£1.6m research to address value for money in home social care

January 28, 2025

A collaboration led by Kent has been awarded £1.6 million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme to assess the value for money social care services provide to people receiving care and to their families.

Dr Florin Vadean and Dr Olena Nizalova from the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) are leading the three year collaboration with researchers from King’s College London, social research specialists at Ipsos, analysts at Skills for Care as well as provider organisations’ representatives from the Homecare Association and the Housing Learning and Improvement Network. The project is also supported by the Care Quality Commission and the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

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 rely on care and support, their families, and the taxpayer.

Read more here: £1.6m research to address value for money in home social care – News Centre – University of Kent