200 Lives (Version 1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluating the quality and costs of supported living and residential care for adults with learning disabilities
IRAS ID
288650
Contact name
Chris Hatton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Metropolitan University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Nearly £3 billion a year is spent by English councils on supported living and residential care for over 50,000 working age adults with learning disabilities, a substantial proportion of the total adult social care budget. Despite this investment, and persistent concerns about value for money, there is a lack of up-to-date, comprehensive evidence about the quality and costs of current services to inform commissioners, service providers, or self-advocates and family members. \n\nTherefore, this research aims to examine the quality and costs of supported living and residential care for 200 adults with learning disabilities aged 18-64 years. It aims to understand factors associated with, and different perspectives on, people’s quality of life in supported living and residential care. It is anticipated that the project’s findings will inform the decisions of commissioners (to commission evidence-based, value for money services) and service providers (to deliver high quality services). The project will also provide information for self-advocates and family members so that they can lobby for high quality services. In addition to this, the research team will examine existing self-assessment quality assurance tools and assess the extent to which they align with the findings of this project. \n\nThe project is a cross-sectional study with a largely quantitative design. Information concerning 100 participants in residential care and 100 participants in supported living will be collected from an estimated 50-60 sites across 10-15 service provider organisations. The research team will ensure that the sample of services and participants represents a range of participant needs, ages, genders, and sizes and locations of service organisation. Additional information will be collected from service providers and family members via a combination of questionnaires, online / face-to-face interviews and site visits (where safe) to consider various perspectives and allow for triangulation of data.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
20/IEC08/0041
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jan 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion