As our population ages, there is a critical policy challenge to define and measure their social care requirements. Measuring this unmet need and highlighting key characteristics that increase its risk are critical in ensuring that all older persons have the opportunity to enjoy their later life and that their social care needs are fulfilled.
Researchers including Professor Maria Evandrou, Professor Jane Falkingham, Dr Min Qin and Professor Athina Vlachantoni have analysed nationally representative data to better understand the aggregate level of unmet need and the individuals who are most in need of help.
Understanding the unmet social need
The team’s research has revealed between a quarter and a half of older people experience unmet need for social care, and that living alone and being male were main predictors. These are the key individuals that should be the focus of policymakers in terms of social care provision.
Their study also examined the dynamics of need from 2017 to 2019, including people bathing and dressing themselves. The results showed that amongst older persons who reported some need at baseline, the proportion experiencing unmet need had decreased, although 28 percent experienced repeated or persistent requirements. This 28 percent were likely to be younger individuals with no partner or spouse and whose ability to perform daily activities had reduced over the two years.
The team recommend that their needs should be assessed at regular intervals and should include their broader living environment and sources of formal and informal support.
Our research shows that older persons' needs assessment at regular intervals is pivotal, and such assessment should include not only individuals' capacity to perform daily activities, but also their broader living environment and sources of support, both formal and informal.
Professor Maria Evandrou
ESRC Centre for Population Change - Connecting Generations Project
Informing policy
The results of the Southampton research can directly inform policies at local government level to ensure that older persons’ wellbeing is safeguarded.
It highlights the importance of regularly assessing older people’s needs, as well as the needs of their carers. Also, identifying the individual characteristics that place older people at a greater risk of experiencing unmet need can help policymakers focus their strategies on preventing this need from occurring.
Finally, it emphasises that social care provision needs to be looked at in a holistic way, including people’s abilities to perform daily activities, as well as information about the broader environment in which the live, such as their living arrangements and socio-economic status.
