New initiatives will support researchers in adult social care

In this blog, Tara Hughes, Research Officer in the ADR Wales Social Care team, shares some initiatives that are supporting the social care research community. 

The ADR Wales Social Care team is a collaboration between ADR Wales and Social Care Wales. The programme of work is led by Social Care Wales, and as part of this programme an Adult Social Care Linked Data Research Group ("the Group") has been set up and is managed by the team.

The Group was inspired by a similar group run by Dr Martin Elliott and Professor Lucy Griffiths, which supports researchers in Wales using linked data within children’s social care research. The adult social care research community in Wales did not have anything similar, and the team felt that they could emulate some of this good practice working closely with other research centres such as Cardiff University’s CARE Centre.

What is the Adult Social Care Linked Data Research Group?

The Group invites members from the adult social care research community across the UK, including researchers based in academia, local and national government, or voluntary and community sector organisations carrying out research in or relevant to Wales.

The Group will stimulate innovation and exploration of challenges and opportunities in linked adult social care data research across a multi-disciplinary community. The challenges and opportunities identified and explored through the Group will be fed back to inform parallel activities being delivered by the team. These currently include research prioritisation exercises and social care data acquisition for onward access and use within the Wales national trusted research environment: the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank.

The Group will host regular activities such as meetings, webinars and events. To provide a space for networking and collaboration, we’ve also created an online group on the Social Care Wales Evidence Community platform. This will develop opportunities for researchers across not only Wales, but also all four nations of the UK, to work collaboratively and share good practices.

Opportunities for social care PhD students

The Social Care team are also running a funded PhD placement opportunity through Social Care Wales. Social Care Wales want to support future social care researchers and enhance the quality of research by making sure it’s accessible to people working in the social care sector. Through a variety of resources and projects, they are supporting the use of research alongside other types of evidence to enrich social care practice, planning and policymaking. They are also helping to improve the quality of care and support provided for people in Wales.

It is an exciting time for researchers within adult social care, with lots of opportunities to connect with other researchers and work alongside professional bodies such as Social Care Wales.

Please feel free to contact Tara Hughes to find out more about the Adult Social Care Linked Data Research Group. 

This blog was originally published on the ADR Wales website.