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Dynamics of unmet need for social care in England

Dynamics of unmet need for social care in England
Dynamics of unmet need for social care in England
Meeting individuals’ social care needs is a core element of UK social policy. However, the conceptualisation and operationalisation of ‘unmet need’ remain a challenge. This paper advances our understanding by incorporating a temporal dimension into the conceptual framework on unmet need to investigate the dynamics of met and unmet need for social care over time. Using data from Waves 8 and 9 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this paper examines five possible trajectories among individuals with a social care need for bathing or dressing at baseline: 1) no longer having such a need; 2) having continued needs met; 3) delayed needs met; 4) newly arisen unmet needs; and 5) repeated unmet needs. The results indicate that amongst those with need at baseline, unmet need has decreased over time - indicating that some needs for social care may be fulfilled with a delay. However, a significant proportion of older people experienced repeated unmet needs, particularly those who were younger, with no spouse or civil partner, and those whose ADL index scores worsened over time. Understanding the dynamics of unmet need can support policymakers in better ensuring that those facing an elevated risk of repeated unmet need over time do not fall through the social care safety net.
dynamics, unmet need, social care, older people, England, longitudinal
0144-686X
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Qin, Min
10d55bfb-f7e6-409a-bcc5-6d2ba1f743e8
Vlachantoni, Athina
06a52fbb-f2a0-4c81-9fbc-d6efc736c6cb
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Qin, Min
10d55bfb-f7e6-409a-bcc5-6d2ba1f743e8

Vlachantoni, Athina, Evandrou, Maria, Falkingham, Jane and Qin, Min (2022) Dynamics of unmet need for social care in England. Ageing & Society. (doi:10.1017/S0144686X22000745).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Meeting individuals’ social care needs is a core element of UK social policy. However, the conceptualisation and operationalisation of ‘unmet need’ remain a challenge. This paper advances our understanding by incorporating a temporal dimension into the conceptual framework on unmet need to investigate the dynamics of met and unmet need for social care over time. Using data from Waves 8 and 9 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this paper examines five possible trajectories among individuals with a social care need for bathing or dressing at baseline: 1) no longer having such a need; 2) having continued needs met; 3) delayed needs met; 4) newly arisen unmet needs; and 5) repeated unmet needs. The results indicate that amongst those with need at baseline, unmet need has decreased over time - indicating that some needs for social care may be fulfilled with a delay. However, a significant proportion of older people experienced repeated unmet needs, particularly those who were younger, with no spouse or civil partner, and those whose ADL index scores worsened over time. Understanding the dynamics of unmet need can support policymakers in better ensuring that those facing an elevated risk of repeated unmet need over time do not fall through the social care safety net.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 20 May 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 July 2022
Published date: 19 July 2022
Keywords: dynamics, unmet need, social care, older people, England, longitudinal

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 467908
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/467908
ISSN: 0144-686X
PURE UUID: bf979224-7788-4386-9467-ddee13d1beff
ORCID for Athina Vlachantoni: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1539-3057
ORCID for Maria Evandrou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-9358
ORCID for Jane Falkingham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-5875
ORCID for Min Qin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5941-9979

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Date deposited: 25 Jul 2022 16:35
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:45

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