Rights statement: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/div-classtitleefficacy-of-telephone-information-and-advice-on-welfare-the-need-for-realist-evaluationdiv/D6EF737186A89530E5796003E46BDD9B The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Social Policy and Society, 17 (1), pp 1-21 2016, © 2016 Cambridge University Press.
Accepted author manuscript, 225 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: None
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 01/2018 |
---|---|
<mark>Journal</mark> | Social Policy and Society |
Issue number | 1 |
Volume | 17 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-21 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 9/09/16 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
In the context of increased marketisation in welfare provision, formal information and advice (I&A) is widely assumed to enable users, as consumers, to make informed choices about services, support and care. There is emerging evidence that telephone I&A services represent important ways of providing such services. This article proposes a framework that identifies key areas of focus delineating the efficacy of I&A, which is then used in a comprehensive literature review to critique existing research on outcomes and/or impact of telephone I&A. Existing, predominately quantitative, research has critical weaknesses. There is a lack of adequate contextual focus, understanding agency, and how I&A is used in different contexts to influence causal processes. The article contends that the efficacy of I&A is not adequately reported and provides much needed theoretical clarity in key areas, including the desirability of further realist evaluation approaches.