Day Centres for Older People v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The future of day centres for older people - in search of the evidence on their role, outcomes and commissioning
IRAS ID
178379
Contact name
Katharine Orellana
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
This research is an exploration of day centres for older people in England. It aims to improve the understanding of them in a changing social care and practice environment by investigating their role and purpose, who (if anyone) benefits from them, and how, and how they are perceived.
Day centres are defined in the literature as services that provide care, health-related services and/or activities specifically for older people who are disabled or in need. They are provided in community buildings and can be attended for a whole or part of a day.
Using day centres as case studies, this mixed methods study will gather data from people involved in them: attenders (service users), their carers, centre staff, volunteers, and professionals who may commission, refer or signpost to them. Perceptions, reasons, experiences and outcomes will be explored in interviews. Data about service users’ and carers’ characteristics will be collected. The use of standardised measures will facilitate comparisons during analysis.
Day centres will be selected to reflect some of the main differences that exist between them, including types of ownership and building, admission criteria, clientele and size.
Although there is some evidence about their impact, day centres are under-researched as whole services and contextual evidence is lacking. This research aims to start to fill some of these gaps. This is important because the policy and funding contexts are changing and non-evidence-based assumptions may leave day centres at risk of cuts or closure reducing people’s support options.
In terms of potential for impact, a better understanding of day centres and their users will contribute towards informing professionals’ decisions about funding, referring and signposting. The findings may also assist day centres in planning or re-designing. Furthermore, they will act as a foundation for further research.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
15/IEC08/0033
Date of REC Opinion
12 May 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion