Within social work and social care ‘service users’, also known as ‘experts by experience’, have traditionally been identified as people who are (or have in the past) accessed social care or social work services or care for someone accessing such services.  We advocate a broader, more inclusive, and active definition to also include those who choose not to use the services that are currently available to them. This acknowledges that a ‘service user’ should always be self-identifying and seen as a person first and foremost. We are committed to working with members of the public with lived experience of social care or social work, to ensure that our research is developed and shaped in collaboration with the people and communities that we serve.

Service User Involvement (SUI) in social care and social work is similar to Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in health care which tends to group involvement around specific health conditions. However, the term ‘patient’ does not have resonance in social care where the focus is more around activities of daily living, maintaining independence and enabling the individual to play a full part in society. The underlying principles for both promote active, equal partnerships between people who use health and social care services, carers, families as well as people from organisations that represent people who use services.

The SCRiPT study is testing the feasibility of a Communities of Practice model to increase research capacity in adult social care.  We are creating four Social Care Research in Practice Teams (RiPTs) and evaluating if this model can help develop research learning and promote research that reflects the priorities and challenges of local populations.  The SCRiPT study positions Service User Involvement [SUI] as a fundamental component within this model. There has been initial input from the University of Hertfordshire Public Involvement in Research.

Shaping Our Lives Involvement

Shaping Our Lives¹  are one of our co-applicants. Shaping Our Lives and the SCRiPT team were successful in securing additional funding to enhance service user involvement in the study. With the additional funding, Shaping Our Lives will focus on enhancing and supporting the engagement of people from diverse and minoritized communities who use social care services and who are often under-represented or not heard in adult social care research, policy and service planning.

As part of this work, a Public Involvement in Social Care Research (PI-SoCR) group has been developed. The group will provide input into social care research projects from researchers across the East of England using their personal experience of social care services. 

Shaping Our Lives are also supporting with recruiting Experts by Experience to each of the RiPT’s and other service user involvement activities specific to each RiPT.

The table below illustrates SUI as being embedded through all work packages within this research.