally defective would be segregated from society, spending their lives in institutions and having little to no power to make even the most basic of decisions about their care. This can be seen even today in McDonnell’s (2015) study, when one of the interviewees states ‘in college you were taught that these are the mad people, these are insane and we are there to help them’ (informant 3 cited in McDonnell, 2015, p. 15).
Despite this, the medical model has been hugely beneficial for health and social care, helping to tackle some of the largest causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. With the advancements of science and knowledge through the years, ‘the detailed training needed to practice medicine or provide complicated social care safely, make it highly appropriate that practice should be restricted to the ‘professionals’’ (MacKian, 2010, p. …show more content…
Illich (1976) cited in MacKian (2010, p. 11) suggested that ‘medical care enslaves people rather than freeing them, making people less self sufficient and less able to care for themselves.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, there was escalating public and political pressure about increasing the power of users of health and social care services. Changing social and political views about service provision began to challenge the dominant powers of professionalisation and medicalisation, and began to reflect Illich’s argument about service users being ‘competent participants in the process’ (MacKian, 2010, p. 11).
With the widespread access to information due to advances in technology, and the growth of service user support groups, the balance of power started to change and service users found they had other forms of power which enabled them to participate in their care.
Underpinning this power was a redefinition of the relationship between service users and service providers. Moving from the lay-professional model where the service provider had the power, to a consumerist model where the service user has much greater power to be an active participant in their