Correction: Supported: Supporting, enabling, and sustaining homecare workers to deliver end-of-life care: A qualitative study protocol.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291525.].

Supported: Supporting, enabling, and sustaining homecare workers to deliver end-of-life care: A qualitative study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Homecare workers provide essential care at home for people at end-of-life but are often poorly trained and supported. AIM: To explore the experiences and needs of homecare workers and the views of homecare clients and carers, and other community-based health and social care staff about the homecare worker role, including identification of good practice. METHODS: In this qualitative exploratory study, we will conduct 150 semi-structured interviews with homecare workers within three geographic English localities chosen for maximum socio-demographic variation. Eligible participants will be consenting adults providing care services (workers [n = 45], managers [n = 15] community practitioners [n = 30]), receiving care (clients thought to be in the last 6 months of life [n = 30], family carers [n = 15], or commissioners of homecare services supporting end-of-life care [n = 15]. Interviews may adopt a Pictor-guided or standard semi-structured approach according to their preference. Managers and commissioners can contribute to an online focus group if preferred. A range of recruitment strategies will be used, including through homecare agencies, local authorities, local NHS services, charities, voluntary sector groups and social media. Interviews and focus groups will be recorded, transcribed, anonymised, and analysed adopting a case-based approach for each geographic area within-case and then comparison across cases using reflexive thematic analysis. The design and analysis will be informed by Bronfenbrenner's Adapted Ecological Systems theory. This study is registered on the Research Registry (No.8613). CONTRIBUTION: We will provide evidence on ways to improve the experiences and address the needs of homecare workers in relation to caring for people nearing end-of-life. It will offer insight into good practice around supporting homecare workers including responding to their training and development needs. Findings will inform subsequent stages of an evaluation-phase study of a training resource for homecare workers.

The experience of living alone as an older woman in the UK during the Covid pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: More people are living alone across the life course: in later life this can have implications for practical and psychosocial support. The Covid pandemic emphasised the importance of this when the UK government restricted movement outside of households to limit the spread of disease. This had important ramifications regarding social contact and practical support. The objectives of this study were to explore the experience of older women living alone during this time, with a focus on health and wellbeing. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study used an Interpretative Phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seven women (aged 65 +), living alone in the UK. Interviews were carried out between May and October 2020. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. RESULTS: Findings show that life course events shaped how living alone was experienced in later life. Convergences and divergences in lived experience were identified. Three superordinate themes emerged from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Productivity, Ownership, and Interconnectedness. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings highlight the importance of life course events in shaping the experience of later life. They also provide a better understanding of the lived experience of living alone as an older woman, increasing knowledge of this group and how living alone can affect health and wellbeing. Implications for research and practice are discussed, such as the importance of recognising the specific support needs for this group in later life, and the need for further knowledge about groups whose needs are not met by standard practice.

Assessing potential brief screening questions for use within different social care-related contexts to identify individuals experiencing gambling-related harms: A scoping review.

Gambling-related harms are increasingly recognised as public health concerns internationally. One response is to improve identification of and support for those affected by gambling-related harms, including individuals who gamble and those close to them, 'affected others'. Adult social care services have been identified as a setting in which screening for gambling-related harms is suitable and desirable. To achieve this, a tool is required which can identify gambling-related harms experienced by individuals and affected others. This scoping review aimed to identify whether any brief (i.e. three questions or less) screening tools are being used and, if so, how brief screening for gambling-related harm is being implemented in health and social care-related contexts. An international English language scoping review of research and grey literature was undertaken between April and July 2021. The search included single-item and brief screening tools which have been developed to identify gambling-related harms for individuals and affected others across a range of health and social care-related contexts. Findings show that screening tools for gambling-related harms have been developed for use in health settings rather than in social care contexts. For example within gambling, mental health or substance misuse support services. We found no evidence of a brief or single-item screening tool for identifying harms to individuals and affected others which is of adequate quality to strongly recommend for use in an adult social care setting. Development of a validated brief or single-item screening tool is recommended to assist adult social care practitioners to effectively screen, identify, support and signpost people affected by gambling-related harms.

The health and well-being of older women living alone in the United Kingdom and beyond: a scoping review.

In the United Kingdom (UK), women are more likely to live alone in later life. Social factors such as household composition have been shown to affect health and wellbeing as we age. The health and well-being of older women who live alone are of interest to researchers, care providers, health organizations, and policymakers. This article contributes to the literature by detailing a scoping review, establishing the current evidence in this field. The purpose and context of the review are given. The methodology and resulting data are described. Gaps in the literature and implications for practice and research are given.