University of Nottingham project encourages use of data in social care

We hear from Rachael Carroll, a research fellow at University of Nottingham, about the work she’s been doing to support care providers with effectively using data.

As a registered mental health nurse and a research fellow at University of Nottingham, supporting the social care sector to use data effectively combines my skills and passion in both areas.

The DACHA-DASH project started in October 2024. It was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands (ARC EM).

This project has led us to work closely with a small number of professional carers from care homes for older people for 18 months. Together we have looked at how data is being used to improve care.

When you hear the word data you might think of numbers and analytics, but in fact data is simply information, and this can include things like logging what food and drink a person has had; recording what behaviours are likely to calm, excite or unsettle people; and noting hobbies and interests of people being supported. Collecting data is something care staff do all the time. I think there are two important things about data; it is more useful if it is accurate; and when this data is paired with person-centred actions it can improve care.

For the DACHA-DASH project I interviewed and analysed the views of a small number of people who live in, visit, work in, or with care homes about what information they think care homes collect about residents. The interview findings were shared with two professional carers and their deputy manager from three care homes. This provided the basis of four workshops. In the workshops, each team developed an example (known as an exemplar) showing how using data makes a difference to residents’ care. Then, the teams shared their exemplars with software developers and people from the NHS and social services who routinely work with care homes to explore how to get these discussions and ideas about using data embedded into practice.

The basis for one exemplar was when care home staff raised concerns that it is sometimes difficult to know whether you are truly meeting the needs of residents who can’t express themselves verbally. Through taking part in the study, they looked at what data they currently collect and what was missing.

They noted they use the ‘Who I am’ care plan which contains details about the residents’ career, family relationships and aspects of their personhood that remain historical facts. They also used the ‘Lifestyle’ care plan which focuses on their hobbies and interests. Missing from the data was a measure for capturing quality of life. Care home staff decided to add a measure they had used in a previous study to ensure this was included. They also added “10 things about me today” which complemented the lifestyle section, bringing the information right up-to-date on drink preferences and favourite things to do as examples. Now they had a thorough, broad set of data collection tools to help them think about each residents’ care.

The discussion and learning from the workshops were made into posters. These can be seen on the NIHR ARC EM website for anyone to look at and share. A video about data and its use, aimed at care home staff, has also been made and an academic paper will follow. The project summary was shared as a poster at British Geriatric Society conference and came first place winner in its category.

It’s been great to see the positive impact of this project. We all want to improve care for everybody, and the examples gathered through this project show the value that data has in doing that. I’m looking forward to continuing on with the next stages of this project through to spring 2026.

We’re always keen to work with people who work in social care or are connected to social care for our research projects and anyone who is interested in future research can reach out to me by email: Rachael.Carroll@nottingham.ac.uk

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