It is predicted that, in coming years and in many countries, the proportion of people needing long-term care (LTC) will increase substantially. To meet the social and economic challenges of responding to this increased demand for care, health and care welfare regimes need to focus on the social care services that matter most to people, and deliver these services effectively and efficiently. In this study we want to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of non-institutional LTC (e.g. home care) for older adults and their informal carers in Austria, England and Finland.

To measure outcomes in LTC and enable consistent cross-country comparison, there is a need for a common, well-validated measure. EXCELC is using the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT), which has both a service user and carer measure specifically designed to be suitable for use with people receiving long-term care services. The measures incorporate multiple dimensions of quality of life (QoL), including occupation, social contact, control, being fed, clean and safe, and have proven validity and reliability in England.