Imosphere plays key collaborative role with prestigious universities for adult social care research in England

Imosphere is thrilled to announce a pioneering collaboration with the Gateway to Global Aging at the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Bristol, and the University of Trieste. This partnership aims to explore and document the assessment and allocation of adult social care needs in England for older people, highlighting unique regional variations. The resulting report will be part of a series covering various European countries.

In June 2023, Imosphere was approached by Yeeun Lee, a Project Specialist at USC, on behalf of a team investigating the complexities of social care for older adults. Their research found that, although England’s Care Act legislation provides the statutory framework for adult social care, local authorities have the freedom to adopt their own approaches to assessment and resource allocation. This flexibility has resulted in a wide variety of tools being used across the country.

The Gateway team connected with Imosphere through a referral from East Sussex County Council, which has long utilised Imosphere’s co-produced statutory social care assessment form, the Strengths and Needs Assessment – part of Imosphere’s broader social care toolset which includes the ‘Formulate’ model for resource allocation. Recognising that Imosphere’s tools serve over 20% of England’s population, the Gateway team sought to leverage this extensive experience and sector knowledge.

Harnessing the power of Imosphere’s tools

Imosphere’s cutting-edge tools are used by local authorities across the breadth of England, integrated within social care IT systems like System C’s LAS and Access Group’s Mosaic. The tools streamline and standardise the assessment process, facilitating accuracy and efficiency. The collaboration with the Gateway focuses on evaluating the tools’ effectiveness in assessing dependence and determining funding eligibility for older people.

“Our collaboration with the Gateway to Global Aging Data, which partners with researchers and institutions across the world, is an exciting opportunity to internationally showcase how adult social care functions in England and the contribution our solutions make to standardising approaches across regions,” said Oliver Brown, Solutions Expert at Imosphere. “We are excited to be part of this significant research that aligns with our mission of improving social care outcomes through innovative technology.”

Groundbreaking research and promising outcomes

Over the past year, the research team has made significant progress by conducting extensive data analysis after mapping a large set of sample cases to the ‘Needs Profile’ component of Imosphere’s Strengths and Needs Assessment. This effort has enabled a thorough evaluation of the indicative allocations calculated by the Formulate algorithm. The findings are expected to be compiled into a detailed report and submitted as a manuscript to a health economics journal.

The collaboration promises to yield valuable insights, with potential benefits including:

• Creating measures of benefit eligibility using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

• Highlighting Imosphere’s role in standardising needs assessments and care allocations across England.

• Offering new perspectives to policymakers and academics on improving social care efficiency.

Anticipated impact and future prospects

“This collaboration has the potential to bring unique value to the social care discourse in England,” emphasised Dr. David Knapp, the lead researcher for the Gateway team. “By using Imosphere’s tools, we aim to highlight the significant contribution Imosphere makes in standardising and facilitating social care across the country.”

Imosphere’s participation in this high-profile research project is expected to boost its visibility and reputation within the academic and policymaking communities, both in the UK and internationally. The research findings are anticipated to resonate with organisations such as the OECD and WHO, further cementing Imosphere’s position as a key player in the social care sector.