Social care for older adults
This report examines the need for and receipt of social care among adults aged 65 and over in England in 2018. It compares social care needs and receipt by age, sex, household income, area deprivation, longstanding illnesses and health status.
Highlights
- 22% of men and 31% of women aged 65 and over needed help with at least one Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and 20% of men and 32% of women respectively needed help with at least one Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL).
- 19% of men and 28% of women aged 65 and over had some unmet need with at least one ADL, and 12% and 15% respectively needed help with at least one IADL.
- Unmet need for ADLs in both men (32%) and women (48%) in the most deprived areas was double that of men (12%) and women (24%) in the least deprived areas. There was a similar pattern for IADLs.
- Over two thirds of adults (69%) with at least one severe health-related problem reported on the EQ-5D had unmet need with at least one ADL compared with 19% with slight or moderate problems and 3% with no reported problems. There was a similar but less pronounced difference for IADLs.
- The majority (84%) of adults aged 65 and over who were receiving help with at least one ADL or IADL in the last month had not received a local authority assessment of care needs in the last 12 months.
Download the tables for this report here.