Care in the community: a study of the differences between two residences

SUMMARY The study examined the concept of “care” used by professional staff in one Social Service and one Health Service environment serving the community. Information was collected by using the children's Day Schedule which gave detailed information on what happened to each child. The results showed that children were treated as individuals within the group setting and “care” must cater for this, that orientation of care is influenced by factors other than initial training, and that good staffing levels are the key to good care.