Evaluation: interventions

There is an increasing requirement for services to deliver interventions which are underpinnd by rigorous and robust guidance. Where interventions are complex - as is the case for many health and social care institutions - this can be methodologically challenging. Done well, it involved patients/users, practitioners, managers, and commissioners.

Current / recently completed research

Developing a Patient-Reported Experience Measure for use in children's palliative care settingsJune 2020 - December 2021

This project will develop a Patient-Reported Experience Measure (PREM) for use in children's palliative care settings.

Exploring experiences of loneliness and improving social care supportApril 2020 - January 2023

This study is testing a service improvement approach from healthcare in which people using and providing a service co-design changes.

Implementing the Person-Centred Community Care Inventory (PERCCI) as a measure for quality in social care servicesJanuary 2019 - August 2019

How can we translate a person-centredness score into something meaningful for understanding service quality?

The Early Days Project: parents’ experiences of the early days of bereavement and the support they receive from children’s hospicesMay 2018 - December 2020

This project is about parents’ experiences of the very early days of bereavement and how the support receiving during those early days affects longer-term grief processes and outcomes.

The PEDRO study: partnerships between deaf people and hearing dogsOctober 2016 - March 2020

The PEDRO study is evaluating and exploring hearing dog partnerships. The aim of the study is to understand the impacts and experiences of these partnerships, and their place within wider support and provision for deaf people and people with hearing loss.

The THINC project: therapy interventions for children with neurodisability - a scoping study of current practice and perceived research needsMay 2016 - February 2017

This scoping study will be used to inform future research into physical, occupational and speech and language therapy support used by children with neurodisabilities.

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for non-respiratory sleep disturbances in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic reviewFebruary 2016 - January 2017

Many children with neurodisabilities experience sleep problems: this project is reviewing existing evidence on the effectiveness of the different ways sleep difficulties may be managed.

Specialist nursing support for unpaid carers of people with dementiaNovember 2015 - July 2017

This project is evaluating a specialist support service for the carers of people with dementia.

Completed research

Co-design, co-evaluation & co-learning: street triage, mental health & policingFebruary 2015 - July 2015

2013 is the European Year of Citizens. The EU funded this research to provide knowledge that will help to achieve the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in society and the economy.

Vision rehabilitation services: increasing the evidence baseOctober 2012 - June 2014

This project will explore the evidence base for the different service models that are being used and identify key features to be tested in future evaluation studies.

Evaluation of 'Life Story' intervention: Feasibility studyJuly 2012 - March 2015

Everybody has a life story. These are rich and varied and can be used to communicate who we are to the people around us. People with dementia sometimes need help to communicate their histories and identities, and 'life story work' might provide a way for them to do this more easily.

Personal Budgets: learning from experiences of older people and people with mental health problemsNovember 2009 - November 2010

The evaluation aims to establish whether personal health budgets ensure better health and social care outcomes, compared with conventional healthcare delivery

The effectiveness and costs of behavioural approaches to the management of sleep and behaviour problems among disabled childrenAugust 2008 - October 2011

This project investigated the effectiveness and costs of behavioural approaches to the management of sleep and behaviour problems among disabled children. The study was funded by the government funded Centre for Excellence in Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO).

Evaluating the Caring with Confidence ProgrammeJune 2008 - May 2011

Evaluation of Caring with Confidence Programme which will offer carers new opportunities to gain the knowledge, skills and expertise they require to look after both themselves, and those they care for, in a safe, efficient and effective manner, and to access the information and support they need.

Investigating the longer-term impacts of home care re-ablement servicesApril 2008 - December 2010

Individual budgets sit at the heart of government policy for improving choice and control for people needing social care support. Individual budgets bring together a number of different funding streams and offer a transparent way of allocating resources to individuals. There are 13 pilot areas for individual budgets. Evaluating these pilot projects is fundamental to a future decision by government about whether this approach will be rolled out more widely.

Investigating the longer-term effects of home care reablement servicesJune 2007 - September 2007

This project will examine changes in the subsequent use of social care services following a period of home care reablement intervention.

Individual budgets: impact and outcomes for carersJanuary 2007 - October 2008

Individual budgets sit at the heart of government policy for improving choice and control for people needing social care support. Knowing the level of resources at their disposal can help individuals plan and control how their support needs are met.Putting the service user in control of their own budget for social care support is going to have an effect on the amount and type of care provided to them by their informal carers i.e. family members or friends.