Bridging the care expectation gap: how JRF used Focaldata to surface public insight
As the UK population ages, more of us will need or provide care. But most people are unaware of how stretched and costly the system already is. JRF partnered with Focaldata to uncover this ‘care expectation gap’ – revealing the public’s overly optimistic assumptions and highlighting where reform is urgently needed.
Challenge
The public assumes care will be widely available and affordable. In reality, over 400,000 people are already waiting for care assessments, and weekly home care costs can exceed £1,000. Despite this, only 15% of people with no current care needs expect they’ll need care themselves – and just 32% expect to become unpaid carers, even though 65% of us will at some point. The gap between expectations and reality is wide - and growing.
To understand this disconnect at both scale and depth, JRF needed a research approach that could combine robust, nationally representative data with real human stories – fast. Focaldata's technology was essential to achieving this.
Solution
To explore this, JRF commissioned Focaldata to run large-scale quantitative polling alongside in-depth qualitative research. This included:
- A nationally representative survey of 5,000 adults across England and Wales, with boosted samples of unpaid carers and Scottish respondents.
- Follow-up depth interviews with 600 people, including carers, to understand the personal beliefs and assumptions behind the numbers.
Focaldata’s platform enabled JRF to rapidly combine data at scale with nuanced, real-world perspectives from the public.
Results
The research uncovered a striking mismatch between public expectations and the realities of the care system. Key findings included:
- Most people underestimate both their likelihood of needing or giving care, and how much it will cost.
- People expect the government to cover more care costs than it currently does – only 11% of those aged 65+ who use formal care receive financial support.
- The public strongly supports reform:
- 94% back greater use of technology to support care at home
- 91% support a National Care Service
- 93% support more financial support for unpaid carers
JRF is now using these insights to call for reform that meets, rather than lowers, people’s expectations – focusing on affordable, high-quality care that values both paid and unpaid carers.
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