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Multicenter Study
. 2019 Mar;49(1):12-22.
doi: 10.4997/JRCPE.2019.103.

Who lives in Scotland's care homes? Descriptive analysis using routinely collected social care data 2012-16

Jennifer K Burton  1 , Ellen Lynch  2 , Sharon Love  3 , Julie Rintoul  2 , John M Starr  4 , Susan D Shenkin  5
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Free article
Multicenter Study

Who lives in Scotland's care homes? Descriptive analysis using routinely collected social care data 2012-16

Jennifer K Burton et al. J R Coll Physicians Edinb. 2019 Mar.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Adults living in long-term care are a significant and complex population who are under-represented in research using traditional methodologies.

Methods: The aim of this study was to provide the first description of the adult care home population and their homes, using routinely collected data. A retrospective descriptive analysis was performed using the Scottish Care Home Census (SCHC) between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2016.

Results: Data are from 1,299 care home services (79.3-89.7% completeness), including 34,399-39,311 residents per year across all regions of Scotland. A total of 68% of residents are female, with median age 84 years. 27% fund their own care. Over 85% of self-funded residents receive free personal care allowance. Around 60% require care from a registered nurse and 49% have a formal diagnosis of dementia. The majority of admissions come from hospital (46%). Between 13 and 17% of residents die annually, with a median time to death of 596-653 days.

Conclusions: This study provides the most comprehensive descriptive data of UK care home residents available. There is scope to enhance the information available through linkage to other routine sources.

Keywords: care home; long-term care; nursing home; residential home; routinely collected data; social care.

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Conflict of interest statement

EL and JR are employed as Statisticians in the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Analysis Division, which is the data controller for the Scottish Care Home Census. JKB is supported by an NHS Education Scotland Scottish Clinical Research Excellence Development Scheme (SCREDS) clinical lectureship. The funders played no part in the design, conduct or analyses of the research. Funding for the associated data linkage project was provided through the Scottish Informatics and Linkage Collaboration.

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