ASSET and ECHO – Looking beyond the acronyms

Although our focus here at the Association for Dementia Studies is, understandably, dementia, we have been part of two projects that are not directly related to dementia. Here, we thought we’d tell you a bit more about them.

ASSET: Adult Social Care Settings and Environments

What was it all about?

Funded by the National Institute of Health Research; School for Social Care Research, the ASSET project took place between 2012 and 2014. It aimed to explore the views and experiences of people commissioning, delivering and receiving adult social care services in extra care housing and retirement villages. These two forms of ‘housing with care’ have become increasingly popular in the UK for a range of reasons, including the opportunities for social interaction, the availability of comprehensive facilities on site, and because the physical environment is purpose built to meet the needs of older people. However, despite a growing body of research focusing on this area, there is a lack of research into the provision of adult social care in housing with care settings. ADS worked on the ASSET project in partnership with the Housing LIN, the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, and the Personal Social Services Research Unit to fill this gap in the research.