Independence in Health and Social Care - What is it and Why is it important?
Increasing independence in health and social care is not just a goal it is a way to improve an individual’s quality of life. With over 3.2 million people being aged 80 or over in the UK and many of them living with more than one chronic condition, being able to facilitate independence so they can live independently for longer has never been more so important. It helps to both reduce the burden on the NHS and families to delay future care needs.
Our ageing population shows that more people are living longer lives with potential additional needs which come from old age. Both the government and The Care Act 2014 are aiming to ensure people can live independently in their homes for longer to help delay future care needs and prevent individuals feeling they have lost their independence.
But you may be wondering what exactly does independence in health and social care mean, why is it important, and how best can care providers and local authorities facilitate it?
At The Access Group we work with providers of care, the NHS and local authorities. Though this we’re well acquainted with the challenges facing the social care market and how important it is for individuals to be more proactive and independent in managing their health to reduce their dependency on clinical support, care homes, and carers. Our Assure offering allows individuals to live a home longer safely whilst reassuring loved ones support is there when they need it.
This article will review what it means to promote independence in health and social care as well as how to maintain independence so individuals can live at home longer to delay future care needs and reduce the dependency on care homes, by delivering more proactive care. After reading you will have a greater understanding of what independence means and what you can do to promote and support it.
What is independence in health and social care?
Independence can be defined as being free from outside control and subject to another’s authority. In health and social care independence can be defined as having total control over your own life and any decisions made about it. However, it is usually more complex than that, and it is actually about allowing individuals to live with more increased independence but understanding that when there are changes in their patterns of behaviour decisions which may be out of their control may be made proactively for their safety.
It helps individuals maintain a level of control over their lives, respecting their preferences and autonomy, whilst providing the necessary support and assistance when needed.
Even when someone has reduced capacity to make decisions, promoting independence is still important by giving the person as much control and input into their care as is possible and sensible.
Independence is one of the key principles in the Care Act 2014, and states that developing the independence of people and wellness helps to inspire care providers and givers to take a better person-centred approach to care to help improve outcomes further.
Independence in health and social care is a core objective in adult social care therefore, as it provides more opportunities for individuals to retain skills and confidence to live more independent lives within the community.
Why is independence important in health and social care?
Independence in health and social care is important for a number of different reasons. Ultimately one of the most crucial reasons is it enables better quality of life. This is because individuals can have the freedom to engage in activities they enjoy, continue to build social connections, and have a sense of purpose so they don’t feel lonely or isolated.
Equally there are many more reasons that help contribute to a better quality of life through promoting independence in health and social care, some of these include:
- Improves self-esteem
- Reduces demand and dependency
- Provides better long-term sustainability
1. Improves self-esteem
Promoting independence in health and social care enables individuals to have the ability manage and undergo daily tasks independently. This both boosts self-esteem and self-confidence to lead to a better and more positive self-image.
This improvement in self-esteem also helps to promote a better mental and physical health and wellbeing as individuals will be more likely to engage in healthy behaviours and maintain a more positive outlook on life.
Through improving self-esteem it also upholds the dignity and respect of individuals by allowing them to have control over their lives and decisions, regardless of their health and social circumstances. It also provides them confidence that at any point when they need more support it can be arranged for them. This empowers individuals therefore to have a say in their own care, treatment, and support, to enable them to make choices which matter to them to align care with their values.
2. Reduces demand and dependency
As you are probably aware the health and social care market is suffering one of its biggest staffing crises. Even the CQC has described the market as gridlocked due to the issues surrounding both recruiting and retaining staff.
These current staffing issues have led to mass staff shortages in many care homes as well as home care providers. In fact in 2022, 2.2 million hours of homecare could not be delivered because of insufficient work capacities. This led to a lot of people across the UK being left with their needs unmet.
Through promoting independence in health and social care however, the demand and dependency on care providers and care homes can be reduced because individuals can manage their conditions more effectively and feel empowered to take care of themselves as much as possible. Technology enabled care offers this opportunity by allowing data to be collected so carers can see changes in patterns of behaviour and alter care plans proactively to suit the new care needs.
Using technology enabled care can help demands to be met quicker and ensure everyone receives the care and support they require without having long waiting times which can cause further deterioration.
Even if encouraging independence doesn’t make people able to do more for themselves, it can help reduce physical and mental decline, or lessen the speed of decline. This of course improves quality of life but also helps reduce acuity of need. Even if to a small extent this can reduce demand on health and care services.
3. Provides better long-term sustainability
Promoting independence in health and social care means individuals are more likely to participate in more social and community activities, this helps to foster a better sense of belonging within a community to help reduce isolation.
This can also lead to better long-term outcomes through individuals being more likely to maintain their health and wellbeing, reducing the need for intensive care and support.
Individuals feeling more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing can mean more preventative measures can take place as people act quicker on poor health or illness before their conditions worsen. This in turn, not only improves the quality of lives for individuals but their families too as they can be reassured support will be there when needed. It can also reduce demand for clinical, intensive support which can prevent staff burnout and improve staff retention better in the long run.
Promoting independence in health and social care – How can you do it?
Promoting independence in health and social care can happen in a variety of different ways depending on the people you care for and what their needs are currently.
One of the most common methods that are used to promote independence in health and social care is through personalised care planning, or person-centred care planning. Through using technology enabled care, personalised care can be delivered from the data presented through the sensors and monitoring of an individual so both what matters to the individual and what the data says about their condition can be analysed to provide the best care possible.
Equally within these care plans additional methods or activities can also be used such as more skill development and other assistive technologies. Ultimately, however, one of the most important ways to promote independence in health and social care regardless of the population your local authority is targeting is to have effective communication where your care providers, carers, and clinicians all work together with the individual to be active listeners and respect each individual preference, which is key to achieving this goal.
Through doing this a sustainable outcomes-focused approach to care can be followed which concentrates on what matters to the individual so that the support and care delivered meets their preferences, whilst providing reassurance to families that their loved one is receiving the best quality care possible.
How to promote independence in older adults?
One of the most targeted population groups in health and social care to promote independence with is older adults. This can be challenging as it involves a combination of physical, emotional, and social assistance.
In order for this to happen there are a number of different strategies to use. What is important to note however is it can face some resistance. This is because the digital literacy of older adults can be limited. For example limited digital literacy may make accessing remote medical consultations or using digital telecare services at home more challenging. Older adults may have to rely on others to access these alternative care and support arrangements. Equally a limited digital literacy may make it difficult for older adults access services and find out information about local community services and groups which are easier to find online.
It is crucial therefore every care provider assesses each individual’s capabilities, preferences, and needs to tailor the correct support needed accordingly.
Once this initial assessment is completed there are a number of different strategies which different care providers can use to promote independence in older adults.
1. Offer better digital education
One of the most important strategies is offering older adults better education. This can include education on managing their physical and mental health as well as digital education.
Improving digital literacy in older adults is crucial therefore as it enables older adults to be more proactive in managing their own health and wellbeing, especially if their home has additional digital modifications, assistive technologies or digital telecare.
Through educating the importance of these technologies in the home individuals can also learn and understand the impact these technologies can have on their health and wellbeing and how the data collected can be turned into actionable insights so individuals can have the reassurance that they can receive the extra support they need when they need it. This in turn, can also reduce hospital admissions.
Equally, older adults can also have the flexibility to research and access even more services independently if they are digitally literate. Through older adults knowing how to do this it makes it even easier, quicker and more efficient to determine their preferences and ensure the right care package is made for them. This in turn, can also positively improve their mental health and wellbeing as their dependency on others can be reduced.
One of the ways our Access Assure offering can ensure this is through providing allowing care providers and end-users to create smart alerts so they can be notified on specific changes of behaviour before something more critical takes place.
Below is a user journey video on how improving digital literacy can help promote independence in older adults and delay future care needs.
2. Offer better physical and emotional education
Improving the understanding of older adults on how to manage their own health and wellbeing at home can help them live independently for longer and have more control over their health decisions.
This can happen through encouraging more joint decision making and allowing local authorities and care providers to follow an outcomes-focused approach to care. This helps older adults to be included and have more control in their health decisions to ensure what matters to them is addressed and to promote a better sense of control and autonomy.
Equally educating older individuals in general about the importance of managing their own physical health and wellbeing can help reduce social isolation. This can be encouraged heavily through local authorities offering social prescribing services and programmes.
Here social prescribing can offer a variety of services which can be arranged with a social prescribing link worker and the older individual to decide what their individual goals are. Whether it is to do more exercise, understand the importance of healthy eating, weekly lunch clubs to prevent loneliness, or more practical support services to educate individuals on how to live independently especially if they have recently been widowed, there are many different types of interventions that can be delivered to target to the different needs of older individuals across a community
Additionally, through these different support interventions older adults can also be educated on the importance of completing regular exercise to help maintain their mobility and strength. Through delivering and encouraging involvement in walking groups and gentle exercises this form of educating older adults in how to manage their physical health can help prevent falls and repetitive hospital admissions. This in turn, not only helps keep older adults safer in their own homes, but also helps to reduce pressure on clinical services too.
3. Offer telehealth and assistive technologies
Another way to promote more independence in older adults is through offering them access to more telehealth and assistive technologies.
By having better access to more telehealth services older adults can also have the option to speak to a GP whether it is virtual or in-person. This prevents the chance of conditions getting worse and the need for more critical care.
Older adults also no longer need to worry about in how to get to appointments and worry about travel issues as they can be offered more virtual visits if transport is an issue.
Offering more assistive technologies such as sensors, wearables, and smart plugs to monitor routines and behaviour helps to provide real-time updates in someone’s health and wellbeing, notifying care paroviders who can then adjust care plans accordingly to provide the extra support needed.
Our Access Assure home hub brings together all the data across our different Assure products to help provide a safe environment for individuals to continue living independently. The Access Assure Home Hub also integrates with our care planning solution by making its smart alerts and alarms visible to care workers in our care planning app. This offers valuable insights 24/7 to enhance the activity information of individuals between visits to deliver better proactive care, enable better data-led decisions, and identify issues before they occur.
With access to real-time data and alerts, this also helps to reduce hospital discharge delays by facilitating a safer environment for individuals to be discharged and recover in their own homes, without having to rely on care homes availability when they are already so stretched.
Here bed blocking in hospitals can be avoided, which of course has financial implications, and reassurance can be provided to loved ones about individual’s wellbeing so they can be notified when behaviour changes, before something more critical takes place to prevent further health complications.
4. Strengths-based approach
One final way to help promote independence in social care is through using a strengths based approach. This approach aims to protect the individual’s independence and prolong it so their ability to make their own choices about their health and wellbeing can remain.
In the long-term this allows individuals to be more proactive in managing their health and wellbeing to delay the development of future care needs and dependencies on hospitals and care homes. Through working collaboratively with the individual and the team supporting them all individual living goals can be achieved by making what matters to the individual the primary focus.
For information on our Assure offering, why not book a demo today. We can show you first-hand how Access Assure can give your local authority and care providers the visibility you need to deliver preventative and proactive care to promote independence and delay future care needs.
Summarising the importance of promoting independence in health and social care
In this article I have summarised what independence is in health and social care and why it is important for local authorities to promote it to the whole of their community but also to the older adults in their community too.
Through highlighting the importance of promoting independence in health and social care this article has been able to review the many benefits it can provide to end-users and their families, as well as clinicians, and different healthcare professionals.
In general, promoting independence is important as it helps individuals have more confidence, improve their wellbeing, live in their own homes for longer and delay future care needs, which in the long-term helps to prevent discharge delays, long waiting times, continuous hospital admissions, and reduce costs too. It also allows individuals to be more proactive in how they manage their own health and wellbeing.
Through installing digital telecare and technology enabled care older adults can help increase independence and empowerment for the members of their community through allowing individuals to continue to live their day-to-day lives with the reassurance there will be help their when needed.
Combining both reactive digital alarms and digital monitoring technology, our Assure offering provides a more comprehensive range of services to develop better personalised care plans which are catered to every individual need.
Learn more about how our social prescribing software and technology enabled care can help the residents in your local community live healthier and safer lives so they can continue to be independent without having to continuously rely on clinical support today.
For more information on how our local government software can help promote independence in health and social care in your local authority contact us today.
