People with learning disabilities may experience discrimination which prevents them from exercising choice and control over their right to participate in democratic processes. Design/Methodology/Approach Taking data collected by social workers during a campaign from the 2015 UK General Election, this paper analyses the variables associated with higher rates of democratic participation by people with learning disabilities. Findings The present authors undertook secondary analysis on data collected by social workers supporting adults with learning disabilities who were living in community housing units. 1,019 people with learning disabilities who were living in 124 community housing units in one English county gave consent to participate. 84% were registered to vote and 26% cast a vote on polling day. People were significantly more likely to cast a vote if they lived in a housing unit where they understood their rights (Wald 2 =4.896, p=0.027). Practical Implications Our analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that supporting people with learning disabilities to understand their right to participate in elections increases the likelihood they will cast a vote on a polling day. There are practical implications from this finding for commissioning practices, support planning, and education of health and social care practitioners. Originality Value This is the first study of this size which examines data from people with learning disabilities on their experience of democratic participation and the role of social work.

Significant progress has been made since the 1980s in supporting adults with learning disability to live independent lives in the community. In 2012, the Department of Health in England announced the latest policy initiative to further invest in community support for people with learning disabilities, Transforming Care. Building the right community supported living setting for people does not in isolation provide for a comprehensive strategy towards achieving a paradigm shift in how people with learning disabilities experience their full right to inclusion in their communities. We undertook a practice inquiry into the quality of life experienced by people with learning disabilities. Social workers chose the focus of the inquiry to be on people's evening routines to answer the questionwere people living in the community experiencing independence or did institutional routines define their lives. The findings were that 69% of people with a learning disability were either in bed or were ready for bed. There was evidence that institutionalised routines existed in the settings with an association between an early evening meal time and the person being ready for or in bed (p=0.0001 at Time 1 and p=0.051 at Time 2). Implications for social work practice are discussed. Care Quality Commission (2015b). Guidance for providers on meeting the fundamental standards and on CQC's enforcement power. [Online].

Optimizing heath care services for seniors in emergency departments (ED) is a core component of the "Senior Friendly Hospital Approach" being implemented in Quebec. We measured the availability of geriatric expertise in Quebec EDs and its relationship with ED characteristics such as university affiliation, number of stretchers, and geographical location.We surveyed (2013)(2014) head nurses and head physicians at 116 adult, non-psychiatric Quebec EDs. We defined high level of availability in the three following components of geriatric expertise: 1) geriatric care coordinatioN = a designated clinician coordinating the care of older adults available every day; 2) multidisciplinarity = 4 or 5 different nonmedical professionals, i.e., specialized nurse, social worker, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, and pharmacist, available almost always/often (nursereported); and 3) geriatric consultation = a specialist or a general practitioner specialized in geriatrics available almost always/often (physician-reported). We performed descriptive analyses and Fisher's exact test.Among participating EDs (N = 83), 73 (88%) nurses and 67 (81%) physicians participated in the survey. 18% of EDs had high level of geriatric care coordination, 41% provided high level of multidisciplinarity, and 33% received high level of geriatric consultation. We found that EDs that had greater number of stretchers were more likely to have high level of geriatric care coordination (p < .05) and consultation (p < .001). EDs in metropolitan areas were also more likely to receive high level of geriatric consultation (p < .01). High level of multidisciplinarity was not associated with any ED characteristics.2/5 of Quebec EDs provide high level of multidisciplinarity varying in their characteristics, whereas smaller and non-metropolitan EDs lack geriatric care coordination and consultation.There is a need for reorganisation and finding innovative ways to use existing human resources in Quebec EDs. Background: Use of potentially inappropriate medication (PIMs) in the hospitalized elderly can lead to adverse drug events, and contribute to geriatric syndromes. PIMs are frequently prescribed to elderly hospitalized patients, indicating the need to develop strategies to reduce their use. A Pharmacist-Physician Intervention Model Using a Computerized Alert System to Reduce High-Risk Medication Use in Elderly Inpatients Objectives:To assess 1) the applicability of a pharmacistphysician intervention model to reduce the use of highrisk medications and 2) the clinical relevance of the alerts generated by a computerized alert system (CAS). Methods:The study was conducted in patients aged 65 or older admitted to a teaching hospital between April and June 2014. In the intervention model, the pharmacist determined the clinical relevance of the CAS alerts, analyzed the patient's pharmacotherapy, and elaborated a geriatric pharmacotherapeutic plan to be discussed with the treating physician. The alerts were based on the Beers criteria. The main outcome was the change...

This paper outlines the approach taken and findings from a national social work practice development event, the MCA Call to Action. In