Research launched to investigate how to improve support for older people with learning disabilities and carers

New project ‘Supporting family and professional carers to provide appropriate care and support for older learning-disabled people with behaviours that challenge’ is funded by NIHR

Recently, BASW began work with partners, including Oxford University, Open University, My Life My Choice and others, on a £900,000 project funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to investigate how to improve support for older people with learning disabilities and carers.

BASW will lead important aspects of the disseminating activities for the research and will aim to develop strategies to ensure that the research has a direct impact on practice.

This research builds on BASW research activities to develop the Capabilities Statements (for social work in learning disability and autism). The important lessons learnt from those projects through the involvement of people with lived experience and BASW members were about health inequalities experienced by autistic people and adults with learning disabilities.

The models developed on how to address them through relationship-based practice and advocacy have been relevant during this pandemic.

BASW and Research

As the UK professional body for social work, BASW is a key stakeholder in research and evidenced informed practice.

Through our ownership of the British Journal of Social Work (BJSW) and Practice: Social Work in Action, BASW is important in the dissemination of high-quality evidence for practice.

BASW’s  Research Policy also highlights its support for members to do research and use current evidence in their practice.

Nationally, BASW has worked to influence research funding to ensure that studies commissioned address questions critical to effective practice and the concerns of people with lived experience.

These objectives have underpinned BASW’s research work during the pandemic.