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mode of living. This work is carried out mainly by
health visitors, field workers in the Children's Department,
voluntary agencies such as the NSPCC, and
sometimes by a special home help provided as a free
service, who by precept and example encourages the
mother to manage both her home and family to better
effect and balance her budget. In one instance the
whole family was sent away to a special home for
training, and later were rehoused by the borough in
another district where they could make a fresh start.
It is generally desirable to improve the accommodation,
but due to the housing shortage this is often
difficult, though the Housing Officer is asked to assist.
Case conferences are regularly called by the
Children's Officer as co-ordinating officer, to discuss
selected families, and these are attended by health
visitors and other social workers in an endeavour to
rehabilitate families with established problems or in
need of social 'first aid'. Families are also reclassified,
when appropriate, according to improvement in
standard of living and child care.
Health Education
Talks, supported by appropriate displays were given
and films were shown at mothercraft sessions at all
local health authority clinics. At one clinic, husbands
accompanied their wives at evening sessions.
Lectures on health subjects were given by medical
officers and health visitors to several adult groups
and mothers' clubs.
A successful course on preparation for retirement
was given to the employees of a large firm and a series
of talks was given on this subject at one of the further
education establishments.
Talks on the dangers of smoking and on venereal
diseases were given to a group of teenagers and
arrangements have been made to approach further
groups of adolescents and students through various
organisations and the technical colleges.
The medical and nursing staff were shown films
and given talks on a number of topics and these were
followed by lively discussions.
The Hounslow Project
Mr E Heimler, who holds the combined post of
Social Work Organiser and Advisor on Health
Education has with the help of Miss lulia Dighton,
Psychiatric Case Worker, commenced an operational
research project known as the Hounslow Project,
which is a direct continuation of experiments
previously carried out under the former Middlesex
County Council.
The first part of the project and pilot survey to find
out the community attitudes to the social services
provided by the borough was completed in June. A
random sample of residents taken from the 74 local
polling lists was taken and 357 persons were interviewed
by members of a group of social work students
and of a group of market research students. A
questionnaire was used and those interviewed were
given a list of the social services provided by the
borough.
The community represented by the pilot survey
considered health services to be of primary importance
and more than one-third of those interviewed gave
health as their first priority. About a quarter of the
sample gave welfare as a priority, one-fifth gave
education, and about one-tenth gave housing their
first priority. A good proportion, well over onequarter,
of the respondents felt that the needs of the
aged were inadequately met, anxiety about care of
old people was expressed by the young and old and
the high and low income groups.
The findings of the survey show that there is a
considerable group in the community with very real
problems ; they are the widows, and women who are
divorced or separated. They would appear to have
considerable difficulties in raising their children and
maintaining themselves.
The aims of the project are—
1. To explore in greater depth through a group
approach the areas of primary social function as
revealed by the pilot survey and the needs of the
various groups at risk.
2. To carry out a concurrent survey to attempt to
discover the attitude towards and the experience
in preventive work of the social workers in the
various departments of the borough.
The method by which these aims will be achieved
is to conduct an investigation of the community
attitudes through group discussions. A limited number
of pilot groups have been undertaken, but it is
intended to increase and extend the groups to include
the following—
School leavers
Mothers expecting their first child
Mothers with handicapped children
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