Outcomes for older people with long-term conditions attending day care services delivered by paid staff or volunteers: a comparative study

Abstract

Background: Day care services support older people living with long-term conditions (LTC’s). Aims: The aims of the study were to determine outcomes in terms of loneliness and health-related quality of life for older people with LTCs attending day care services in the United Kingdom. Methods: Newly referred older people with LTCs to day care services in North West of England and Wales were invited to participate. The EQ-5D-3L and De Jong Loneliness questionnaires were completed at recruitment, 6 and 12 weeks. Results: Ninty-four older people (64% female), age range 65–99 years; mean number of LTCs 4.3 (range: 2–9) were recruited. About 52% lived alone and 36% lived in one of the 20% most deprived local authorities in England and Wales. Outcomes over 12 weeks were comparable for paid, blended, and for volunteer-led services. Conclusion: Following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is increasingly urgent to support older people with LTCs who may have lost physical and cognitive function during lockdown and to support their recovery. Our study suggests that volunteers can provide services and complement the care provided by paid staff, freeing up resources and enabling increasing numbers of older people to be supported.

Contextualising English generalist day centres for older people: operational characteristics and typical days. Findings from case study research

“…Contextual data presented here support interpretation of other studies' ndings, such as outcomes for day centre attenders, volunteers and carers, and the service's focus on relationships (e.g. Hagan & Manktelow, 2021;Lunt, Shiels, et al, 2021;BLINDED 2020aBLINDED , 2021aBLINDED , 2021b.…”

“…With residential care reported as a less attractive option post-Covid (Quilter-Pinner & Sloggett, 2020), alternative options, such as day centres, will increase in importance, particularly given high digital exclusion among older people and because internet-based provision does not enable a change of scene or personal care, something day centre attenders value (BLINDED 2020b). Within this context, day centres' suitability to support recovery has been proposed (Green et al, 2021;Lunt, Shiels, et al, 2021).…”

“…Previously, English national media had covered the potential negative health, wellbeing and nancial consequences of day centre closures primarily as a result of local government funding cuts (Green, 2018;Roberton, 2018). Following a dearth of day centre research in England for several years, positive experiences and outcomes for day centre users, carers, their staff and volunteers have recently been reported in the United Kingdom (UK) (Hagan & Manktelow, 2021;Lunt, Shiels, et al, 2021;BLINDED 2018;BLINDED 2020aBLINDED , 2021aBLINDED , 2021b, and a study of collective day services is currently (2021-23) being undertaken.…”