Good care practices are essential in health and social care and must be delivered by competent and qualified care workers. Caregivers are required to follow the guidelines specified in the Five Principles of Care Practice. The five principles help the care worker to maintain a good standard of care, which supports and respects the rights of service users to appropriate services (K101, Unit 8, P134). This essay will focus on one of these principles that supports service users in having a voice and being heard. It will show why it is important for carers to give service users the opportunity to express themselves and communicate their views and preferences, as well as the opportunity to express their fears and concerns without being judged or discriminated against. “Effective communication” (K101, unit 8, P134) results from the emergence of obstacles, including “physical environment, disability and impairment, attitudes, cultural differences and emotions and feelings (K101, unit 8, P136). This can “disempower” service users, leading to an identity being imposed on them that can generate feelings of insecurity and worthlessness and deny them the right to express themselves. Likewise, evidence will be provided to show that caregivers apply their skills to develop strategies that help overcome these barriers. The evidence produced in this essay will be drawn from case studies based on oral history and life story work. Both strategies offer service users the opportunity to talk about their past experiences, discover who they are and develop a sense of identity, thereby providing them with feelings of confidence, security and self-esteem.Having a voices through oral history workThe ca... ... middle of article ......h and Social Care, Resources, Milton Keynes, The Open University.The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, DVD, Unit 5, Video 5.1 'Life History Work: Jordan Morgan's Life History Book, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, DVD, Unit 7, Audio 7.2 “Ethical Issues in Oral History”, Milton Keynes, The Open University.The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 5, 'Identities and Lives', Milton Keynes, The Open University.The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 7, 'Understanding the past”, Milton Keynes, The Open University. The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 8, 'Developing communication skills', Milton Keynes, The Open University.