How might shared decision-making meetings reduce the need for children to be in care? A rapid realist review

Stabler, Lorna, O'Donnell, Chloe, Forrester, Donald ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2293-5718, Diaz, Clive ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5681-9056, Willis, Simone ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3949-7651 and Brand, Sarah 2024. How might shared decision-making meetings reduce the need for children to be in care? A rapid realist review. Journal of Social Work 10.1177/14680173241258891

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Abstract

Summary Meetings to enhance shared decision-making, such as family group conferences, potentially contribute to enhancing meaningful involvement of families. Such meetings are also claimed by some to reduce the need for children to be in care, either by increasing support from family for parents or by identifying care from within the family network. This rapid realist review aims to develop an understanding of how meetings that facilitate shared decision-making between professionals and families might work to safely reduce the need for children to be in care. It identifies mechanisms that are thought to make a difference and contextual factors that influence the impact of identified mechanisms. Findings A comprehensive search of academic and gray literature identified 64 documents spanning seven types of shared decision-making meetings. Data from these papers were collected using an iterative process of juxtaposition, comparison, contrast, and combination with a developing program theory. Data from the literature was supplemented with consultation to ensure relevance to the UK setting. The review identified three key mechanisms that made shared decision-making meetings more likely to be effective in safely reducing children's entry to care: enabling participation and engagement; building trust and reducing shame; enabling participation in decision-making processes. It describes how these work before, during, and after meetings. Applications The findings help us understand the complicated research findings about the relationship between meetings and care entry and provide a theory about what is needed to make such meetings work that is of practical use for practice and future research

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Academic & Student Support Service Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1741-296X
Funders:	Department for Education, Health and Care Research Wales
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 September 2024
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2024 11:01
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/172269

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