Estimating the value of social care

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Social Care Research
• Outcome Measurement

Background:

• Health economists increasingly work across sectors, including social care, to improve health and well-being.
• Social care significantly influences and is influenced by health services.
• Measuring social care outcomes across diverse client groups is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on a developing approach for measuring social care outcomes across client groups.
• To investigate the feasibility of using discrete choice experiments (DCEs) for valuing social care outcomes.
• To identify factors influencing population preferences for social care outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study employing discrete choice experiments (DCEs).
• Valuation of multiple social care outcome domains using a "willingness to accept" (WTA) financial measure.
• Analysis of factors associated with variations in respondent preferences.

Main Results:

• Discrete choice experiments show feasibility for valuing social care outcomes.
• Identified variations in respondent preferences across different outcome domains.
• The study highlights the need for further refinement of outcome domains.

Conclusions:

• The discrete choice experiment approach offers a promising starting point for measuring social care outcomes.
• Further work is needed to refine the specific outcome domains for accurate population preference reflection.
• This methodology aids in understanding and incorporating population preferences into social care evaluations.