The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is to carry out new research on the need for, and use of, health and social care services among older people in England, and how these services interact – thanks to funding from the Health Foundation, an independent health care charity.

The IFS researchers will investigate how public money is allocated across health and social care services for older people with different types of needs, and the effect on their health outcomes and wellbeing.

The research project will be led by IFS Programme Director Gemma Tetlow. She says, “With an ageing population and limited public funding, it is important to understand how health and social care spending can be directed most efficiently and how these services can complement one another to produce the best outcomes. In this new research, we will use newly available data on older people’s need for and use of health and social care services to better understand how public spending is currently allocated across services and individuals and the effect of this allocation on individuals’ outcomes and wellbeing. An important aspect of this project will be to understand more about how the provision of social care affects demand for health care and vice versa.”

IFS Director Paul Johnson adds: “One of the most pressing challenges facing policymakers over the coming years will be how to provide adequate health and social care to the UK’s ageing population without imposing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. This new funding from the Health Foundation will allow us shed new light on this important question by applying the rigorous, impartial quantitative analysis and in-depth policy knowledge for which IFS is renowned.”

The IFS research is one of four projects selected for support by the Health Foundation under its £1.5 million Efficiency Research Programme. The five-year programme will see new research carried out on efficiency and value for money in the health and social care systems, at a time when maximising efficiency is one of the key challenges facing the NHS over the coming years.

Anita Charlesworth, Chief Economist from the Health Foundation, said, “The Five Year Forward View set our plans to reform the way care is delivered and identified that the NHS will need to deliver £22 billion of efficiency savings by the end of the decade alongside additional taxpayer funding of £8 billion. Research evidence on how to improve the efficiency and productivity of health systems is comparatively limited. Our programme of investment seeks to make a contribution to work in this area.”

Health Foundation Director of Research Nick Barber said, “The Health Foundation’s biennial Efficiency Research Programme has been designed to generate new knowledge that provides an increased understanding of the likely impact of health care policy and process on efficiency, and to better understand how to implement, spread and scale-up value-generating programmes.

“The projects we are supporting will provide powerful lessons and blueprints for change, which we hope will have a profound impact on the thinking, planning and implementation of transformative change that can lead to the long-term sustainability of health and social care services in the UK.”