Ipsos partners with the University of Kent in a new research project to assess the costs and benefits of homecare services in England
Ipsos is pleased to announce its participation in a new research project which will assess the value for money that home care services provide to people receiving care and their families in England. The project will be led by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the University of Kent, on behalf of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme.
It will involve a three year collaboration (2025-2027) with social care researchers at University of Kent and King’s College London, analysts at Skills for Care, provider organisations’ representatives from the Homecare Association and the Housing Learning and Improvement Network. The project team will survey recipients of different types of domiciliary care and unpaid carers using questions co-developed with people with lived experience of care services.
Care provided in peoples’ own homes - home care or domiciliary care - is becoming an increasingly important part of social care. Services vary from regular daily visits to 24/7 live-in care and support, with or without complex clinical interventions; and some people are directly employing care staff (i.e., Personal Assistants [PAs]). They can vary dramatically in quality, price, and availability, some are regulated while others not, and there is currently little evidence of the value these services provide to people who draw on care and support, their families, and the taxpayer.
This research project seeks to provide a better understanding of the value of care services at a time when the new Government are emphasising a ‘Home First’ approach and encouraging shifts from 1) hospital to community; 2) illness to prevention; and 3) analogue to digital. It is expected that home-based support and care services will play a pivotal role in this transformation.
The findings from the project will feed into policy decisions related to the commissioning of social care services, guide the development of resources related to homecare options and empower individuals and families to make more informed decisions when purchasing home care services.
More information about this project can be found on the project website: https://research.kent.ac.uk/dom-care/
If you have a query about this project, please contact Claire Lambert or Freddie Gregory.
