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Abstract
Gambling is increasingly seen as a public health rather than an individual problem. Opportunities to gamble have grown in England in the last decade since the liberalisation of the gambling industry. This exploratory study investigated the experiences of 21 practitioners about gambling among adults with social care needs. Practitioners were interviewed about their understanding of the risks to their clients arising from their own or others’ gambling participation, how they support clients in such circumstances and their views of how practice could be developed to better support clients experiencing gambling-related harm. Analysis revealed themes covering: (1) concerns about the pervasiveness and appeal of gambling; (2) lack of knowledge of the complexities surrounding gambling and gambling-related harm; (3) uncertainties about how to support adults with care and support needs at risk of gambling-related harm; (4) desire for professional development activities. This study highlights practitioners’ concern about gambling-related harm and their wish for guidance about good practice in this area.
Acknowledgements
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and should not be interpreted as those of the funder of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit, the NIHR Policy Research Programme, or the Department of Health and Social Care or the NHS. We are most grateful to all participants and to the Unit’s advisory group for their input into this study.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Stephanie Bramley
Stephanie Bramley is a Research Associate at the Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King's College London and is an expert on gambling studies. Stephanie's research interests include the design and promotion of gambling products, responsible gambling, gambling amongst vulnerable populations and the impacts of gambling.
Caroline Norrie
Caroline Norrie is a Research Fellow at the Social Care Workforce Research Unit and has varied research interests including older people and care homes; interprofessional working; adult safeguarding; gambling-related harm; and professional migration.
Jill Manthorpe
Jill Manthorpe is a Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London; she has interests in social work and social care workforce research.