IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i13p5933-d1689181.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A New Paradigm of Social Support: Circles of Support in Social Service Centers as a Tool for Systemic Change in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Izabela Grabowska

    (Warsaw School of Economics, Institute of Statistics and Demography, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland
    Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Bohdan Skrzypczak

    (Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialisation, University of Warsaw, 00-721 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

This study examines the feasibility of implementing circles of support for persons with disabilities within social service centers in Poland as a systemic solution promoting community-based support. The research follows the action research approach, combining theory and practice through participant involvement, reflection, cooperation, and change-oriented actions to address analyzed problems. The authors developed and tested the model in two diverse municipalities, analyzing legal, financial, and organizational dimensions. Results demonstrate that circles of support are legally feasible and financially sustainable, with approximate annual costs per participant comparable across different organizational models. Main challenges include limited funding and staff, especially in rural areas. Despite this, the model supports deinstitutionalization and can improve social inclusion, independence, and quality of life for people with disabilities. The study highlights the need for stable funding, thorough staff training, and coordination of formal and informal support, offering practical recommendations for scaling up such services in Poland.

Suggested Citation

  • Izabela Grabowska & Bohdan Skrzypczak, 2025. "A New Paradigm of Social Support: Circles of Support in Social Service Centers as a Tool for Systemic Change in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-15, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5933-:d:1689181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5933/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5933/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mithen, Johanna & Aitken, Zoe & Ziersch, Anne & Kavanagh, Anne M., 2015. "Inequalities in social capital and health between people with and without disabilities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 26-35.
    2. Berkers, Eline & Cloïn, Mariëlle & Pop, Ioana, 2021. "Informal help in a local setting: The Dutch Social Support Act in practice," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 47-53.
    3. Eden, Colin & Ackermann, Fran, 2018. "Theory into practice, practice to theory: Action research in method development," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 271(3), pages 1145-1155.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Camille Guirou & Laurent Beduneau-Wang, 2025. "Vizualizing & strategizing public value : Make it visible, make it public !," Post-Print halshs-05044452, HAL.
    2. Sarah Gerritsen & Sophia Harré & Boyd Swinburn & David Rees & Ana Renker-Darby & Ann E. Bartos & Wilma E. Waterlander, 2019. "Systemic Barriers and Equitable Interventions to Improve Vegetable and Fruit Intake in Children: Interviews with National Food System Actors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Ghobad Moradi & Amjad Mohamadi Bolbanabad & Farman Zahir Abdullah & Hossein Safari & Satar Rezaei & Abbas Aghaei & Siros Hematpour & Salahaddin Farshadi & Nima Naleini & Bakhtiar Piroozi, 2021. "Catastrophic health expenditures for children with disabilities in Iran: A national survey," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1861-1873, September.
    4. Vieira, Fabiana C. & Ferreira, Fernando A.F. & Govindan, Kannan & Ferreira, Neuza C.M.Q.F. & Banaitis, Audrius, 2022. "Measuring urban digitalization using cognitive mapping and the best worst method (BWM)," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Hongyi Sun & Wenbin Ni & Pee-Lee Teh & Amrik Sohal, 2025. "An agent-mediated and entrepreneurship-oriented model for assessing high technology transfer," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 19-38, March.
    6. Engin, Ayşegül & Franco, L. Alberto & Rouwette, Etiënne A.J.A., 2024. "How groups manage conflict when using model-driven decision support: An epistemic motivation lens," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    7. Benedicte Deforche & Jasmine Mommen & Anne Hublet & Winnie De Roover & Nele Huys & Els Clays & Lea Maes & Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij & Jelle Van Cauwenberg, 2018. "Evaluation of a Brief Intervention for Promoting Mental Health among Employees in Social Enterprises: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Parmjit Kaur & Ashley L. Carreras, 2021. "Hearing the Participants’ Voice: Recognizing the Dimensions of Procedural and Interactional Justice by Enabling Their Determinants," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 743-773, August.
    9. Tess Penne & Irene Cussó Parcerisas & Lauri Mäkinen & Bérénice Storms & Tim Goedemé, 2016. "Can reference budgets be used as a poverty line?," ImPRovE Working Papers 16/05, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    10. J. Vicente Tébar-Rubio & F. Javier Ramírez & M. José Ruiz-Ortega, 2023. "Conducting Action Research to Improve Operational Efficiency in Manufacturing: The Case of a First-Tier Automotive Supplier," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 427-459, June.
    11. Takeshi Hamamura & Liman Man Wai Li & Derwin Chan, 2017. "The Association Between Generalized Trust and Physical and Psychological Health Across Societies," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 277-286, October.
    12. Colin Eden & Fran Ackermann, 2021. "Modelling Stakeholder Dynamics for Supporting Group Decision and Negotiation: Theory to Practice," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 30(5), pages 1001-1025, October.
    13. Mandelbaum, Jennifer & Moore, Spencer & Silveira, Patricia P. & Meaney, Michael J. & Levitan, Robert D. & Dubé, Laurette, 2020. "Does social capital moderate the association between children's emotional overeating and parental stress? A cross-sectional study of the stress-buffering hypothesis in a sample of mother-child dyads," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    14. Robert G. Dyson & Frances A. O’Brien & Devan B. Shah, 2021. "Soft OR and Practice: The Contribution of the Founders of Operations Research," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 727-738, May.
    15. Yi Xu, 2019. "Role of Social Relationship in Predicting Health in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 669-684, January.
    16. David Coghlan & Abraham B. (Rami) Shani, 2021. "Abductive Reasoning as the Integrating Mechanism between First- Second- and Third-Person Practice in Action Research," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 463-474, August.
    17. Isabelle Weld-Blundell & Marissa Shields & Alexandra Devine & Helen Dickinson & Anne Kavanagh & Claudia Marck, 2021. "Vocational Interventions to Improve Employment Participation of People with Psychosocial Disability, Autism and/or Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-33, November.
    18. Mojtaba Ashja & Ali Rezaeian, 2024. "Pluralistic Causal Mapping: A Postmodern Systems Thinking Approach Regarding Identification of a Causal Map of Social Complex Systems," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 1101-1121, December.
    19. Zare, Fateme & Jakeman, Anthony J. & Elsawah, Sondoss & Guillaume, Joseph H.A., 2024. "Bridging practice and science in socio-environmental systems research and modelling: A design science approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 492(C).
    20. Sureshkumar Kamalakannan & Sutanuka Bhattacharjya & Yelena Bogdanova & Christina Papadimitriou & Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla & Jacob Bentley & Tiago S. Jesus & Refugee Empowerment Task Force, Interna, 2021. "Health Risks and Consequences of a COVID-19 Infection for People with Disabilities: Scoping Review and Descriptive Thematic Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5933-:d:1689181. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.