Shared Lives Evidence of Effectiveness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Shared Lives Evidence of Effectiveness
IRAS ID
191591
Contact name
N Brookes
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
In the Shared Lives model, an adult who needs support and/or accommodation moves in with or regularly visits an approved Shared Lives carer after they have been matched for compatibility. Whilst Shared Lives achieves good results in Care Quality Commission inspections and has strong safeguarding data, it has been under-researched.
The purpose of this project is to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Shared Lives: that is, does it work and how much does it cost. The research will answer the following broad questions, is Shared Lives meeting the needs and improving the lives of service users who receive support and does Shared Lives offer value for money?
The project will have two overlapping parts. The first part will include:
• Collecting data about Shared Lives users’ characteristics including quality of life and well-being measures;
• Collecting data from a similar group of those suitable for Shared Lives but who do not use it;
• Interviews with service users and Shared Lives carers focusing on outcomes;
• Use of other management and survey data.Research will take place with at least 12 Shared Lives schemes, focusing on adults with learning disabilities, older adults, adults with mental health conditions and adults with a physical disability. The aim will be to include 240 new referrals in the Shared Lives group and 240 referrals not using Shared Lives in the comparison group, with a 12- month follow-up. In-depth interviews will be conducted with 20 service users and their Shared Lives carers.
The second part, an economic evaluation, will look at the quality of life/well-being data and costs. A cost analysis will systematically collect, categorise and analyse costs associated with Shared Lives. A cost-effectiveness analysis will examine how efficient Shared Lives is and produce information on the cost per change in quality of life/well-being.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
15/IEC08/0067
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion