Forder, Julien E.

Keemink, Jolie R.

Sharp, Rebecca J.

Kent Academic Repository

Identifying Priorities for Adult Social Care ResearchA focus group study in Kent, Surrey & SussexJolie Keemink, Rebecca Sharp & Julien ForderDecember 2021AcknowledgementsThis report was funded by the National Institute for HealthResearch (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent SurreySussex (ARC KSS). The views expressed are those of theauthor(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR orthe Department of Health and Social Care. We would like to express our gratitude to the stakeholderswho participated in our focus groups and shared their viewson regional research priorities. We would also like to thankour colleagues within ARC KSS for their feedback on theresearch proposal for this study and earlier drafts of thisreport, as well as the ongoing administrative support. ContentWho are we?What did we do?Discussion FrameworkWhat did we find out?What are the next steps?3 4 5 6-7 8WHO ARE WE?The Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey Sussex (ARC KSS) is funded by The NationalInstitute of Health Research (NIHR) to support applied health and care research. ARC KSS isone of 15 ARCs across England. ARC KSS carries out research relevant to practice and aims toimprove outcomes for those receiving and those providing care. Each ARC includes local NHSproviders, local care services, commissioners, local authorities, universities and charities asmember organisations. Together, these organisations aim to support and implement high-quality research that addresses the health and care needs of local systems and the localpopulation. ARC KSS consists of 8 different research themes: Social Care, Child & YoungPerson Mental Health, Dementia, Primary & Community Care, Co-Production, Public Health,Digital Innovation, and Health & Social Care Economics. ARC KSS consists of 8 different research  themes of which Social Care is one. Adult SocialCare in England covers a wide range ofactivities and services that support people whoare older, living with a disability, or with aphysical or mental illness. This might be tosupport independence, keep people safe, andimprove quality of life. These services can beprovided by Local Authorities, the NHS,independent organisations and the voluntarysector. The Social Care theme of the ARC conductsresearch that evaluates the effectiveness ofsocial care activities to improve outcomes forservice users, informal carers and the socialcare workforce in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Theresearch discussed in this report wasconducted by the Social Care theme. The ARCKSS Social Care theme is also the national ARClead for Adult Social Care and Social Work. The Social Care TeamProfessor Julien Forder isthe Theme Lead for the ARCKSS Social Care theme. He isa Professor of theEconomics of Social Policy atThe University of Kent .  Rebecca Sharp is theImplementation Managerfor the ARC KSS Social Caretheme. She works as asenior programme managerat the Kent Surrey SussexAcademic Health ScienceNetwork (KSS AHSN).Dr Jolie Keemink is thePostdoctoral ResearchFellow for the ARC KSSSocial Care theme. Sheworks at The University ofKent. ARC KSS Social Care ThemeApplied Research CollaborationKent Surrey Sussex3WHAT DID WE DO?ARC KSS aims to carry out research projects which are informed by the needs of local serviceusers, informal carers and the social care workforce. This is to make sure that the researchfindings are relevant and useful for local care systems in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.This project has been the starting point, aimed at identifying our future research projects. Weengaged with local stakeholders to ask them about their priorities for adult social careresearch. Specifically, we wanted to know about innovative practice already underway, as wellas the challenges experienced by those receiving and those involved in the provision of care.This initial study would then identify priority areas for research and support the developmentof specific research projects to support evidence-based practice and support oucomes forpeople receiving services, informal carers and the social care workforce. Background to this ProjectOnline Focus GroupsTo engage with stakeholders, we organised online focus groups. In a focus group, researchersask people to discuss a certain topic to gather ideas and opinions. We conducted seven online focus groups across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Six included socialcare professionals (care provision, voluntary sector, local authority) and one with members ofthe public. We discussed priority areas for adult social care research using a discussionframework, which is presented on the next page. The figure below provides more detail aboutthe seven focus groups. After the focus groups, the participants completed an online survey inwhich they ranked research areas in order of priority.4DISCUSSION FRAMEWORKSocial care is a broad sector including many different services, making itchallenging to pinpoint priority areas for research. To support the focusgroup discussion we developed a framework with potential priority themes.The framework was based on the Care Act 2014, setting out localauthorities' duties in relation to social care.The six potential themes for discussion were: Commissioning, Prevention,Information, Care Models, Integration and Workforce. The figure aboveprovides a definition for each theme, and gives examples of specific areasof innovation that could be relevant to research. Participants were sent thisfigure in advance to prompt their thinking about local activities that couldbenefit from research evaluation. 5WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?Focus group discussionsOnline survey6We analysed the content of the focusgroup discussions using a methodcalled thematic analysis. Discussedsocial care activities were categorisedin terms of which theme they fittedbest. Susbequently, we could identifywhich of the six themes from thediscussion framework were discussedthe most.  Table 1 on the right showsthe discussion topics in order offrequency. Research questions relatedto 'Care Models' were discussed themost, followed by 'Information' and'Integration'. The following page showsexamples of research questions foreach of the themes that theparticipants of the focus groupsuggested would be relevant to explorein research. In the online survey, people were askedto rank the six themes from thediscussion framework in order of priorityfor adult social care research. Table 2 onthe left shows that 'Prevention' wasranked top priority for adult social careresearch. Interestingly, there is a  difference between the two tables.Participants talked most about researchrelated to 'Care Models', but ranked'Prevention' highest. It is likely that thisoccured because of an overlap in whattype of social care acitivities the themescover (e.g. care models that focus onprevention). The themes 'Information'and 'Integration' are ranked similarly inboth tables. Table 1. Discussion topics from'most discussed' to 'least discussed' Table 2. Ranking of researchthemes in order of priority.7WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?The figures on this pageprovide examples of theresearch questions that cameup most during the discussionsin the focus groups.  Theresearch questions werecategorised according to thethemes from the discussionframework.  The themes areordered from 'most discussed'to 'least discussed'. Within thecapacity of the team, the ARCKSS Social Care theme willdevelop some of theseresearch questions intoprojects. For more details,please see next page. Together with the Public Healththeme of ARC KSS, we are runninga Community of Experience onHome Care. We are implementingexisting evidence aroundworkforce sustainability andsupporting the development ofnew projects, including a focus onprevention and safety.The focus groups revealed severalresearch questions related tocarers that would be relevant toexplore. Examples of projectsinclude (self-) identification ofcarers (recognising that someoneis a carer) and the impact ofstrength-based approaches toneeds assessments and care.The theme is supporting a projectdeveloped by researchers at TheUniversity of Kent looking at co-producing a framework and toolkitto support Voluntary, Communityand Social Enterprise (VCSE)organisations in demonstratingtheir activity, outcomes andimpact.WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?We are setting up a projectexploring strategies to makeresidential care settings moreinclusive for older people who arepart of the LGBTQ+ community.This project has a national focusand we are working with variouslocal and national charities topromote inclusive practice. Inclusive Practice Home Care CarersThe National ARC Programme for  Adult Social Care and Social Workis leading a project evaluating theuse of digital innovations in adultsocial care. Specifically in KSS, weare exploring a project aroundtelehealth in social carecommissioning, in collaborationwith industry partners. In collaboration with local authoritypartners, we are developing aproject that examines variations infront door services across the Kent,Surrey, Sussex region.  Front doorrefers to the information andadvice services that peopleencounter when they access socialservices.Digital Social Care Outcome measures VCSE Front Door to Adult Social CareIn line with the content of the focusgroup discussions, the wider ARCand AHSN team are setting up aresearch project to evaluate theDischarge to Asses (D2A) pathwaywith a focus on communitysettings. The project will examinethe impact of the D2A model onsocial care, community care,primary care and informal carers. D2A ModelThe outcomes of the focus group discussions form the foundation for research projects set upwithin the social care theme and the wider ARC KSS. The following projects link to theprioritisation findings and are in varying stages of development. We are also setting upCommunities of Experience around some of these research projects, bringing together peoplewith a shared interest. What are Communities of Experience?A Community of Experience (CoE) is a group of people with a sharedinterest and individual experience, who come together to hear andlearn from each other, to share knowledge and good practice, and toaddress challenges. Our CoEs aim to bring together those involved inthe provision of services, those supported by services, the public, andacademia in order to understand need (needs articulation), developresearch and support the implementation of evidence based practiceand service provision to improve outcomes for both those receiving andthose providing care. In order to support this we are currently setting upCommunities of Experience for: Inclusive Practice, Homecare, Carers,Digital Social Care and the VCSE sector. Please contact Rebecca Sharp atrebecca.sharp4@nhs.net to get involved or find out more.8Care Models & WorkforceCare Models & IntegrationCare Models & Workforce Care Models & PreventionCare Models & Prevention Care Models & Commissioning Information & Prevention

Identifying Priorities for Adult Social Care Research: A focus group study in Kent, Surrey & Sussex

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Identifying Priorities for Adult Social Care Research: A focus group study in Kent, Surrey & Sussex

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