Use of Linked Administrative Adult Social Care Data for Research: A Scoping Review of Existing UK Studies

Administrative data provide unique coverage of populations using care and the use of new datasets and advancing digital technologies only contribute to this growing area. There are ongoing limitations in the linkage of administrative datasets, which for adult social care have been exacerbated by inconsistent coding and varied IT systems. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of all studies to date that have used linked adult social care administrative data in the UK. This scoping review included primary quantitative research using individual-level adult social care service or workforce data when linked with at least one other data source. The search strategy was developed systematically and two authors independently screened and reviewed full-texts for inclusion. Fourteen articles were included-a mix of national and local projects. Definitions for the adult social care population ranged, with only four including all ages. One included unpaid carers and one included the domiciliary care workforce. Where described, linkage of datasets was slow, with challenges in the governance and linkage process.This review demonstrates that administrative data can be a rich source of information for the adult social care sector and linkage can expand its utility and impact. Administrative data, also known as routinely collected data, are data collected by services for their own purposes, and not for the purpose of research. These data often contain a wealth of information that can be requested and securely accessed by researchers for policy relevant research. Data from local authorities related to the adult social care population and workforce have only just started to be collected at a national level in the UK. Linking these data to data from other services can provide further insights into this population. We carried out a scoping review to identify what research has been conducted across the UK linking adult social care service data. This review identified fourteen papers that linked these data in this way, from data in England, Scotland, and Wales. Unpaid carers were only included in one study and domiciliary care workforce in another. The remaining papers focussed primarily on older adults. Authors reported challenges in accessing and linking the data, and recommended future work to address this including using national level data where available.