King's College London

Four Unit researchers attended the 7th International Conference on Evidence-based Policy in Long-Term Care which took place 12-14 September 2024 at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao, Spain. Co-hosted by the International Long-Term Care Policy Network and the Government of Biscay, the conference offered opportunities for international learning and collaboration. The conference underscored the importance and relevance of the Unit’s work around the health and social care workforce, with five parallel sessions focusing on international workforce policies, challenges, outcomes, working conditions and labour economics. Follow the conference.

Prof Ann-Marie Towers, who joined the Unit as its Deputy Director earlier this month, organised an international session on the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, with presentations from colleagues in Spain, Norway and Sweden. She also presented a paper to introduce a new and exciting outcome measure for the Adult Social Care Workforce (ASCOT-Workforce).

Dr Kalpa Kharicha, Senior Research Fellow, gave a presentation on international recruitment of care workers in England’s adult social care sector in the session on migration and long-term care, alongside presentations on live-in migrant care in Taiwan and female migrant aged care workers in Australia, which together stimulated much discussion and food for thought. (Read the Visa Study report, October 2023.)

Unit Research Fellow, Dr Carl Purcell, joined colleagues from the LSE to present the findings of the Supporting Innovation in Adult Social Care (SASCI) project. Carl reflected on the use of ‘Witness Seminars’ to investigate the development and implementation of three policy innovations in adult social care: (1) the introduction of The Care Certificate in 2015; (2) the introduction of Social Worker registration in 2001; and (3) the ‘Ordinary Life’ movement that promoted community services and housing for people with learning disabilities as an alternative to institutional care. Carl's slides contain onward links to transcripts of the seminars.