Exploring experiences of loneliness and improving social care support
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding and using people’s experiences of social care to guide service improvements: could an effective and efficient co-design approach be translated from health to social care using the exemplar of loneliness?
IRAS ID
279458
Contact name
Sara Ryan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester Metropolitan University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 4 days
Research summary
We propose to adapt and test a service improvement approach successfully used in health care settings in social care using loneliness as our focus. Loneliness affects many people and is important to local policy makers.
There are two stages: 1. DISCOVERY. Interviews with a national sample of 40-50 people exploring their loneliness experiences, and with 20 social care staff to explore opportunities for service improvement. Interviews will be filmed or audio recorded, typed and analysed for ‘touch points’ which show positive care moments or areas for improvement. A 20-25 minute film will be produced.
2. CO-DESIGN. Separate feedback workshops with staff and social care users followed by a joint meeting where the film is shown to both. Participants work together to agree a list of priorities to put in place for improving services. Doncaster is the test site because loneliness is a priority for the local authority. Working with social care service improvement colleagues from adult social care and Doncaster residents who experience loneliness, we will use observations and interviews to study how improvements are made over a nine-month period. Key questions will include whether this quality improvement approach is acceptable, or needs adapting, for wider use in social care.
Outputs: a new section on loneliness with 250 film, audio and text extracts published on Socialcaretalk.org; recommendations for the use of this service improvement approach in social care; conference presentations; end of project event; three academic papers. Anticipated impact: Local authorities need new ways of collecting and using data on people's experiences of social care to improve service design and quality. Our study will draw on and adapt as appropriate an approach from the healthcare improvement field to address this need. The film will be available across other local authority settings.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0223
Date of REC Opinion
2 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion