Participant Information

The Landscape Assessment of Data and Digital Readiness of Scottish Care Homes (LADDeR) study is being led by Edinburgh Napier University in partnership with the Advanced Care Research Centre. This information sheet tells you what the study is about, why it is being carried out, and how you can contribute. Please take time to read the information carefully and contact the project team if you have any questions.

Background and Aims

The recently published Digital Approaches in Care Homes Action Plan highlights the importance of accurate data on care home residents and digital connectivity in care homes – made ever more pertinent by the COVID19 pandemic – and lays out plans for strengthening and improving the use of technology across the sector in Scotland. However, the current extent and nature of digital practices and capabilities of care homes is not fully known, which limits how policies are informed and the design of innovative approaches and solutions.

This project is an assessment of the data readiness and digital activities of care homes in South East Scotland so we can present a detailed description of the current digital landscape in the region. We aim to:

• map adult care home digital data collection, practices and connectivity;
• explore digital readiness and facilitators/barriers to the development of digital capabilities.

How your home can be part of the ‘map’?

To achieve this, we are contacting all care homes of all sectors in Edinburgh, Fife, and the Scottish Borders.

Focusing upon data readiness and digital maturity, we will collect information about (1) digital connectivity; (2) digital data collection and care planning; and (3) data governance procedures for sharing and processing information.

You can take part in two ways:

Does my home have to take part?

Taking part in this study is not mandatory but, in order to achieve as accurate a picture as possible of the current digital landscape, the contribution of every care home in the region is highly important. This will enable the design of better digital approaches for the care home sector as a whole. To encourage participation, we will contact your care home by email and by phone to offer help with filling in the mapping template if you have not yet completed the online form. If you decide to take part, you are free to withdraw at any time without giving a reason, and your data will be removed from the study.

Will my taking part in the study be kept confidential?

All personal information collected during the study will be confidential and your privacy safeguarded in compliance with the Data Protection legislation. The name and contact details of your care home will be removed from the data, and we will take care to ensure that any information used in the presentation of findings is non-identifiable.

What happens when the study is finished?

At the end of the study, the data you have provided will be stored after the removal of all personally identifiable data. The anonymised data may be made available to other researchers for further analysis once the results of the research have been published. This would only be after an official request, consideration of suitability for sharing, and subject to a data sharing agreement between Edinburgh Napier University and the researcher requesting the data. The data will be stored for at least 10 years.

What will happen to the results of the study?

The results of the study will be published as a report and on an online data dashboard to support the development of new digital approaches and solutions for Scottish care homes. The findings may also be published in computing and healthcare journals and presented at conferences