Catalogue of Social Care Measures

Social care research often struggles with a lack of data, but more recently there has been an increase in the collection, dissemination and utilisation of data on social care.

However, such data come from discrete and varied sources and there is a need to help researchers and other stakeholders with an interest to use the data. These people must be able to easily discover what data are available for important social care issues and from what time periods and where such data can be found.

The Catalogue of Social Care Data (CASCID) collects measures from large UK datasets relevant to social care and displays them in one website.

Catalogue of Social Care Individualised Data – Continuation Study (CASCID-2)

• Aims

  CASCID-2 aims to enhance and expand the Catalogue of Social Care Individualised Data (CASCID) – a tool designed to help researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders find and use social care data across the UK. 

   

  The project seeks to:

  • Broaden coverage to include datasets from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, making CASCID a truly UK-wide resource.
  • Improve understanding of underserved and underrepresented groups by exploring methods for linking data across multiple sources.
  • Ensure inclusion of measures relevant to diverse populations, covering ethnicity, age, religion, sexual preference, and disability. 

• Methods

  The project will:

  • Add new datasets and update existing ones with the latest information.
  • Conduct user research to identify improvements based on user needs and implement usability enhancements.
  • Upgrade the CASCID website with better search and navigation features to improve accessibility.
  • Establish two advisory groups (each with ten members) – one of service users and carers, and one of researchers and practitioners – to guide development and ensure the tool remains relevant and inclusive.
  • Promote the tool through targeted engagement and outreach activities to expand its user base. 

   

• Planned outputs

  • An expanded and improved CASCID tool, featuring more datasets, more comprehensive measures, and enhanced usability.
  • A user-friendly website with improved search functions and accessibility.
  • Increased awareness and use of CASCID among researchers, policymakers, and social care practitioners.
  • Identification of data gaps and research needs in UK social care.
  • Stronger evidence base for decision-making, ultimately benefiting people who use social care services and their caregivers. 

CASCID 1 – developing the catalogue

• Aims

  Accessible to experts and non-experts alike, CASCID aims to increase social care data usage, encourage comparisons across datasets and the filling of research gaps which might have escaped notice due to the fragmented nature of social care data, and promote the harmonisation of UK social care data. It also aims to help researchers from other fields use social care data which they might not otherwise be able to find.

• Methods

  The website was created by researchers identifying large UK datasets and then searching through their measures for ones relevant to social care.

  This involved two activities:

  • adding social care filters into the existing Catalogue of Mental Health Measures 
  • developing a standalone Catalogue of Social Care Measures (CASCID).

  In each case, the task was to identify variables, measures or instruments completed by or for individuals who:

  • have social care needs, assets or strengths;
  • use social care services or services that are linked to social care needs;
  • live in a social care setting;
  • receive unpaid care from a family member, friend or neighbour;
  • provide unpaid care to a family member, friend or neighbour; and/or
  • work as a paid staff member in the social care sector.

• Findings

  Findings report

  The creation of our website gives a national catalogue where social care data sources for England can be searched for relevant measures (2516 measures from 43 UK data sources at time of writing). The website provides a detailed list of what information was collected from participants or data managers during data collections, but it does not provide the datasets themselves. The website provides links to the organisations which hold the data.

  The Catalogue of Social Care Data (CASCID) can be accessed via https://cataloguesocialcare.uk/.

• Key implications

  We hope our catalogue will enhance usage, and – over time – improve the quality, of social care data by:

  • enabling website users to see what data currently exists by displaying measures from multiple data sources; 

  • encouraging harmonisation of data after researchers view the types of measures already collected and so design the data they collect to be comparable; 

  • allowing gaps in social care data to be noticed; evident after searching the website; 

  • helping researchers from other fields to find social care data without requiring prior knowledge of what datasets exist or how to find them.