Online Seminar Explores Prevention in Social Care 

On Wednesday 26 February, our Social Care Research Capacity Building Programme Team hosted an online seminar about exploring how to advance prevention in approaches in social care, drawing on lessons from practice and research undertaken in England and Wales. 

Research on prevention in social services reveals implementation successes and gaps, critically explores language, values, ethics and prevention models, and raises questions about measurement and impact. 

The Care Act (England) 2014 requires local authorities to act to enable services and approaches to support prevention. However, there are inconsistent drivers for a renewed focus on prevention in social care. For some, prevention is inherently the ‘right thing to do’ based on social development values and responding to the social determinants of health and wellbeing. Prevention is also part of strategies to manage demand. 

Over 100 attendees joined the session to discuss the topic of prevention with Dr Carolyn Dunford, Brunel University of London, chairing the seminar.  

 We welcomed expert speakers who spoke to a range of topics including: 

• Professor Fiona Verity (Brunel University of London) and Dr Simon Read (Cardiff University) explored insights from Welsh Research on Prevention in Social Care.

• Sarah Richards (Brent Council) outlined the Brent Adult Social Care Prevention Strategy and Delivery Plan.

• And finally, Professor Jerry Tew (University of Birmingham) presented on Prevention in Adult Social Care.

 ‘Prevention is essential in social care, but needs will and investment’. - Professor Fiona Verity

 The presentations were rich in insights about the current landscape of preventative activity in social care and in exploring many of the complexities of prevention in action.  These include navigating the contradictory drivers of prevention in social care, the need for investment in prevention over time, and complex issues about evaluation and impact. The Social Care Research Capacity Building Programme has established a Prevention in Social Care Interest Group to continue exploring experiences, practice, and research in this area.

Feedback from participants highlighted the importance of joint working between the NHS, Social Care Providers and Local Authorities as a key takeaway from the event.

Future seminars will also continue to address important topics in the Social Care sector.

Following on from this seminar, the Social Care Team are hosting their first conference as part of the Social Care Research Capacity Building Programme on Wednesday 2 April 2025, 9:30 – 16:00, at Friends House in London.

The conference is free and open to anyone interested in Social Care Research in Northwest London!

If you want to join us for the day, you can find out more and register for the conference.

For future updates on the Social Care Research Capacity Building Programme, including upcoming events, news, training and conferences, please subscribe to our mailing list.

If you have any questions about the programme, please contact e.kennedy@imperial.ac.uk.