Building knowledge for policy and practice based on service user and carer experiences: A case study of Scottish adult safeguarding research

Abstract

SUMMARY: This paper offers Scottish adult safeguarding as a case study to illuminate some challenges of building knowledge for policy and practice based on service user and carer voices. It draws on five of our own research projects that have evaluated implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation and/or asked more exploratory questions about risk, safety and support. FINDINGS: We show how practical and ethical issues limited our more evaluative lines of inquiry. We then show how increasingly participative approaches led to studies that were more accessible and that connected more deeply with service users’ and carers’ lives, but that also faced greater challenges in the translation of their findings back into the policy and/or practice environment. APPLICATIONS: We conclude with an argument for ongoing dialogue between policy-makers, professionals, service users and carers, researchers, educators and students about knowledge, its different forms and sources, its generation and its use.