Rationales for service user participation in social care: A regulatory perspective

Abstract

This study examined the regulator's perspective on service user participation in social care. To date, empirical research has focused on the participatory methods themselves rather than on regulators' motivations for using them. Drawing on case studies of social care regulators in England (Care Quality Commission), Australia (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission), and Sweden (Health and Social Care Inspectorate), we identified three distinct rationales for promoting service user participation: gaining public trust and legitimacy, improving regulatory processes, and empowering service users. Each rationale embeds different underlying assumptions about the contribution of service users to the regulatory process and the regulator's role to promote it. Furthermore, these distinct assumptions are associated with participatory methods that reflect different participatory approaches: democratic or consumerist, collective, or individual.